Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter, and in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Bright Week.

Religious observances

Eastern Christianity

In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

and

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours ar ...

Catholic Churches The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

, this day is called "Bright Monday" or "Renewal Monday". The services, as in the rest of Bright Week, are quite different from during the rest of the year and are similar to the services on Pascha (Easter Sunday) and include an outdoor procession after the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

; while this is prescribed for all days of that week, often they are only celebrated on Monday and maybe a couple of other days in parish churches, especially in non-Orthodox countries. Also, when the calendar date of the feast day of a major saint, ''e.g.'', St. George or the patron saint of a church or one's

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of ...

, falls during Holy Week or on Easter Sunday, the saint's day is celebrated on Easter Monday.

National observances

Australia

In Australia, Easter Monday is a public holiday. Some people enjoy outdoor sporting events, such as the

Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival is a horse-racing meeting held over two days by the Oakbank Racing Club at the Oakbank Racecourse located in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The carnival is a mixture of flat and jumping races with between ...

in South Australia, and the Stawell Gift in Victoria, as well as a traditional AFL match between Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks at the MCG. Since 2014, The NRL have held the Easter Monday match (NRL) between the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers match at

Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Sta ...

. Australian Three Peaks Race in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

until 2011.

Austria

In Austria and Southern Germany, there is the traditional " Emmausgang", commemorating the walk of the

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in ...

to Emmaus, to which Jesus followed them without being recognized.

Canada

Easter Monday (french: Le Lundi de Pâques) is the Monday immediately following Easter Sunday and is a statutory holiday for federal employees. Although not mandatory by federal regulation, some employers also give this day off to employees out of common practice. Additionally, this holiday succeeds Good Friday (the Friday preceding Easter), which is a mandatory holiday for all employees, giving those workers an extra long weekend in March or April. An exception to this rule is in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, where employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday off to employees. In provinces where Family Day, Islander Day, or Louis Riel Day are not observed, Easter Weekend is the first provincial holiday after New Year's Day.

Central Europe

Lednica Górna Siuda Baba 2015-04-06 303a

050319 Trhovy Stepanov Velikonocni vystava 01

'' Śmigus-dyngus'' (or ''lany poniedziałek'', Polish for ''Wet Monday'') is the name for Easter Monday in Poland and the diaspora. In the Czech Republic it is called ''velikonoční pondělí'', in Slovakia ''veľkonočný pondelok'' and in Hungary ''Vízbevető''. All these

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

countries (and some others) practice the unique ancient custom on this day. Traditionally, boys and men pour a bucket of water or perfume on girls and women and/or spank their buttocks and legs with long thin twigs ( pussy willow) or switches made from willow, birch or decorated tree branches. A legend says that it keep women healthy, beautiful, and fertile during the whole next year. Another related custom, unique to Poland, is that of sprinkling bowls (garce) of ashes on people or houses, celebrated a few weeks earlier at the "półpoście". This custom is almost forgotten, but still practiced in the area around the borders of Masuria and Masovia.

Egypt

In Egypt, the ancient festival of Sham Ennessim ( ar, شم النسيم, literally meaning "smelling of the breeze") is celebrated on the Coptic (i.e. Eastern) Easter Monday, though the festival dates back to Pharonic times (about 2700 BC). It is an Egyptian national holiday. Traditional activities include painting eggs, taking meals outdoors, and eating feseekh (fermented mullet).

Germany

In Germany, people go out into the fields early in the morning and hold Easter egg races. For Roman Catholics, Easter Monday is also a Holy Day of Obligation in Germany.

Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland it is a day of remembrance for the men and women who died in the Easter Rising which began on Easter Monday 1916. Until 1966, there was a parade of veterans, past the headquarters of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief t ...

at the General Post Office (GPO) on O'Connell Street, and a reading of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

Italy

In Italy, Easter Monday is an official public holiday and is called “Pasquetta”. It is customary to prepare a family picnic in the countryside or barbecues with friends.

New Zealand

In New Zealand it is a National Public Holiday. Schools often extend the weekend to the Tuesday to give students a 5-day break.

Spain

In Spain, the Easter Monday is an official public holiday in the autonomous communities of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, the Land of Valencia, Balearic Islands, Navarre, the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. I ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the ea ...

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, , ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, it was created in 1982. The government headquarters are in Toledo, and ...

and

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a ...

. In Catalonia, the Land of Valencia and Murcia is typical a kind of cake called

Easter mona The Easter mona ( es, Mona de Pascua; ca, Mona de Pasqua) is a Spanish kind of cake that is usually in all country, especially in eaten on Easter Sunday or Easter Monday in the Spanish regions of Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia. In other Spanis ...

. It's usually given by godparents to their godchild and it is a tradition for families or groups of friends to gather together and to go somewhere, specially to the countryside, to eat the ''mona''.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands Easter Monday is an official public holiday. Apart from church services in some locations in the Dutch "bible belt", there are no widespread festivities or traditions for the "Second Easter Day" ("Tweede Paasdag").

United States

In the United States, Easter Monday is not a federal holiday, and is generally not observed on a nationwide level, apart from a few traditions such as the

White House Easter egg roll Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs. History In Christianity, for the celebration of East ...

. On a local level, the day is informally observed in some areas such as the state of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...

, and some cities in New York,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. Easter Monday was a public holiday in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

from 1935 to 1987, due to the early-20th-century tradition of state government workers taking the day off to attend the annual baseball game between North Carolina State College and Wake Forest College.

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

schools often have two holidays on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Ho ...

and Easter Monday. In some states and districts, public schools and universities are closed on Easter Monday, often part of spring break.

Dyngus Day

Traditionally Polish areas of the United States observe Easter Monday as Dyngus Day. Dyngus Day celebrations are widespread and popular in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

;

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

;

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

; Wyandotte and Hamtramck in

; South Bend and La Porte in

; and Hanover, New Hampshire.

United Kingdom

Three of the four

countries of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Nor ...

have Easter Monday as a bank holiday: England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In Leicestershire, England, the people of Hallaton hold a

bottle-kicking Bottle-kicking is an old Leicestershire custom that takes place in the village of Hallaton each Easter Monday. It is an outdoor sport played across a mile-long playing area, in which two teams attempt to move a wooden barrel (known as a "bottle ...

match and Hare Pie Scramble.

South Africa

In South Africa, Easter Monday is the last day of the holy weekend. It is known as Family Day and is a public holiday. After this day, people return to work and children to school, so it is a day of rest.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, Easter Monday is celebrated. It is a public holiday. After this day, people return to work and children to school, so it is a day of rest.

References

External links