Sunday of the Dead

Category: Religious
Sunday of the Dead in Germany in 2023
Image from Pixabay. CC0

About Sunday of the Dead

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Dates of Sunday of the Dead
2024 Germany Sunday, November 24thSunday of the Dead
2023 Germany Sunday, November 26thSunday of the Dead
2022 Germany Sunday, November 20thSunday of the Dead
2021 Germany Sunday, November 21stSunday of the Dead
2020 Germany Sunday, November 22ndSunday of the Dead
Summary
Totensonntag is a Protestant religious holiday in Germany and Switzerland, commemorating the faithfully departed.
Local name
Totensonntag

The Protestant holy day of Totensonntag (sometimes referred to as Ewigkeitssonntag) marks the last Sunday of the year according to the liturgical calendar. It’s also an important day of the year for remembering the dead and honouring departed family members. 

It is celebrated on the last Sunday of the church year (the Sunday before Advent).

In 1816, Totensonntag became a regional religious holiday in the German Kingdom of Prussia. That year, the King of Prussia demanded a Lutheran holiday for honouring the dead. 

King Frederick William III originally wanted an occasion to remember the soldiers lost in the War of Liberation, which was fought in 1813. The king also wanted a yearly day when he could mourn his late wife, the Queen of Prussia, who had died in 1810. 

Gradually, Lutheran churches across the rest of Germany began to observe the holiday by honouring the dead. 

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