What is Catholic Easter?
Catholic Easter is the Western date of Easter, observed by the Catholic Church and by most Protestant churches. Belarus, where the majority of believers are Orthodox and a significant minority are Catholic, lists both the Orthodox and the Catholic Easter among its holidays, so the Western date appears in the Belarusian calendar even though it is not the date of the largest church. The date is also the reference for the other movable feasts in the Western calendar, such as Ash Wednesday, Ascension and Pentecost. In Belarus, the Catholic community is concentrated in the west of the country.
For Catholics, Easter Sunday follows Holy Week and the Easter Vigil, the long Saturday-night liturgy in which the paschal candle is lit and new members are baptised. Customs include the blessing of food baskets in Catholic communities in Belarus and Poland, decorated eggs, and family meals with lamb or ham. Catholic Belarusians, many of them of Polish descent, keep the Western date as a family and parish occasion. Churches in Minsk, Grodno and other towns hold Easter Vigil services in the evening of Holy Saturday and festive Masses on the Sunday morning.
Why it is observed
The Gregorian reform of 1582, promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII, corrected the drift of the Julian calendar against the seasons and revised the method for calculating Easter. Catholic countries adopted it quickly, while Protestant countries did so over the following two centuries, and Orthodox churches kept the older method for Easter. Belarus's recognition of both dates reflects its religious make-up and its long history within Polish, Lithuanian and Russian states. In years when the Western and Orthodox calculations lead to the same Sunday, the two holidays fall on the same day.
How the date is set
Catholic Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March, using the Gregorian calendar and the church's tables for the moon. It falls between 22 March and 25 April. Orthodox Easter is calculated on the Julian calendar and in most years falls on a different date.
How it is observed
In Belarus, Catholic Easter appears in the holiday list alongside Orthodox Easter and, in recent years, Catholic Christmas, giving Catholics a day off on their own calendar. The practical details for any given year are set by the government. In other countries Easter Sunday is simply a Sunday, with Easter Monday as the extra day off. Pay, substitute days and shop opening rules differ by country and contract, so check the national schedule for the year. Visitors should check the specific year's government decree, because Belarus sometimes moves working days around holidays.
Belarus