Dig This: Germans Celebrate Their Unity by Planting Trees

On 3 October, Germany has introduced a new tradition for its national holiday – tree planting. Thousands of Germans put on rubber boots and rolled up their sleeves to join the activity proposed by Schleswig-Holstein, one of the 16 German states.

Some 30.000 trees were planted in the first round of “Einheitsbuddeln” (Unity Digging), another 80.000 were donated and will be planted during the next few weeks.

In total, more than 110.000 new trees will grow now as a monument to the German Unity Day 2019. The organizers hope that this number will increase each year until it reaches 83 million – one tree for every person in Germany. While countries like Ireland or the Netherlands have well-established traditions for their national holidays, there was no tradition for German Unity Day up to now. The relatively new holiday commemorates the German reunification in 1990.