New year’s eve – December 31 this year falls on Thursday, a working day. Therefore, supermarkets and grocery stores will mostly be open. New Years Eve is not a public holiday. However, there are special rules regarding the opening times of stores on this day. It differs in the federal states.
∎ Shops in Bavaria and Saar may be open on 31 December from 6 am to 8 pm. However, the shops themselves have the right to close earlier, which they must inform buyers about in advance.
∎ In Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate, shops are open from 6:00 to 22:00.
∎ In Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, shops are open on New Year’s Eve from 0.00 to 24.00 hours.
∎ In Hesse, Thuringia and Bremen, shopping will be possible until 14:00.
Official opening hours are a framework for business opportunities. On New Year’s Eve, shops may open later or close earlier. Most supermarkets and discounters close at 13 or 14 hours on 31 December. Many start working as early as 6 am.
Important: due to restrictive measures and strict quarantines this year, stores may work on a different schedule, in accordance with regional rules introduced in a particular region.
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