Cemetery candles in Germany on All Saints' Day with autumn leaves

All Saints' Day

1 November 2026 Regional holiday 5 states Falls on Sunday

All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen) on 1 November is a regional statutory public holiday in 5 German states. As a quiet holiday, it connects remembrance, cemetery visits, All Souls and the autumn calendar.

Check bridge days Practical info
Overview

At a glance

What matters for All Saints' Day before you plan the days around it.

Date
1 November 2026
All Saints' Day falls on Sunday in 2026.
Status
Public holiday in BW, BY, NW, RP and SL.
Gesetzlicher Feiertag in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland
Applies in
Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland
The state, workplace and school location matter.
Planning cue
Check surrounding days
Plan the All Saints' Day weekend early, taking the solemn public holiday quiet into account. The planner shows you exactly how to coordinate the holiday with your leave days in November.

All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen) on 1 November is a regional statutory public holiday in 5 German states. As a quiet holiday, it connects remembrance, cemetery visits, All Souls and the autumn calendar.

A widespread custom on All Saints' Day is lighting the 'soul light' (Seelenlicht) on graves. Cemeteries are bathed in a solemn atmosphere on this day, decorated with elaborate grave decorations (fir arrangements, flowers) and hundreds of red candles.

Public holiday in BW, BY, NW, RP and SL. The decisive place is not always the home address: workplace, school location and travel destination can each change the answer.

Plan the All Saints' Day weekend early, taking the solemn public holiday quiet into account. The planner shows you exactly how to coordinate the holiday with your leave days in November. That check should happen before booking travel, moving meetings or assuming that school and work calendars line up.

Leave calculation

Bridge days and leave

The holiday double-header, cross-border commuters, and autumn sync

No classic bridge day

Check the next bridge-day chance

All Saints' Day falls on a weekend this year. Use the planner to find the next useful bridge-day block.

Recommendation
Check other holidays
Block
No substitute holiday

The combination of Reformation Day (31 October) and All Saints' Day (1 November) creates a unique situation for cross-border commuters in Germany. Someone living in Lower Saxony and working in North Rhine-Westphalia gets both days off.

For HR departments, this holiday double-header is a logistical challenge. Precise entry of regional holidays in the shared calendar system prevents scheduling conflicts during resource planning in November.

Use our bridge-day calculator and export the holiday dates via ICS or CSV to share and coordinate your autumn holiday planning without errors.

For regional holidays, choose the correct state before comparing leave days. Keep Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland separate from places where the same date remains a working day.

Smart Vacation Planner

Maximize your free time around All Saints' Day:

Go to Holiday Planner This holiday does not create a classic bridge day. Open the planner for better alternatives in the year.
Practice

Everyday rules

Work, school, shopping, travel and family logistics need a concrete answer for 1 November 2026.

Work

State status

The state scope is the first work filter. All Saints' Day applies in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland; teams crossing state borders should mark where the date is free and where it remains a working day.

Family

School calendar

Keep family plans close to the occasion. Quiet visits, travel buffers and clear opening hours are more useful around All Saints' Day than loud day-trip assumptions.

Travel

Quiet fit

For All Saints' Day, restrained ideas work best: rail, quiet stays, family logistics, flowers, dining or local culture only where they match the tone of the day.

1 November is a statutory public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland. In these 5 majority-Catholic states, offices, schools, and retail are closed.

Achte besonders auf das strikte Tanz- und Veranstaltungsverbot an diesem Tag.

Für einen Kurztrip eignen sich eher ruhige Ziele oder Bundesländer ohne Feiertagsstatus.

Autumn cemetery candles in Germany for All Saints' Day
Legislation

Legal context

The legal question is narrow; the planning question around All Saints' Day is broader.

State public holiday

All Saints' Day applies in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland. The same date can therefore be a day off for one location and an ordinary working day for another.

Pay and rota

For pay, the workplace location matters more than the headline. Check whether All Saints' Day is statutory in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland for the actual place of work.

Regional caveat

Because All Saints' Day is limited to Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, cross-state calendars should show both the free locations and the places that keep working.

For the legal baseline, All Saints' Day has to be separated from the surrounding workdays. Public holiday in BW, BY, NW, RP and SL. The neighbouring days can still require leave, flexitime or a school-specific rule.

For All Saints' Day, 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.

FAQ

Questions

Common questions about All Saints' Day

Which German states observe All Saints' Day as a public holiday?

1 November is a statutory public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland.

Are shops open on All Saints' Day in Germany?

Shops are closed in the 5 observing states. In the other 11 states (e.g., Hesse, Lower Saxony, Hamburg), retail stores have normal opening hours.

