Easter Monday 2034

What is Easter Monday?

Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and the second day of the Easter festival. In most of Western and Central Europe it is a public holiday, and it creates a four-day weekend with Good Friday. The day is also observed in some Orthodox countries, such as Greece, Cyprus and Romania, where it is sometimes called Bright Monday and follows the Orthodox date. The holiday is sometimes called the second day of Easter, and in some places, such as Slovakia or Poland, it has a name of its own that refers to the sprinkling traditions of the day. It also gives many people a four-day weekend for travel.

The Gospel read in many churches on the day is the story of the walk to Emmaus, in which two disciples meet the risen Jesus without recognising him. For most people the holiday is less about church services than about family visits, walks, picnics and meals. Many countries have folk customs of their own, such as the egg-rolling and egg-hunt traditions of Britain and Germany, or the sprinkling and whipping customs of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Regional customs vary a lot, so the same date can look quite different depending on where it is celebrated.

Why it is observed

The celebration of Easter has long extended beyond a single day. In the early church the whole of the Easter week, called the Octave, was a continuous festival during which newly baptised Christians wore white. In medieval Europe the Monday and Tuesday after Easter were widely kept as days of rest, and over the centuries the Monday became the standard second holiday, written into the legal calendars of many states. In England, Easter Monday became one of the first bank holidays under the Bank Holidays Act of 1871. Tuesday was later dropped in most places.

How the date is set

Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday. Western churches reckon Easter on the Gregorian calendar, so Easter Monday falls between 23 March and 26 April; Orthodox countries that observe the day follow the Julian calculation, which currently puts it between 5 April and 9 May in the civil calendar.

How it is observed

On Easter Monday banks, public offices, schools and most shops are closed in the countries that observe it, and public transport runs a holiday timetable. Popular attractions, restaurants and parks are often busy. Where Orthodox Easter applies, the date can be several weeks after the Western date, so check the date for the country you are visiting. Entitlement to extra pay or a substitute day when working on the holiday depends on the country, the sector and the individual contract. Visitors may also find that museums and attractions have shorter hours.