Today, Germans can once again enjoy a day off, on which many families are sure to do something. But if the theologians wanted to do it, then Whit Monday should be abolished in the future. Instead, theologian Christiane Thiele proposes to replace Whit Monday with a Jewish festival.
Christiane Thiele has definitely made the headlines with her request. Because the theologian wants to abolish Whit Monday in the future and replace it with a holiday for a Jewish festival. Because Whit Monday is not only a central day for Christians worldwide. The citizens of other faiths in Germany are of course happy about this holiday once a year. This is especially so because this always results in an extended weekend. Why does the theologian now want to abolish this holiday? In an interview with “Deutschlandfunk”, the theologian suggests that you do not use Whit Monday and instead set the Jewish reconciliation festival Yom Kippur as a national holiday. Thiel continues to advocate holidays, but these should not necessarily be Christian. Thiel would therefore like to give Christian holidays in order to give other religions space to celebrate their holidays. Her colleague Friedrich Wilhelm Graf also proposes the highest holiday in Judaism, the Reconciliation Festival, to be included in the holiday calendar instead of Whit Monday.
Theologian explains why the Pentecost month is being discussed. From her point of view, Thiele. It is said that Whit Monday, like Easter Monday, is of no religious importance. Because this holiday comes from feudalism. “Then the working slaves were allowed to go to worship. Or run home, mostly they ran home, the maids and the servants – in one day. That would really be a sign, regardless of whether we can do anything with God, ”explains theologian Thiele. “All people would live on reconciliation – and that could be well expressed with such a holiday,” says Thiele in an interview on “Deutschlandfunk”. From their point of view, it is important that people consciously take breaks. Holidays are helpful, but they do not have to be explicitly religious.