Does the dance ban apply on All Saints' Day?

Yes. Since All Saints' Day is a legally protected 'silent holiday' in the 5 observing states, loud public entertainment and music events are prohibited for specified hours.

Do I have to work on All Saints' Day?

All Saints' Day applies in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland. The decisive check is the actual workplace, not only where you live.

Are shops open on All Saints' Day?

In Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, public-holiday opening rules can apply; outside those states, normal working-day or weekend rules may continue.

Is All Saints' Day useful for bridge-day planning?

All Saints' Day does not always need an extra bridge day. This year the better question is whether the surrounding weekend, school holidays or the next public holiday create the useful block.

What should I check next to All Saints' Day?

Also check Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, the relevant state and travel between states with different holiday rules.

Background and planning

Once date and scope are clear, the background helps explain why All Saints' Day is handled this way and how much sensitivity the planning needs.

Background

Meaning and context

The solemn feast of All Saints, All Souls, and traditional graveside visits

All Saints' Day was established in the 8th century to honor all the saints of the Church—even those without a specific day in the calendar. It is closely linked to All Souls' Day (2 November), the Catholic day of remembrance for all deceased, when graves in cemeteries are visited and blessed.

A widespread custom on All Saints' Day is lighting the 'soul light' (Seelenlicht) on graves. Cemeteries are bathed in a solemn atmosphere on this day, decorated with elaborate grave decorations (fir arrangements, flowers) and hundreds of red candles.

Culinary traditions in many regions include baking the 'Allerheiligenstriezel' (a sweet braided yeast pastry) which godchildren traditionally receive as a gift from their godparents.

Allerheiligen ist ein stiller Feiertag, der den Rhythmus im November deutlich prägt.

Scope

States and scope

Silent holiday status in 5 states and statutory protection laws

1 November is a statutory public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland. In these 5 majority-Catholic states, offices, schools, and retail are closed.

In the other 11 states, All Saints' Day is an ordinary working day. This requires precise coordination in cross-state teams: while public life rests in Cologne and Munich, operations continue normally in Hamburg and Frankfurt.

Furthermore, All Saints' Day is protected as a 'silent holiday' in the 5 observing states. Public entertainment events such as concerts, sports, and loud music are prohibited for designated hours to preserve the solemn character of the day.

For 2026, All Saints' Day applies in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland. Anyone coordinating across states should mark the places that are off separately from places where 1 November 2026 remains a normal working day.

Travel planning

Trips and useful offers

Autumn spa retreats, grave flowers, and practical calendar tools

Spa hotels and thermal resorts experience high demand for relaxing wellness weekends around All Saints' Day. Florists also experience peak demand due to the need for grave arrangements and wreaths.

Practical calendar subscriptions, exportable ICS files, and annual planning templates simplify the coordination between observing states and working states.

Next steps

Plan next

Move from reading to the next concrete step.

Start with All Saints' Day on 1 November 2026, confirm Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, then compare the surrounding workdays and school calendar.

If travel, childcare or more than one household is involved, keep the calendar view open while comparing options.

Prüfe im Kalender, ob ein langes Wochenende im November für dich sinnvoll ist.

For All Saints' Day, use the bridge-day planner, the school-holiday calendar and the calendar-week overview.

For recurring annual planning, keep both the holiday and the chosen leave days visible. Next year's comparison is faster when this year's decision is still in the calendar.

Sources & further reading

  1. Baden-Württemberg public holidays : State overview of statutory public holidays in Baden-Württemberg.
  2. Bavaria Holiday Act Article 1 : Bavarian holiday list, including Assumption Day and the Augsburg Peace Festival special cases.
  3. North Rhine-Westphalia Holiday Act section 2 : State holiday list including Corpus Christi and All Saints' Day.
  4. Rhineland-Palatinate Sunday and holiday law : State overview of holiday law, quiet days and public-holiday dates.
  5. Saarland Holiday Act : Saarland holiday law including Corpus Christi, Assumption Day and All Saints' Day.
  6. katholisch.de on All Saints' Day : Church context for All Saints' Day, remembrance and cemetery visits.
  7. Reformation Day (31 October) : The regional holiday before All Saints' Day in several northern and eastern states.
  8. Day of Repentance and Prayer : The Saxon Wednesday holiday shortly before Advent and Christmas.
  9. Assumption Day (15 August) : The regional summer holiday in Saarland and Catholic-majority municipalities in Bavaria.
  10. Working Time Act section 9 : Federal frame for Sunday and public-holiday work, exceptions and rota planning.
  11. Continued Remuneration Act section 2 : Context for continued remuneration once public-holiday status and workplace are clear.