Introduction
The paper will examine Germany’s culture and include various different aspects of the overall countries circumstances. One of the economically most successful European countries will be presented through the aspects of political makeup and background of the political system, the most important holidays and celebrations, their religion, art and architecture, the country’s customs and practices and their cultural contributions to a global society. One of the most successful countries in the world has a specific culture, customs and practices in which the diverse art and architectural designs can be found from different periods in history.
Political system in Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany with capital Berlin is a western European country with a parliamentary democracy. It is divided in 16 different states - Länder. The Basic law determines which issues are under the jurisdiction of the federal government and which under the federal states. The country has a federal system where state governments have the authority over spending, taxation, policing and education. The lower house of parliament – Bundestag has 631 seats and is elected by the German people. Elections in Bundestag happen every four years. The executive power is in the hands of Federal Cabinet and federal legislative power in the upper and lower house. The Bundestag chooses the head of government – the chancellor. Current Chancellor since the year 2005 is Angela Markel. In the federal parliamentary democracy, the head of state has ceremonial role and reserve powers. The parties are very important in the political system. Bundesrat is the lower house and represents the federal state. It consists of representatives of the federal state governments. The number of votes the states get is decided based on the size of the population, and ranges from 3 to 6 (Deutchland.de, n. d.).
Based on the Freedom House (2015) Germany is free from corruption and has been ranked on the 12 place out of 175 ranked countries in 2014 in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. In the state, the political system safeguards the expression of freedom with free media, newspaper and the internet. The hate speech in public is punishable and is especially concerned with the racists and anti-Semitism hate speech. Based on the historical background it is illegal to promote or glorify Hitler’s ideology, advocate Nazism or deny the Holocaust. The system protects the freedom of belief. Some states have passed laws which prohibit teachers to wear headscarf. Germany has been ranked as the country that has the best civil liberties and political rights (Freedom House, 2015).
Country’s customs and practices
Holidays and celebrations
The first public holiday is on the 1 January – the New Year’s Day. In Germany the New Year’s Eve is not a public holiday but there are, as all around the world, at midnight fireworks and celebrations. In the country are many holidays of Christian origin. The most important is Christmas Eve – Heiligabend, where families are joined to celebrate the birth of Christ and to decorate trees (Research in Germany, n.d.). Christmas is the main annual celebration and even prior the celebration, numerous Christmas markets can be found around the country with the pre-Christmas festivals. One of the most famous one is in the Nurnberg where you can try wine, gingerbread along with spicy cakes. The Christmas decoration, along with advent calendars for children are seen prior to the celebration. The most important celebration of children is beside the Christmas also 5th of December when St. Nicolaus brings sweets or twigs. On the 24th fourth of December the families attend the midnight mass. Celebrations are held on the last December which is not a public holiday. Epiphany is on the 6th of January and celebrates the three kings. On that day people dress up and are collecting money from door to door. On various houses the CMB letters can be seen, which are given by the three kings and mean Christ bless this house. It is the most successfully charity in Germany. After that, various carnivals follow with the Easter, where chocolate eggs and rabbits are present all around. Various religious and nonreligious festivals and annual fairs are held through the year (Tomalin, 2015).
Germany has nine national public holidays on which days the shops, offices, agencies, schools and others are closed. Beside the New Year’s Day the public holidays are also on the Friday before Easter, Easter Monday, the first May as a labor day, where fires are held, Ascension, Whit Monday, 3 October - the Day of German Unity, 25 and 26 December Christmas and Boxing Day. Since Germany is a home to diverse nationalities there are various international festivals held. Multicultural country celebrates various festivals, typical for Turks, Greeks, Italians, Poles, Russians, Croatians and others. The country is big and in every region there are special regional celebrations and ceremonies. The most important are the Carnivals, wine and beer festivals where the most known is Oktoberfest in Munich. The most known regional public holidays in the country are Epiphany, which is a Festival of the Three Kings, Corpus Christi, Assumption of Mary, Reformation Day and 1st November with the All Saints’ Day. The diversity of Germany is showing in different festivals and celebrations in different parts of regions (Research in Germany, n.d.).
Religion
German is a secular state where state and religion are separated. There are 34% Protestants, 34% Roman Catholic, 3.7% Muslim and 28.3% other and unaffiliated (CIA World Factbook, n. d.). The majority of the population is therefore Christian religion. The devotion to the religion is similar as in other European countries, but there is a state subsidy to the church. The mandatory Church tax – Kirchensteuer is 8% of the one’s income for religious communities in the region and the state of Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg and in other parts of the country 9%. It does not matter whether you are churchgoer or not, you are liable for tax (Tomalin, 2015).
