This page contains links that offer information
about German holidays and celebrations

Choose a topic from this menu:

German Culture | German-Americana | Oktoberfest
Hannukah and Christmas | Fasnacht and Karneval
Links Compiled By Other German Teachers

German Culture

The best starting point for all inquiries into contemporary German culture is provided by the German Information Center

A comprehensive collection of links can be found at the Portal to Germany. Statistics and graphics on many aspects of German culture and society are available at the Federal Statistical Office

The Goethe Institut provides a great collection of materials on everyday German culture entitled Kaleidoskop. Read what Germans from three generations have to say about life in contemporary Germany.

The National German Historical Museum presents on the Web a fine collection of recent exhibits.

For a quick review of the past hundred years of German history and culture, check out the the Südwestrundfunk site, or click here.

Lonely Planet offers a nice collection of information and photos pertaining to contemporary Germany.

The German Information Center in New York has compiled a comprehensive set of links in English dealing with various aspects of German culture. Click here.

The German government has created a web site for teens and twenty-somethings entitled YoungNet. At this site you can get information in German about the following topics:




German-Americana





Oktoberfest


Test your knowledge of Oktoberfest at my Oktoberfest quiz

Want to experience Oktoberfest vicariously? Check out the webcams at Bayerischer Rundfunk or the videos at the official Oktoberfest website.




Hannukah and Christmas


Robert Shea has assembled a fine collection of links for Hannukah and Christmas. For detailed accounts of German Christmas customs, click here.

For an overview of German Christmas festivals in a variety of German cities, click here. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous, take a tour through the famous N¸rnberger Christkindlesmarkt.

Horst Kurz has compiled a nice collection of English and German Christmas Carols --all in German!



Fasnacht, Fasching and Karneval

In 2006 Fastnacht, Fasching and Karneval takes place between 26 February and 1 Narch. One of the most noteworthy celebrations is held in Köln; check out its official Karneval page as well as the page of the organizing committee. Not too far down the Rhein, a major Fastnacht celebration is held in Mainz. The largest Fasnacht celebration is held in Villingen-Schwenningen: click here, here, or here. Neighboring Andorf also has an attractive site. The celebration in Rottweil should not be overlooked; check out this site as well. In Switzerland there are noteworthy celebrations in Basel and Bern. An overview of celebrations in southwest Germany can be found at this site.

Great black-and-white photos of traditional Fasnacht costumes can be found here, and the Narrenspiegel offers information about the figures and customs throughout southern Germany.

Bob Shea created an impressive site in English on Karneval and Fasnacht celebrations in Germany--although emphassi teds to be on the celebrations in Köln. Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the page.

For information about other celebrations in Germany, check out Fasching-Fasnacht-Karneval map published by Südwestrundfunk. This station also provides an attractive set of links on its official Fastnacht page. Deutsche Welle provides several links about Karneval in the Rhine Valley, including a minute-long RealPlayer video of the celebration.

The German Information Center has a concise account of this tradition in English. Hyde Flippo offers a large collection of links to Karneval and Fastnacht sites at his Mining Company.

Yahoo offers an index of sites relating to German celebrations

Das Goethe Institut offers exercises to several journalistic accounts of the Karneval and Fastnacht celebrations:
Details about the celebrations in the southwest corner of Germany can be found at the Fasnet. If you're interested in celebrations in the Rhine-Mosel valley, check out the West German Radio site. It has a noce glossary of terms associated with Karneval.

Click here to see avideo report of the 2004 Karneval celebrations in three different cities, or here to see a video on the political themes of the 2004 celebration in Köln.

For information about celebrations in the rest of the world, click here.

Links Compiled by other German Teachers


Andreas Lixl-Purcell's German Trails

Colonel Craig Nickisch's Links for German

Robert Shea's German Resources

Brian Zahn's KHS German Links

Lauren Rosen's German Language Resources

Brown University's German Studies Page

Cornell University's German Links

University of the South's Literature Page

Oliver's Links zur literatur

Hyde Flippo's German Way

Hyde Flippo's Mining Company

DINO-Online