296. In Germany, the last four weeks before Christmas are called …

Answer options

1. the Day of Repentance and Prayer.
2. the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival.
3. the Advent season.
4. All Saints’ Day.

Explanation

The Advent season denotes the four Sundays preceding December 25 in the liturgical year and shapes many German customs (Advent wreath, Advent calendar, Christmas markets), but is not a state holiday per se. Constitutionally, Article 4 of the Basic Law protects freedom of religion, while Article 140 GG in conjunction with Article 139 of the Weimar Constitution safeguards Sundays and public holidays as days of rest and spiritual elevation; the designation of specific public holidays lies primarily with the Länder (states). Hence the historically and federally conditioned diversity: the Day of Repentance and Prayer has been a day off only in Saxony since 1995; All Saints’ Day is a statutory holiday in several (predominantly Catholic) Länder; the harvest thanksgiving festival is ecclesiastical rather than civil.