When is Whit Monday?
Whit Monday, also known as Pentecost Monday is a public holiday in several countries on the Monday after Whitsunday. Also known as Pentecost or Whitsun, Whitsunday is observed fifty days (approx. seven weeks) after Easter and 10 days after Ascension.
It marks the end of the Easter cycle, which began 90 days ago with Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent.
Until fairly recently, Whit Monday was a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland. Until 1967, it was a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, when it was replaced by the 'spring bank holiday' on the last Monday in May.
It gets its English name for following "Whitsun", the day that became one of the three baptismal seasons.
The name "Whitsunday" is now generally attributed to the white garments formerly worn by the candidates for baptism on this feast.
The day commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament in Acts, 2.
The Holy Spirit allowed the apostles to speak in other languages, and they started preaching the word of Jesus to the Jews who come to Jerusalem for the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost). Saint Peter then delivered the first Christian sermon, which led to the conversion and baptism of 3,000 people. Many Christians recognize this event as the birth of the Church.
Based on the Holy Spirit bringing understanding and wisdom to the Apostles, some argue that Whitsunday may have its origins in the Anglo-Saxon word "wit", meaning "understanding".
The following day, Whit Monday (Pentecost Monday) is celebrated as a holiday in many European counties.
Whit Week
Whitsunday and the weekdays after it used to be as prominent in the calendar as Easter or Christmas. The custom began in medieval times when the Lord of the Manor would give his serfs a week's rest. That practice took hold and persisted in parts of Europe right through the Industrial Revolution.
The Catholic Encyclopedia explains the history of this major feast in the Church’s calendar.
Formerly the law courts did not sit during the entire week, and servile work was forbidden. A Council of Constance (1094) limited this prohibition to the first three days of the week. The Sabbath rest of Tuesday was abolished in 1771, and in many missionary territories also that of Monday; the latter was abrogated for the entire Church by Pius X in 1911. Still, as at Easter, the liturgical rank of Monday and Tuesday of Pentecost week is a Double of the First Class.
In England, a holiday at the time of Whitsun was readily adopted, as it had long been observed as Beltane, the beginning of summer; one of the ancient, quarterly, Gaelic festivals which marked the year, roughly aligned with the beginning of the four seasons.
Beltane was a time when cattle were driven out to pasture. The advent of warmer weather inspired bonfires, feasts and a variety of games and contests to greet the forthcoming summer days. These activities were absorbed into Pentecost as each country adopted Christianity.
As the first holiday of the summer, Whit Week was filled with outdoor activities. There were boat races, foot races, wrestling and boxing matches, pageants, fairs, walks, special songs, and Morris dances across the British Isles. There were parades that remained annual events in places like Manchester into modern times.
While Whitsuntide first had been a pause in agricultural activity, the industrial era also adapted to the custom. Factories were closed during the week for cleaning and commercial activity curtailed. Women, dressed in white, often went on shopping excursions as the men concentrated on games and drinking.
Every day of the week after Pentecost came to be called "Whit," and when Bank Holidays were introduced into the United Kingdom by the Bank Holiday Act of 1871, Whit Monday was one of the first British Bank Holidays, forming what was known as Whit Weekend, remaining so until it was replaced by the Spring bank holiday. For children, Whit Week was a week off school, and is the origin of what is now the UK half-term holiday.
Holiday Spirit Monday
The holiday is celebrated in the Orthodox Church as Pentecost or Holy Spirit Monday. The date in the Orthodox church calendar will differ from the Western church due to the different methods of calculating the date of Easter.
