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Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...
. It is the seventh Sunday after
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
, which commemorates the descent of the
Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
upon Christ's disciples (as described in Acts 2). In England it took on some characteristics of Beltane, which originated from the pagan celebration of Summer's Day, the beginning of the summer half-year, in Europe. Whitsuntide, the week following Whitsunday, was one of three holiday weeks for the medieval villein; on most manors he was free from service on the lord's
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
this week, which marked a pause in the agricultural year.
Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. I ...
, the day after Whitsun, remained a holiday in Britain until 1971Banking and Financial Dealings Act, 1971, Schedule 1, para 1. when, with effect from 1972, it was replaced with the Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May. Whit was the occasion for varied forms of celebration. In the North West of England, church and chapel parades called whit walks still take place at this time (sometimes on Whit Friday, the Friday after Whitsun). Typically, the parades include brass bands and choirs; girls attending are dressed in white. Traditionally, Whit fairs (sometimes called Whitsun ales) took place. Other customs, such as Morris dancing, were associated with Whitsun, although in most cases they have been transferred to the Spring bank holiday. Whaddon, Cambridgeshire has its own Whitsun tradition of singing a unique song around the village before and on Whit Sunday itself.


Etymology

The name is a contraction of "White Sunday", attested in "the Holy Ghost, whom thou didst send on Whit-sunday" in the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
homilies, and parallel to the mention of in the early 13th-century '' Ancrene Riwle''. Walter William Skeat noted that the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
word also appears in Icelandic ''hvitasunnu-dagr'', but that in English the feast was called ''Pentecoste'' until after the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...
, when ''white'' () began to be confused with ''wit'' or understanding. According to one interpretation, the name derives from the white garments worn by catechumens, those expecting to be baptised on that Sunday. Moreover, in England white vestments, rather than the more usual red, were traditional for the day and its
octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
. A different tradition is that of the young women of the parish all coming to church or chapel in new white dresses on that day. However, Augustinian canon John Mirk (c. 1382–1414), of Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, had another interpretation:
Goode men and woymen, as ȝe knowen wele all, þys day ys called Whitsonday, for bycause þat þe Holy Gost as þys day broȝt wyt and wysdome ynto all Cristes dyscyples.
Thus, he thought the root of the word was "
wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks. Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack. For ...
" (formerly spelt "wyt" or "wytte") and Pentecost was so-called to signify the outpouring of the wisdom of the Holy Ghost on Christ's disciples. The following day is
Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. I ...
, a name coined to supersede the form ''Monday in Whitsun-week'' used by John Wycliffe and others. The week following Whit Sunday is known as " Whitsuntide" or "Whit week".


History

As the first holiday of the summer, Whitsun was one of the favourite times in the traditional calendar, and Whit Sunday, or the following week, was a time for celebration. This took the form of fêtes, fairs, pageants and parades, with Whitsun ales and Morris dancing in the south of England and Whit walks, Club Days and wakes in the north. A poster advertising the Whitsun festivities at Sunbury, Middlesex in 1778 listed the following attractions:
On Whit Monday, in the morning, will be a punting match...The first boat that comes in to receive a guinea...In the afternoon a gold-laced hat, worth 30s. to be cudgell'd for... On Whit Tuesday, in the morning, a fine Holland smock and ribbons, to be run for by girls and young women. And in the afternoon six pairs of buckskin gloves to be wrestled for.
In
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
during the 17th century the nearby
Kersal Moor Kersal Moor is a recreation area in Kersal, Greater Manchester, England which consists of eight hectares of moorland bounded by Moor Lane, Heathlands Road, St. Paul's Churchyard and Singleton Brook. Kersal Moor, first called Karsey or Carsall ...
Whit races were the great event of the year when large numbers of people turned the area into a giant fairground for several days. With the coming of industrialisation it became convenient to close down whole towns for a week in order to clean and maintain the machinery in the mills and factories. The week of closure, or wakes week, was often held at Whitsuntide. A report in John Harlan and T.T. Wilkinson's ''Lancashire Folk lore'' (1882) reads:
It is customary for the cotton mills etc., to close for Whitsuntide week to give the hands a holiday; the men going to the races etc. and the women visiting Manchester on Whit-Saturday, thronging the markets, the Royal Exchange and the Infirmary Esplanade, and other public places: And gazing in at the shop windows, whence this day is usually called 'Gaping Sunday'.
Whit Monday was officially recognised as a
bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or h ...
in the UK in 1871, but lost this status in 1972 when the fixed Spring Bank Holiday was created.


