Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is the theological climax of the Christian church year. In Germany, it holds a unique legal status, most notable in the state of Brandenburg.

In German custom, Easter Sunday is closely tied to the Easter Bunny (Osterhase), who hides painted eggs and small treats in the garden. The joint egg hunt is a central ritual in almost all German families with children.

Public holiday in Brandenburg; elsewhere it is already Sunday. The decisive place is not always the home address: workplace, school location and travel destination can each change the answer.

Use Easter Sunday as the family centre of the Easter block. School breaks, childcare, visits and the following Monday decide the practical rhythm. That check should happen before booking travel, moving meetings or assuming that school and work calendars line up.

Embedded in the Easter weekend, Easter Sunday is the center of family planning. Many use the Sunday for long spring walks (historically famous through Goethe's 'Osterspaziergang') or joint day trips.

In schools, the Easter holidays frame this period. Those planning a trip should check the different school break windows of the states to avoid peak travel times on rails and roads.

Use our calendar tools and the bridge-day planner to include the entire Easter block correctly in your annual planning and share it with your team.

For regional holidays, choose the correct state before comparing leave days. Keep Brandenburg separate from places where the same date remains a working day.

An important legal detail is that Easter Sunday—unlike Good Friday and Easter Monday—is not explicitly listed as a statutory public holiday in the public holiday laws of most states, since it already falls on a Sunday.

Brandenburg bildet die Ausnahme und stuft ihn als gesetzlichen Feiertag ein, was bei Feiertagszuschlägen relevant wird.

Ein klassischer Tag für Familienessen und Ostereiersuchen im Garten oder bei Ausflügen.

For the legal baseline, Easter Sunday has to be separated from the surrounding workdays. Public holiday in Brandenburg; elsewhere it is already Sunday. The neighbouring days can still require leave, flexitime or a school-specific rule.

For Easter Sunday, section 9 of the Working Time Act explains Sunday and public-holiday rest, while section 2 of the Continued Remuneration Act belongs to pay on statutory public holidays. Neither replaces the local rota, collective agreement, school notice or state-specific holiday status.

A calendar entry should therefore show the statutory holiday and any chosen leave days as separate decisions.