Whit Monday

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Whit Monday

Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the

liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In the Catholic Church
, it is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, marking the resumption of Ordinary Time.

Whit Monday gets its English name from "

Whitsunday", an English name for Pentecost, one of the three baptismal seasons. The origin of the name "Whit Sunday" is generally attributed to the white garments formerly worn by those newly baptized on this feast.[1]

Observance

Pentecost is always on a Sunday and is therefore usually a non-working day. That said, the Monday after Pentecost is a

. In many of these countries, Whit Monday is known as "the second day of Pentecost" or "the second Whitsun".

In France, it became a work day for many workers from 2005 to 2007. This was to raise extra funds following the government's lack of preparation for a summertime heat wave, which led to a shortage of proper health care for the elderly.

Roman Catholics.[4] It is celebrated in South Tyrol, and for its capital city Bolzano
it replaces the holiday of the local patron saint celebrated elsewhere in Italy.

Until 1973, Whit Monday was a

Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May in 1971.[5] It was also a public holiday in various former British colonies, especially in the Pacific. It remains a public holiday in some of the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean. In Sweden, Whit Monday was a public holiday until 2004; it was replaced by the National Day of Sweden in 2005.[6]

Although Whit Monday is a civil holiday in many countries, it was not a Catholic religious holiday any more than the other weekdays that follow

solemnities
(these would be local solemnities in that case).

However, in February 2018,

Mary, Mother of the Church" to be celebrated throughout the universal Church.[8]

Observance in Eastern Orthodoxy

In the Eastern Orthodox Church Whit Monday is known as "Monday of the Holy Spirit" or "Day of the Holy Spirit" and is the first day of the afterfeast of Pentecost, being dedicated specifically to the honor of God the Holy Spirit and particularly in commemoration of his descent upon the apostles at Pentecost. The day following is known as Third Day of the Trinity.[9] In the services on the Monday of the Holy Spirit many of the same hymns are sung as on the day of Pentecost itself. During the Divine Liturgy the Deacon intones the same introit as on the day of Pentecost, and the dismissal is the same as on the day of Pentecost. Special canons to the Holy Spirit are chanted at Compline and Matins.

See also

References

External links