Pentecost
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Pentecost
A Christian holiday celebrated 50 days after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.
An Pfingsten machen wir immer einen Ausflug mit der ganzen Familie.
At Pentecost, we always take a trip with the whole family.
Similar to 'Ostern' (Easter) or 'Weihnachten' (Christmas), with 'Pfingsten' (Pentecost) you can leave out the preposition 'an' when saying when something happens. Both forms are correct.
Wir besuchen meine Großeltern Pfingsten.
We are visiting my grandparents at Pentecost.
In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, 'Pfingstmontag' (Whit Monday) is a public holiday. For most people, 'Pfingsten' (Pentecost) therefore means a long weekend.
Da der Pfingstmontag frei ist, können wir einen Kurzurlaub machen.
Since Whit Monday is a day off, we can take a short vacation.
Common expressions are 'frohe Pfingsten wünschen' (to wish someone a happy Pentecost) or the question 'Was machst du über Pfingsten?' (What are you doing over Pentecost?). The preposition 'über' emphasizes the duration of the holidays here.
Wir wünschen euch allen frohe Pfingsten!
We wish you all a happy Pentecost!
Ascension / suicide mission
'die Himmelfahrt' and 'das Pfingsten' are both Christian holidays and fall after Easter in the calendar. For that reason, learners can easily confuse them. 'Himmelfahrt' means the taking up of Jesus Christ into heaven and is a public holiday in Germany. 'Pfingsten' comes later and commemorates the Holy Spirit. A practical tip: Ascension is a single public holiday, while Pentecost is the holiday with Pentecost Sunday and Whit Monday.
Zu Pfingsten besucht Maria ihre Eltern für ein langes Wochenende.
At Pentecost, Maria visits her parents for a long weekend.
An Christi Himmelfahrt haben viele Menschen in Deutschland frei.
On Ascension Day, many people in Germany have the day off.