When Germany introduced long-term care insurance, the states were to abolish one public holiday that always falls on a working day, to offset the cost to employers. A state that kept its holidays would have its employees pay a larger share of the contribution. In 1995 every state except Saxony gave up Buß- und Bettag, the Day of Repentance and Prayer. Saxony kept the day. In 2025, an employee with one child in Saxony pays 2.3 percent and the employer 1.3 percent. In the other states each side pays 1.8 percent.
Everyone in Saxony keeps the day off, and every employee there pays for it.