Blessing with holy water during an Eastern Orthodox Bright Week procession in Russia
In theEastern Orthodox Church andByzantine RiteCatholic Churches, 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 outdoorprocession after theDivine Liturgy. While this is prescribed for all days of Bright Week, often they are only celebrated on Monday and maybe a couple of other days in parish churches, especially in non-Orthodox countries.
Should the calendar date for thefeast day of a major saint (e.g.Saint George on April 23, or the patron saint of a church) or one'sname day fall withinHoly Week and Pascha itself, the feast is transferred to Easter Monday.[1][2]
In Austria and Southern Germany, there is the traditional "Emmausgang", commemorating the walk of thedisciples toEmmaus, to which Jesus followed them without being recognized.
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), a mandatory holiday for all employees, giving those workers an extra-long weekend in March or April. An exception to this rule is inQuebec, where employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday off to employees. Easter Weekend is the first provincial holiday after New Year's Day in provinces where Family Day, Islander Day, or Louis Riel Day are not observed.
Easter Monday in PolandEaster eggs from the Czech Republic
Śmigus-dyngus (orlany poniedziałek, Polish forWet Monday) is the name for Easter Monday in Poland and the diaspora. In the Czech Republic, it is calledvelikonoční pondělí, in Slovakiaveľkonočný pondelok and in HungaryVízbevető. All theseCatholic countries (and some others) practice the unique ancient custom on this day.[7] Traditionally, boys and men pour a bucket of water or perfume on girls and women or spank their buttocks and legs with long thin twigs (pussy willow) orswitches made fromwillow,birch or decorated tree branches. A legend says that it keeps 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 ofMasuria andMasovia.
In Egypt, the ancient festival ofSham Ennesim (Egyptian Arabic:شم النسيم, literally meaning "smelling of the breeze") is celebrated by theCoptic Orthodox Church (i.e.Eastern) Easter Monday, though the festival dates back toAncient Egypt times (about 2700 BC). It is an Egyptian national holiday. Traditional activities include painting eggshells of boiled eggs, taking meals outdoors, and eating boiled eggs, lettuce,fesikh (pickledmullet (fish)) with lemon and scallion.
In Germany, people go out into the fields early in the morning and holdEaster egg races.[8] For Roman Catholics, Easter Monday is also aHoly Day of Obligation in Germany.[9]
InIreland it is a day of remembrance for the men and women who died in theEaster Rising, which began on Easter Monday 1916. Until 1966, there was a parade of veterans, past the headquarters of theIrish Republican Army at the General Post Office (GPO) on O'Connell Street, and a reading of theProclamation of the Irish Republic.
In Italy, Easter Monday is an official public holiday and is called “Lunedì dell'Angelo” (“Monday of the Angel”), “Lunedì in Albis” or more commonly “Pasquetta”. It is customary to hold a family picnic in the countryside or have barbecues with friends.
In Spain, Easter Monday is an official public holiday inCatalonia, theLand of Valencia, theBalearic Islands,Navarre, theBasque Country,Cantabria, the village of Galvez, andLa Rioja.[12] In Catalonia, the Land of Valencia, and Murcia a feature of this day is a pastry calledEaster mona.[13] It is usually given by godparents to their godchildren, and it is traditional for families or groups of friends to gather for a trip somewhere, like the countryside, to eat themona.[14]
In the Netherlands, Easter Monday is an official public holiday.[15] Apart from church services in some locations in theDutch Bible Belt, there are no widespread festivities or traditions (aside from visiting the "meubelboulevard") for the "Second Easter Day" ("Tweede Paasdag").
Two children enjoy treats during the annualEaster egg roll at theWhite House lawn on Easter Monday, 1911
In the United States, Easter Monday is not a federal holiday[16] and there are few national observances apart from traditions such as theWhite House Easter egg roll.[17] On a local level, the day is informally observed in some areas, such asNorth Dakota and some cities inNew York,Michigan, andIndiana. Easter Monday was a public holiday inNorth Carolina 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 betweenNorth Carolina State College andWake Forest College.[18][19][failed verification]Texas andMaryland schools often have holidays onGood Friday and Easter Monday. In some states and districts, public schools and universities close on Easter Monday, often as part ofspring break.
Only England, Wales and Northern Ireland observe Easter Monday as abank holiday, with many large retailers being closed on Easter Monday.[23] It is not an official public holiday in Scotland, but might be locally observed, with large retailers being open; but with reduced opening hours.[24]
In South Africa, Easter Monday is the last day of the holy weekend. It is known asFamily Day and is a public holiday. After this day, people return to work and children to school, so it is a day of rest.[25][26]
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.[27]
^"Part IV".www.holytrinitymission.org. Archived fromthe original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved30 May 2021.
^Тvпико́нъ сіесть уста́въ [The Typicon which is the Order], Moscow: Сvнодальная тvпографiя, 1907, p. 468 (Title here transliterated into Russian; actually in Church Slavonic)
^Peeler, Tim (2 April 2013).The Easter Monday Baseball Game: North Carolina State and Wake Forest on the Diamond, 1899-1956. McFarland.ISBN978-0786474523.
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