A worker in one German state can have several more public holidays than a colleague a short drive away. The difference is a direct consequence of where the power to declare holidays sits.
Only a few holidays are set nationally
A small core of holidays applies everywhere, fixed by federal law. Everything beyond that core is decided by each state for its own territory.
States legislate independently on this, and there is no requirement to match a neighbour. The variation is therefore designed rather than accidental.
The practical effect is a calendar that must be checked by location rather than assumed, which matters for payroll, school terms and any business operating across state lines.
The pattern follows religious history
Several of the variable holidays are Catholic observances, and they are recognised in states whose historic population was predominantly Catholic. Predominantly Protestant states did not adopt them.
The boundaries this produces are older than the modern states themselves, tracing settlements reached centuries ago. Contemporary religious affiliation no longer matches the map at all closely.
One holiday runs the other way, observed in a Protestant tradition and retained in a single state where it was preserved as a trade-off against a social insurance contribution.
Some holidays vary within a state
A few observances are recognised only in municipalities meeting a religious majority condition, so the holiday applies in one town and not the next within the same state.
Employers in those areas maintain lists by municipality, and the rule can turn on the location of the workplace rather than the residence of the employee.
This is the level of granularity at which the system genuinely surprises people, because a factory and its workforce can fall on opposite sides of the line.
Additions are political decisions
States have added holidays in recent years, generally where the existing count was low relative to neighbours. Each addition is a legislative act with an economic argument attached.
The argument against is straightforward: a public holiday removes a working day, and the cost falls unevenly across sectors. Retail and hospitality often gain while manufacturing does not.
The argument in favour treats holidays as a public good and points to the disparity itself as a fairness issue between states with otherwise similar economies.
The rules around holidays matter as much
Shop opening, noise limits and restrictions on certain activities apply on public holidays under state law, and those rules also differ. A holiday is not merely a day off work.
Quiet days with restrictions on public entertainment exist in some states and not others, which occasionally produces disputes when an event is planned across a regional audience.
Anyone planning across state boundaries therefore needs the holiday list and the associated restrictions together, since the second is where the practical consequences usually appear.