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GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German phrase of the day: Die Große Liebe

This lighthearted German phrase about love also has a darker history.

Love of my life
Photo credit: Francesco Ungaro / Unsplash + Nicolas Raymond / flickr

Why do I need to know Die Große Liebe? 

With Valentine’s Day approaching, love is in the air. Die große Liebe is a key phrase to have in your repertoire when it comes to conversations about love in Germany. And it can also come in handy if you want to learn more about German cultural history.

What does it mean?

Translating directly to “the great love,” die große Liebe also functions as the German equivalent of “love of my life.” Nowadays, it is mostly used in a light-hearted manner, but the term is also linked with a darker period of German history.

If you plug the phrase into Google, the first result you will get is for the 1942 film “Die große Liebe”: the most commercially successful film in Nazi Germany. It follows a German fighter pilot who falls in love with a famous Danish singer, but puts off their wedding in order to aid Germany’s war efforts against the Soviet Union.

Considered a classic example of Nazi propaganda, it is meant to demonstrate the virtue of placing one’s country above individual happiness. Love of country becomes the true “great love.”

Although the most famous example, this film is not the only one whose title uses the phrase, die große Liebe. There are at least ten (largely lighter) movies spanning from the 1930s to the 2010s carrying this name; a testament to the phrase’s long and enduring salience in German culture. 

And if you flip through any German tabloid leading up to February 14th, you’ll likely see a slew of articles with tips on how to find die große Liebe.

Use it like this: 

Ich bin hier, um die große Liebe zu finden.

I’m here to find the love of my life.

Vielleicht werde ich eines Tages die große Liebe finden.

Maybe one day I’ll find the love of my life.

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For members

GERMAN WORD OF THE DAY

German word of the day: Sommersonnenwende

This German word marks the changing of seasons, and the longest day of the year.

German word of the day: Sommersonnenwende

Die Sommersonnenwende, pronounced like this, is the German term for the summer solstice, which is the day that marks the meteorological beginning of summer in Germany and the northern hemisphere.

Alternative names for the day are Sommer Solstitium, which comes from the Latin term, and Mittsommer.

Like so many great German words, the term for the summer solstice is a compound noun which translates quite literally. It’s made up of three simple words: Sommer (summer), Sonnen (sun) and Wende (turn or turnaround).

So the name for the summer solstice in German is meant to remind you that this is the day that the sun ends its journey northward in the sky, and turns around.

As you can probably guess, the winter solstice is called die Wintersonnenwende.

You might recognise the term Wende from another compound noun that got a fair amount of attention in recent years – Energiewende, which means energy transition, has also been used to describe Germany’s big picture plans to phase out fossil fuel use.

The summer solstice usually falls on June 21st or 22nd. But it fell on June 20th this year, due to 2024 being a leap year.

How is ‘die Sommersonnenwende’ observed in Germany

Humans have taken note of, and celebrated, the summer solstice for thousands of years.

Archaeologists suggest that Stone Age cultures were already able to determine the day. Evidence of this was uncovered in 2004 at the site of a 7000-year-old solar observatory found in Goseck in Saxony-Anhalt.

Among Germanic tribes, the summer solstice was celebrated with pagan folk festivals that often included fire rituals.

After Christianization of the region, the Catholic Church tried to abolish the pagan solstice traditions – eventually designating the day for a memorial day for John the Baptist (June 24th), and adopting the fire as a symbol for Jesus Christ. 

Most of the original solstice traditions have been lost, but some are being reinvigorated for tourism, especially on the Baltic Sea coast.

More broadly, the long daylight hours experienced in the weeks before and after the summer solstice, offer a chance to stay out or do outdoor activities late into the evening. There are also a number of music festivals around Germany at this time of year.

READ ALSO: How to make the most of Germany’s long summer days

Use it like this:

Die Sonne geht so spät unter, es muss die Sommersonnenwende sein.

The sun is setting so late, it must be the summer solstice!

Haben Sie dieses Jahr Pläne, die Sommersonnenwende zu feiern?

Do you have plans to celebrate the summer soltice this year?

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