31 October in Germany is more than Halloween — Reformation Day and All Saints

Luther next to the pumpkins

By late October, German supermarkets are full of pumpkins and bags of sweets. But look at a German calendar and 31 October has a second name: Reformationstag, Reformation Day. The very next day, 1 November, is Allerheiligen, All Saints' Day. Three moods in two days.

Reformation Day: Wittenberg, 1517

According to tradition, on 31 October 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. That moment is seen as the start of the Reformation, and today it is a public holiday in nine states, mostly in the Protestant north and east. For the 500th anniversary in 2017, the whole country had the day off — just that once.

A Saturday this year — check before you shop

German public holidays that fall on a weekend are not moved to a weekday. So on Saturday, 31 October 2026, most shops in those nine states will be closed. Berlin is not one of them, but Brandenburg, which surrounds it, is — worth knowing if you planned a trip to an outlet or a big supermarket outside the city. All Saints' Day falls on a Sunday this year, so it changes little.

Date	Name	Public holiday in	What happens
31 Oct	Reformationstag	Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia	Church services, events
31 Oct	Halloween	nowhere (not a holiday)	Costumes, sweets, pumpkins
1 Nov	Allerheiligen	Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland	Grave visits, a quiet day

Halloween: "Süßes oder Saures!"

Halloween is a fairly recent import in Germany; it spread mainly from the 1990s on. Children in costumes ring the neighbours' doorbells and call "Süßes oder Saures!" — literally "sweet or sour", the German take on "trick or treat". In apartment buildings, some people leave a small bowl of sweets by the door. If you'd rather not join in, it's fine not to open.

All Saints' Day: candles in the cemetery

In the Catholic south and west, 1 November is a day to remember the dead. Families tidy the graves and light Grablichter, grave candles in red or white holders, so at dusk the cemeteries glow. In several states it is a legally "quiet day" (stiller Tag) with limits on loud events such as dances; the exact rules depend on the state.

Today's German words

Word	Meaning
der Reformationstag	Reformation Day
die Thesen (pl.)	theses
der Feiertag	public holiday
Süßes oder Saures!	trick or treat!
Allerheiligen (no article)	All Saints' Day
das Grablicht	grave candle

The same 31 October is a day off in Hamburg, a normal Saturday in Berlin, and the eve of a holiday in Munich. Few things show so clearly that Germany is a country of states. 🎃📜🕯️