About Sunday of the Dead
The Protestant holy day of Totensonntag (sometimes referred to as Ewigkeitssonntag) marks the last Sunday of the year according to the liturgical calendar. It’s also an important day of the year for remembering the dead and honouring departed family members.
It is celebrated on the last Sunday of the church year (the Sunday before Advent).
In 1816, Totensonntag became a regional religious holiday in the German Kingdom of Prussia. That year, the King of Prussia demanded a Lutheran holiday for honouring the dead.
King Frederick William III originally wanted an occasion to remember the soldiers lost in the War of Liberation, which was fought in 1813. The king also wanted a yearly day when he could mourn his late wife, the Queen of Prussia, who had died in 1810.
Gradually, Lutheran churches across the rest of Germany began to observe the holiday by honouring the dead.
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