Thursday, May 13, 2010

Happy Thursday

Today is Ascension Day, marking Jesus ascending into heaven. Do you do anything to celebrate this?
I don't remember having to go to mass or refrain from eating meat or anything different. But here in a place I don't find to be very religious it is a major holiday. I know I have mention this before, my teacher said a lot of people here do not claim a religion because they are automatically taxed from paycheck.



 It is also Father's Day (Vatertag) in Germany...My husband is off work. All of Germany is shut down and Friday is also a day off for many they call it a bridge day. Bridge over to the weekend...okay I seriously have never heard it referred to as that. I said to my husband ...do we even do that or call it that? He said of coarse it's like the day after Thanksgiving...I said you mean Black Friday! So back to Vatertag aka Father's day here according to my google source...it's a time when men gather together and take part in outdoor actives like a walk in the country or horse and cart ride...WTF century is this ? So tomorrow there will be men gathering and us women folk can't go shopping or dine anywhere because everything is closed...there is restrictions on alcohol selling and public performances and DANCING!
So tomorrow I will not be:
Shopping
Dinning out
buying alcohol
performing in public
dancing
What's left to do?
Laundry, cooking, cleaning.....


26 comments:

Purple Flowers said...

Your husband is a handsome man. Enjoy the day with him, and wish him a Happy Vatertag!

Marilyn *Pink Martinis and Pearls* said...

Isn't that what Easter Sunday is all about? I'll have to Wiki and find out more info. My grandmother would not be very pleased that I did not know this. :) xoxo

kw said...

I will not celebrate the german fathers day mom. It feels wrong. Plus, we are so unprepared!

Tezzie said...

What an odd way to celebrate Father's Day...is there also a 'regular' father's day, or is male bonding via strolls in the park and cart riding all they get??

As for what's left for mom to do...sounds like the perfect opportunity for getting out and about with your camera ;D. Hope you captured some great shots today, even if the weather isn't the greatest.

Sonya said...

It's a holiday over here too..today I guess people get up around 6 am and go on a bike ride..I was in bed..asleep:) I dont count the dutch as being very religious either but they are serious about these types of holidays..everything is closed here too and it was a mad dash yesterday to get wat we needed to make it through til friday.

I sure wish we lived closer..we could of atleast gotten together or something.

G in Berlin said...

It's actually male bonding via drinking ber, as far as I know. My father-in-law celebrates, my husband gets the traditional American Father's Day of celebrating with the family.

This is a country which is Christian.Whether Germans choose to be taxed for their religion or not, this is a Christian (and in fact, Catholic, country) and I feel and see it every day.There is not separation of church and state here.It's hard for Americans to intrinsically understand this.

Unknown said...

Everything is closed here too!- Plus we have Norways National day on Monday... so it is a WHOLE lotta down time here!

Kate said...

Thanks for stopping by Webster's updates and leaving such a nice comment. I was an exchange student in Germany (about a million years ago) and about lost my mind one Wed when everything closed at lunch - before I ate lunch - that I had planned to buy. Tomorrow sounds to me like a perfect opportunity to sit in the sunshine and do nothing :)

Debra said...

Ditto to Purple Flowers comment! I'm not picturing you with an apron on, mopping the floor, and planning out the dinner menu. Although I know you would be cute! Hope you're having a good day without the shopping, alcohol and tabletop dancing!!!!!

Kwana said...

Wow how funny. You are always full of the cool info.

Ronda said...

Happy Father's Day, Happy Thursday, and Happy Bridge Day!
Have a wonderful weekend!
XOXO

Unknown said...

Hallo Frau,

shops are closed but is allowed to play music, restaurants are open too. I am listening to a big party in the Biergarten in the neighborhood this moment- dozens of men and women dancing and singing in the morning already :-)

There are lots of men (mostly no fathers) biking and visiting the parties all over the city today. But most of the real fathers enjoy the long weekend with their families. So does my hubby. And thats good. We had a little geocaching tour by bike, after that Spargel and new potatoes with our children and in 15 mins we will watch the soccer game.

Shall we meet next week? I have a custom's inspection and will be in Bremen a few days.

Leslie said...

I love this post.
lol @ the Manly bonding.

I hope that Hubby enjoys the day.
Have fun.

Serline said...

Or as my hubby suggested, put on a bar maid's costume and serve your loved one an ice cold beer accompanied by your own version of Oom-Pah-Pah ;-P

Claudya Martinez said...

You better stock up on booze today! Happy Father's Day to your handsome hubby!

Joanna Jenkins said...

I would LOVE a "bridge day"-- Any opportunity for a long weekend works for me :-)

ENJOY!
jj

PS VERY cute hubby!

Unknown said...

I didn't even know it was Ascension Day. Thank you for telling me.

What is up with father's day and bridge day? So they only work M-Th every week?

Crazy, huh?
Oh popped over from janeen's blog. I'm going to follow you!!

Liz Mays said...

How interesting that everything is shut down. I hope you find something fun to do besides all that housework though!

AiringMyLaundry said...

Nice, have fun shopping!!!

Happy Father's Day to your husband!

Ina in Alaska said...

Hilarious! And thank you for the much needed laugh today!!! xoxoxo

Jessica the Jacked LDS said...

is that ur husband? hotness!!

both of u!!

Deidra said...

I remember hearing about Vatertag before. Was it here on your site last year? As for Ascension Day...I wish I knew more about those holidays. Thanks for reminding me about that one.

Unspoken said...

I am not religious. Your daughter made me laugh :) here!

forever folding laundry said...

Wow...I've never heard of the holiday, but sounds interesting. And happy {German} Father's day to your hubby. :)

~Keri

Dita said...

Now THAT is hysterical. Please tell me they shut down for Mother's Day...or do they do that on a Sunday so it doesn't affect commerce!!

Gotta love the ol' double standard, huh!
And I agree with Purple Flowers...your hubby is very handsome!

I love the new header on your blog, too....
been so busy with my new job that my blog hopping has suffered...I'll be back to catch up!

Happy Weekend!

Expats Again said...

Ahhh, I knew it was Ascension Day, but I had no idea it was Father's Day too. This explains why I saw two horses pulling a large cart filled with drunken German men in lederhosen down Landsberger Hwy in Munich towards the Marienplatz as we headed out of town to the Mosel Valley. Happy Vatertag to your hubby!