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AUSTRIAN TRADITIONS

EXPLAINED: Why is January 6th a public holiday in Austria?

There are no less than 13 public holidays in Austria, and the first one of the year - besides January 1st, is January 6th. But why is it a public holiday?

Published: 5 January 2023 17:32 CET
EXPLAINED: Why is January 6th a public holiday in Austria?
Carolers dressed as the three Wise Men sing on January 6, 2012 in Bad Kleinkirchheim, some 300 kilometers south-west of Vienna. AFP PHOTO / DIETER NAGL

In 2023, January 6th falls on a Friday, giving people in Austria their first long weekend of the year.

Like most national holidays, this one also has religious roots – more specifically, Catholic roots. On January 6th, Catholics celebrate the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ, hence the name Epiphany, and a celebration of the “adoration of the Magi” when the three kings visited the newborn Christ.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to maximise your annual leave in Austria in 2023

In Austria, the holiday is known as Heilige Drei Könige, or three holy kings. 

How do Austrians celebrate it?

There are several traditions happening on this date. If you have your Christmas decorations and Christmas tree up, this is usually when people take them down and pack them up for the year. 

However, the most common tradition is the Sternsinger (star singers), a group of young people that travel from door to door dressed as kings and singing in four-part harmony. If they knock on your door, they may sing, bless your home – and expect a donation for a cause organised by the churches. 

READ ALSO: Austrian traditions: How to celebrate St. Martin’s Day in Austria

If you live in Austria, you’ve probably seen a house or another with chalk marking just above the door. This means that the house was blessed by the Sternsinger, who then marked the year of the blessing and the initials of the three kings – Kaspar, Melchior and Balthazar – over the doorway. 

Religious families may also attend a solemn mass at the church and have a big family meal to celebrate the date.

For Orthodox believers, January 6th is also Christmas eve.  This is based on the fact that Orthodox Christians use a different calendar.

READ ALSO: Why everything in Austria is closed on Sundays – and what to do instead

As it is a public holiday, most stores and supermarkets will be closed. However, restaurants are still open, and if you find yourself with an empty fridge, convenience stores in petrol stations and supermarkets inside train and metro stations are still allowed to open in Austria, even on public holidays.

When is the next public holiday?

After Friday, people in Austria will have to wait a while for the following public holiday, as there are no official national ones in February or March. However, Easter Monday (again, a Christian celebration) will fall on April 10th.

As this holiday always is celebrated on Mondays in Austria, it will give you another chance to enjoy a long weekend.

READ ALSO: COMPARE: How do Austria’s public holidays stack up against the rest of Europe?

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WHAT'S ON IN VIENNA

What’s open and what’s closed on Ascension Day in Austria?

On Thursday it is Ascension Day, or Christi Himmelfahrt in German, one of the many May public holidays this year. Here is what is going on in and around the capital, and what will be closed.

Published: 6 May 2024 14:11 CEST
Updated: 8 May 2024 16:25 CEST
What’s open and what’s closed on Ascension Day in Austria?

This year, Ascension Day, or Christi Himmelfahrt, a national holiday in Austria, falls on May 9th. Many people working in Austria take the holiday as an opportunity to enjoy a longer weekend by also taking Friday off.

Ascension Day is a Christian celebration that honours the belief that Jesus ascended into heaven. It takes place 40 days after Easter Sunday and always falls on a Thursday. According to Christian tradition, this day signifies the end of Jesus’ time on Earth and his return to heaven.

In Austria, Ascension Day is marked by different local traditions. Villages host processions, and in rural areas, people walk through fields during the “days of supplication,” usually on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. These processions have been part of the tradition since the sixth century.

Many churches all over Austria hold special masses to celebrate the day. In some, the occasion is celebrated with a custom where a statue of the resurrected Jesus is pulled through a hole in the ceiling and up into the church’s attic.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Austria in May 2024

What is happening in and around Vienna?

Ascension Day offers a great opportunity to spend some relaxed time with friends and family. If you want to follow tradition, you can enjoy some poultry, which is typical to eat in Austria on this day.

If you live in Vienna, you can spend the holiday exploring some of the events taking place in the city.

The day marks the start of the Steffl Kirchtag festival (May 9th to 20th), held at Stephansplatz in the heart of the city. Here, you can find arts and crafts, stalls offering food and drinks, music, performances, and concerts.

If you want to enjoy some culture, you should check out the many interesting exhibitions and festivals currently happening in Vienna.

For example, the exhibition Smart World at the Vienna Museum of Technology is open for visitors and explores how artificial intelligence is changing our world. The ongoing festival Klima Biennale Wien is also open to the public and focuses on climate change through various exhibitions and performances.

If you are interested in enjoying a musical, the first performance of The Sound of Music at the Vienna Volksoper is scheduled for this day.

You can also celebrate the occasion and the morning off by enjoying the night before at the Gürtel Connection. This event takes place in 14 different bars along the Gurtel, the major avenue surrounding the inner city. The evening offers 50 different gigs and performances and you can spend as much as you like on the entry.

Most bars open their doors around 7pm and you can find out more about the event on their website.

If you instead want to spend time in nature without going too far away from the city, enjoying the day in the Vienna Woods, Wiener Wald, is a great idea. If you want to do some exercise while enjoying great views, you can explore some of the many city hikes, known as Stadtwanderweg, which you can read more about here.  

If you are up for a slightly longer journey, you can reach many interesting places with a short train ride. You can explore some great destinations to visit here.

 
 
 
 
 
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READ ALSO: 4 beautiful lakes you can easily reach from Vienna by public transport

What will be closed?

As Ascension Day is a public holiday in Austria, banks, post offices, supermarkets, and general medical practices will be closed. Most pharmacies will also be closed, except for those functioning as emergency pharmacies, which will remain open during the holiday. You can find a list of these pharmacies here.

Hospital emergency departments will be open if you need medical care. Additionally, each region offers a holiday on-call service (Wochenend—und Feiertagsbereitschaftsdienst) if you prefer not to go to the hospital. You can call 141 for medical services during holidays, such as a doctor’s visit or to obtain certain medications.

Public Transport

During the holiday, public transport will continue operating in Vienna and all over Austria, although sometimes with a reduced timetable, similar to that on Sundays.

In Vienna, trams, metros, and buses run with slightly reduced timetables. Here you find more information on the timetable for different lines, click here.

Mainline train services often run with a near-normal timetable. You can check out the timetable for ÖBB here.

READ NEXT: Eleven unmissable events in Austria in May 2024

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