In literature

* 1485: Malory's ''
Le Morte D'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...
'' has the
Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
witness a divine vision of the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
on a Whitsunday, prompting their quest to find its true location. * 1607:
Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...
refers to "the Whitsun holy-days" in '' Michaelmas Term'' (IV.i.73). * 1611: In
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...
'' Perdita imagines that she plays "as I have seen them do / In Whitsun pastorals" (IV.iv.133-34). * 1617:
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
's '' Declaration of Sports'' encouraged " Whitsun ales", among other things, as soon as church was over on a
Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sund ...
. * 1633: George Herbert wrote a poem called "Whitsunday", first published in ''The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations''. * 1759-67: Laurence Sterne's novel ''
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', also known as ''Tristram Shandy'', is a novel by Laurence Sterne, inspired by '' Don Quixote''. It was published in nine volumes, the first two appearing in 1759, and seven others follow ...
'' contains several allusions to Whitsuntide. * 1785:
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709  – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
records in his ''Prayers and Meditations'' that "Between Easter and Whitsun-tide 773 . . . heattempted to learn the Low Dutch language."
James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the English writer ...
reproduces the remark in his '' Life of Samuel Johnson'' (1791). * 1787: ''The Whitsun Donative'' was an anonymous satirical pamphlet inspired by Sterne's '' Tristram Shandy''. * 1844: Whitsun is central to religious life in Swiss author
Jeremias Gotthelf Albert Bitzius (4 October 179722 October 1854) was a Swiss novelist; best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf. Biography Bitzius was born at Murten, where his father was pastor. The Bitzius family had once belonged to the Bernese patrici ...
's novel ''Money and Spirit''. * 1849:
Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...
's novel '' Shirley'' contains an episode set against a Whitsun-tide procession in which
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
parishioners are confronted by dissenters. * 1853:
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
sets a scene in the life of King
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
on "one Friday in Whitsun week" in '' A Child's History of England''. * 1853: Christina Rossetti wrote a poem called "Whitsun Eve", published posthumously in 1896. * 1875:
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
's posthumous collection '' The Uncommercial Traveller'' includes (in Chapter 21) a reflection on "one day in the Whitsun week last past". * 1875: In
Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
's book '' The Way We Live Now'' many of the aristocrats leave London and travel to their country estates, or those of their acquaintances, for the week of Whitsuntide. * 1896: H.G. Wells refers to Whitsun in "The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham", later included in '' The Country of the Blind and Other Stories''. * 1897: In H.G. Wells's '' The Invisible Man'', important events take place around Whit Monday and subsequent days. * 1916:
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
's novel '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' contains reference (in Chapter 2) to a Whitsuntide play at Stephen Dedalus's school, Belvedere College. * 1922:
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
's novel '' Ulysses'' contains four references to Whit Monday.
Leopold Bloom Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's 1922 novel '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/ Odysseus in Homer's ep ...
is stung by a bee on Whitmonday, 23 May 1904. * 1932:
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...
's short story " Ingots of Gold" references Whitsuntide and Whit Monday as clues in solving the crime. * 1936: In
Gladys Mitchell Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell (21 April 1901 – 27 July 1983) was an English writer best known for her creation of Mrs Bradley, the heroine of 66 detective novels. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Stephen Hockaby and Malcolm Torrie. Fêt ...
's Mrs Bradley detective novel ''Dead Men's Morris'' ( Michael Joseph, 1936, reprinted 1986) the story of the murders of an
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...
solicitor and his rival, a landowner, begins on Christmas Eve, and reaches its climax with a Morris dance performance on Whit-Monday. * 1938: In
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
's Brighton Rock, Hale is murdered on Whitsun, kicking off events in the novel. * 1950: The autobiographical novel
A Voice Through A Cloud ''A Voice Through a Cloud'' is an autobiographical novel by Denton Welch, who became a writer after a serious accident which had long-term effects on his health. The book describes his bicycle accident when he was an art student, and subsequen ...
by
Denton Welch Maurice Denton Welch (29 March 1915 – 30 December 1948) was a British writer and painter, admired for his vivid prose and precise descriptions. Life Welch was born in Shanghai, China, to Arthur Joseph Welch, a wealthy British rubber merchant, ...
concerns the author's near-fatal bike accident and its aftermath, which occurred on a Whitsun holiday. * 1957: Enid Blyton's ''
Five Go to Billycock Hill ''Five Go to Billycock Hill'' is the sixteenth novel in the ''Famous Five'' series by Enid Blyton. It was first published in 1957. Plot The Five are camping on Billycock Hill, near the farm of Toby, a boy who loves jokes and pranks. When To ...
'' is a novel in the Famous Five series of children's books set during a camping holiday at Whitsun. * 1961: Sylvia Plath wrote a poem called " Whitsun", published posthumously in 1971. * 1964: ''
The Whitsun Weddings ''The Whitsun Weddings'' is a collection of 32 poems by Philip Larkin. It was first published by Faber in the United Kingdom on 28 February 1964. It was a commercial success, by the standards of poetry publication, with the first 4,000 copie ...
'' is a poem and the title of a collection by Philip Larkin. * 1965: "Whitsunday in Kirchstetten" is a poem by W. H. Auden, from his collection '' About the House''. * 1973: Thomas Pynchon refers to Whitsun in his novel '' Gravity's Rainbow'' (section 2, 20). * 2010: In '' Washington: A Life'', a 2010 biography by Ron Chernow,
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
is said to have included a drinking allowance in an employment contract with one of his gardeners, allowing "two dollars at Whitsuntide to be drunk four days and four nights" (p. 135). * 2011: Several episodes in author Jeff Wheeler's ''Muirwood Trilogy'' revolve around Whitsunday and its significance and impact on Muirwood's inhabitants.


In film

* 1942: The Second World War film '' Went the Day Well?'' depicts the fictional takeover of an English village by Nazi soldiers over Whitsun weekend. * 1995: P.R.O.B.E: The Devil of Winterborne takes place over the Whitsun holiday.


See also

* Whitsun Ale (esp.,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
), a county fair with competitions, Morris dancing, and music, usually sponsored by a local pub or tavern. * Semik * Rusalii *
Counting of the Omer Counting of the Omer (, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira or the Omer) is an important verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days starting with the Wave Offering of a sheaf of ripe grain with a sacrifice immediately following ...


Notes

{{Pentecost, state = expanded May observances Pentecost Christian terminology Scottish quarter days Holidays based on the date of Easter Christian Sunday observances June observances