In Germany the most important religious holidays are officially recognized and are Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Christmas and St. Stephen Day’s. The religious holidays of minorities in the country are not officially recognized. In regards to the religion the most important ceremonies are baptisms, confirmations, communions, weddings and funerals. There is no need for the religious group to register, but there are benefits from it such as limited degree of tax-exemption. The religious tolerance is high, but there is some harassment of Jews from neo-Nazi and extreme right-wing groups. In the light of the immigration the Muslims face a large degree of hostility. The beliefs of the population that have in 2006 at 91% linked Islam to the oppression of women, another 71% believed the Islam is intolerant and 62% believed that there will always be a conflict between the majority Christian religion and Islam (World Trade Press, 2010). Based on the Gatestone Institute (2016), the Germany’s Muslim population drastically increased by around 850.000 in the year 2015. The estimated Muslim population was at six million, which is the result of the migrants coming from the Middle Eastern countries. The rising rate of the Muslim population is perceived to be 1.6% per year. Based on the Berlesmann Foundation, 57% of the Germans in 2015 believed that Islam is threatening the traditional German society and that it does not fit in the Western world (Gatestone Institute, 2016).
Art and architecture
A long cultural history of the country is shown in various different arts and architectural styles. In the country various different architecture styles from different time periods can be found. German art can be seen in cathedrals and churches, museums, architecture, sculptures and paintings. Diversity is seen from Antiquity, Romanesque, Gothic period, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, Classism, Historism and contemporary and modern architecture. From the Antiquity the remains of architecture of Romans can be observed with building with stones and bricks. Next period is the early medieval architecture, build in times of fall of Roman Empire from 11th to 13th century. The typical Romanesque monuments are one of the most distinctive styles easily to recognize. After the Gothic style with pointed arches is seen across the country. At this time the higher buildings appeared with glass windows and walls. The cultural importance is seen also from various different sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites where various different sites are protected from different period of time and different architecture. The diversity of architecture can be best observed in the historic cities. The modern and contemporary architecture that has the most influence was the design Bauhaus with the use of steel. The country is known for the poets, philosophers, composers, painters and architects. Different art can be observed from prior mentioned time periods (The Historic Highlights of Germany, n. d.).
Overall cultural contribution to a global world society
Germany had and still does contribute to a global world society with its culture under which language, art architecture, music and food come to. In the postwar decades Germany aim was to replace the memory of horrors with resuming external contacts and language teaching. The German language is the most spoken language in Europe. With the building techniques the German architecture can be seen in many European countries and colonizing countries around the world. German has become one of the most important languages in the western part of the world beside English. Germany has contributed to the world culture with the arts, literature, philosophy, innovation and technology. In the literature are the most known Karl Marx and Engels Friedrich studies all around the world. One of the most known composers were born and worked in the country from Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, van Beethoven and others. Cultural and technological development has the roots in this European country. With the technological improvements the country is known all around the world and with it is culture and costumes. Today Germany represents the multicultural of various different cultures and is open and has received numerous immigrants and is trying to assimilate them. The German culture of innovation and business is contributing to the reputation of the whole European Union.
One of the most important contributors of Germany in promoting knowledge of German language in the country and abroad is the Goethe Institute (n. d.). It is involved with the cultural cooperation, share information of German’s culture, politics and social issues. With this the mutual understanding of different cultures is being enhanced. Cultural institute is promoting cultural exchange on the global level.
Conclusion
The research paper examined the culture of Germany with various aspects considered. The country culture is shaped by its federal political systems, one of the most known Chancellors in the world and liberal politics. In Germany there are various holidays of which many of them are religious. Through the year there are less than 10 days of public holidays and days on which almost everything is closed. The country is known for its carnivals, celebrations, festivals and markets that are in majority regional. The diversity of population and culture is resulting also in the area of celebrations. The most widespread is a Christian religion, where around 70% of the populations are identified with Protestants and Catholics. In the recent event of the uprisings in the Arab world and in the Middle East the increase religious intolerance was seen. German politics of acceptance of immigrants have raised various concerns among the citizens. The long history of Europe and Germany is showing in the architecture that is very diverse. All in all Germany is contributing a lot to the cultural global society thorough various different aspects.
Work cited
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