Easter Monday follows Easter Sunday and is a public holiday in most countries. It is celebrated as the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it is contemplated as the second day of the Octave of Easter. In Eastern Christianity, it is celebrated as the second day of Bright Week. April is the start of a series of public holidays celebrated across the world. Christians celebrate Easter Monday each year in the remembrance of Jesus.
Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches, Easter Monday is called “Bright Monday” or “Renewal Monday”. The services, as in the rest of Bright Week, are quite different from the rest of the year and are similar to the services on Pascha (Easter Sunday) and include an outdoor procession after the Divine Liturgy.
While this is specified for all days of that week, often they are only commemorated on Monday and maybe other days in parish churches, especially in non-Orthodox countries. When the calendar date of the feast day of a major saint, George or the patron saint of a church or one’s name day, recedes during Holy Week or on Easter Sunday, the saint’s day is commemorated on Easter Monday.
Why Is Easter Monday Celebrated?
The Bible doesn’t describe anything about what happened on Easter Monday, after Jesus’ resurrection. Bible also doesn’t specifically instruct Christians to commemorate Easter Monday. Good Friday is a Christian vacation in the privilege of Jesus Christ. According to biblical accounts, Jesus was imprisoned by the Temple Guards after being deceived by Judas. Judas was his 12 followers. After detention, Jesus Christ was interrogated which directed to him being accused of irreligion. Finally, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion. This directed to the cross is a symbol of the Christian belief.
Easter Monday Quotes
“The resurrection of Jesus is the most amazing miracle of all time. It is well documented that not only one person saw Him but hundreds.”
Catherine Pulsifer
“Let’s walk with him. Let’s see how Jesus spent his final days. Enter the holy week and observe. Feel his passion. Since his power. Hear his promise that death has no power.”
Max Lucado
“We celebrate Good Friday each year. We call it “good” now, but two thousand years ago, on the day when Jesus was crucified, it didn’t look like a good Friday.”
Joel Osteen
“And Easter, the most important church festival, offers the perfect opportunity to examine the relationship between the spiritual and the secular, the sacred and the profane, and between humanity and God.”
Michael Arditti
Easter Monday Hashtags & Tweets
Easter Monday Celebrations
Australia
In Australia, Easter Monday is a public vacation. Some people enjoy outside events, such as the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival in South Australia, and the Stawell Gift in Victoria. Moreover, a traditional AFL match between Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks at the MCG is also organized each year. Since 2014, The NRL has governed the Easter Monday match between the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers at Stadium Australia. Also, there had been the Australian Three Peaks Race in Tasmania until 2011.
Canada
Easter Monday is the day following Easter Sunday and is a public holiday for national employees. Although not necessary by federal legislation, some employers also give this day off to workers out of common practice. Additionally, this holiday obtains Good Friday (the Friday preceding Easter). It is a mandatory holiday for all employees, giving them an additional long weekend in March or April. In many regions where Family Day, Islander Day, or Louis Riel Day are not celebrated yet, Easter Weekend is the first public holiday after New Year’s Day.
Egypt
In Egypt, the historical festival of Sham Nessim (Arabic: شم النسيم, meaning “smelling of the breeze”) is commemorated on the Easter Monday, though the celebration dates back to Pharaonic times (about 2700 BC). It is an Egyptian federal holiday. Egyptians observed this holiday by painting eggs, taking meals outdoors, and eating feseekh (fermented mullet).
The Netherlands
In The Netherlands Easter Monday is an official common vacation. There is only church assistance in some areas on the Dutch “bible belt” for observing this day. Moreover, there are no broad celebrations or rituals for the “Second Easter Day”.
Spain
In Spain, Easter Monday is an official public holiday in the dominant constituencies of Catalonia, the Land of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Navarre, the Basque Autonomous Community, Cantabria, Castilla–La Mancha, and La Rioja. In Catalonia, the Land of Valencia, and Murcia there is typically a kind of cake called Easter mona. It’s usually offered by godparents to their godchild. It is a ritual for families or groups of friends to come together and to go to the countryside, to eat the mona.
Also, visit Passover- History, Traditions, and Special Meals
