Pennsylvania Germans Have a State Holiday

Did you all celebrate? 

Cook up some pork and sauerkraut, fry some scrapple, cook bacon dressing and pour it over lettuce? Eat some gooey cinnamon buns or shoo-fly pie for dessert?

Celebrate? Celebrate what, you ask? 

Why yesterday, June 28, was Pennsylvania German Day. Don’t feet bad, I don’t think anyone else in Pennsylvania knew about it either—except the House of Representatives—and that's probably because the "creation" of Pennsylvania German Day has been a resolution since 1976.

I learned of this “holiday” yesterday afternoon when my son sent me an email all about it. He lives in Massachusetts and heard about it there! 

So,  here' s the official scoop: On June 24 at 1:27 p.m., the PA House of Representatives Resolution 347 PN 2149 was passed with a vote of 197-0, recognizing June 28, 2011 as Pennsylvania German Day.

Highlights of this resolution include:

• Thirteen families, invited by William Penn, settled in Germantown … and helped to build a fledgling nation
• German Americans were instrumental in writing the Declaration of Independence, so much so that the original version was printed in the German language
• Not only did German Americans campaign for the abolition of slavery, but during the Civil War … German-born men quickly responded to save the Union, forming regiments, including Pennsylvania-German regiments
• Today, 50,764,352 Americans, more than any other ancestry, proudly claim German heritage
• The act of June 29, 1976 (P.L.458, No113), provides for the observance of June 28 of each year as "Pennsylvania German Day" and authorizes the Governor "to issue a proclamation each year calling upon the people of the Commonwealth to each year commemorate the contributions of the Pennsylvania German people to the history and culture of the Commonwealth, and to observe that day with appropriate honors and ceremonies”
• The House of Representatives recognize June 28, 2011, as "Pennsylvania German Day" in Pennsylvania and call upon the citizens of this Commonwealth to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

Maybe next year someone in Pennsylvania will remember the 35-year resolution and “observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

Credits: Ken Navitsky Legislative Assistant State Rep. Douglas Reichley 134th District and Don Heminitz