The Day of the German-speaking Community is a holiday in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

celebrated on 15 November each year. It is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

for the

German-speaking Community of Belgium The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...

but it is not celebrated elsewhere in the country. The equivalents of the other communities are the

Day of the Flemish Community The Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium ( nl, Feestdag van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap) is an annual commemoration in the Flemish Community in Belgium on 11 July which marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (''Guldensporenslag'') i ...

(11 July) and the Day of the French-speaking Community (27 September). The ceremony coincides with the

King's Feast The King's Feast ( nl, Koningsdag, french: Fête du Roi, german: Festtag des Königs) has been celebrated in Belgium on November 15 since 1866. Since 2001, the Belgian Federal Parliament has held a ceremony in honor of the King, in the presence of ...

History

The German-speaking Community measures over 853 km² (329 sq miles) in the Belgian region of

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, and is made up of two territories consisting of nine municipalities. This territory roughly covers the former

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

districts (''Kantone'') of Eupen, Malmedy and Sankt Vith (Saint-Vith). The East Cantons (''Ostkantone'') were part of the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

until 1920, but were annexed by Belgium following Germany's defeat in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the subsequent

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

. Today Malmédy is not part of the German-speaking Community. In 1989, there was a call for proposals for a flag and arms for the Community. In the end the coat of arms of the Community was designed by merging the arms of the

Duchy of Limburg The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an Enclave and exclave, excla ...

and the

Duchy of Luxemburg The Duchy of Luxemburg ( nl, Luxemburg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg; lb, Lëtzebuerg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg, now Duke of Limburg, becam ...

, to which the two parts of the community belonged before Belgian independence. A decree adopted on 1 October 1990 and published on 15 November 1990 prescribed the arms, the flag, the colours and the Community day, which was to be celebrated on 15 November.Coat of Arms and Flag of the German-speaking Community
Here is an English translation of the original version of the decree:

Article 1. The Day of the German-speaking Community shall be celebrated every year on 15 November.
Article 2. The German-speaking Community shall bear the following arms: * In silver a red lion together with nine blue
cinquefoil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...
s, surmonted by a royal crown. * The flag of the German-speaking Community shall show on a white field a red lion together with nine blue cinquefoils. * The colours of the German-speaking Community shall be white and red in a horizontal arrangement. Article 3. The flag of the German-speaking Community shall be hoisted on 15 November on the official buildings of the German-speaking area (''Gebiet'') of Belgium; outside this area, it shall be hoisted on the buildings which, because of their use, are ascribed to the German-speaking Community or are temporarily put at its disposal. In the German-speaking area of Belgium, the flag shall be further hoisted on the administrative buildings under the same conditions and on the same days as the Belgian national flag.

Source
Official website of the German-speaking Community

References

{{Reflist November observances

German-speaking German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

German-speaking Community of Belgium

History

See also

References