In many German federal states, Reformation Day is celebrated on October 31, and All Saints' Day on November 1. These two holidays are non-working days in many German federal states. Shops and bakeries are closed or have limited opening hours.

Below we provide an overview of which federal states are working and which are not.

Reformation Day is celebrated on October 31 and is a non-working day in these German federal states:

Brandenburg

Bremen

Hamburg

Lower Saxony

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Saxony

Saxony-Anhalt

Schleswig-Holstein

Thuringia

November 1 is All Saints' Day and is a non-working day in these federal states:

Baden-Württemberg

Bavaria

North Rhine-Westphalia

Rhineland-Palatinate

Saarland

Hesse and Berlin are two federal states where both October 31 and November 1 are completely normal days, meaning there is no holiday.

On Tuesday, October 31, shops are closed in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.

On Wednesday, November 1, it is a non-working day in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

But there are exceptions: in some cities, shops at railway stations or airports may be open despite the holiday being a non-working day.

Bakeries may open for a maximum of five hours in the federal states where October 31 is a non-working day. In Bremen, bakeries are allowed to open for a period of three hours. In Saxony, bakeries may not open on Reformation Day.

Bakeries may open in the federal states where November 1 is a holiday.

In Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, bakeries may open for a maximum of three hours. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, bakeries may operate for a maximum of five hours.

The following applies to all bakeries: they decide for themselves when they open and close. It is best to find out the exact opening hours of your favorite bakery in advance.

Restaurants and cafés 

On both days, cafés and restaurants are open. However, November 1 is considered a quiet day and dancing is prohibited.

The dancing ban applies at these times on November 1 (All Saints' Day):

Baden-Württemberg: 3 a.m. to midnight

Bavaria: 2 a.m. to midnight

North Rhine-Westphalia: from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Rhineland-Palatinate: 3 a.m. to midnight

Saarland: 4 a.m. to midnight

This means that the music should be turned down at that time.

Source: fenix-magazin.de