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30-555: 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. Pentecost is always on a Sunday and is therefore usually a non-working day. That said, the Monday after Pentecost is a public holiday in Andorra , Antigua and Barbuda , Anguilla , Austria ,

60-582: A bank holiday in the UK in 1871, but lost this status in 1972 when the fixed Spring Bank Holiday was created. Solemnities In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite , a solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity , an event in the life of Jesus , his mother Mary , his earthly father Joseph , or another important saint . The observance begins with

90-587: A "favorite holiday", much like Christmas in many other countries. In Germany, Whit Monday ( German : Pfingstmontag [p͡fɪŋstˈmoːntaːk] ) is a Holy Day of obligation for Roman Catholics . 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 public holiday in Ireland (also called

120-632: A bank holiday). It was a bank holiday in the United Kingdom until 1967. There it was formally replaced by the fixed Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May in 1971. 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

150-670: A new set of clothes, even among the poorest families, a tradition which continued well into the 20th century. In the North West of England , church and chapel parades called whit walks still take place at this time (sometimes on Whit Friday , the Friday after Whitsun). Typically, the parades include brass bands and choirs; girls attending are dressed in white. Traditionally, Whit fairs (sometimes called Whitsun ales ) took place. Other customs, such as Morris dancing , were associated with Whitsun, although in most cases they have been transferred to

180-527: Is customary for the cotton mills etc., to close for Whitsuntide week to give the hands a holiday; the men going to the races etc. and the women visiting Manchester on Whit-Saturday, thronging the markets, the Royal Exchange and the Infirmary Esplanade, and other public places: And gazing in at the shop windows, whence this day is usually called 'Gaping Sunday'. Whit Monday was officially recognised as

210-572: 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. In the services on the Monday of the Holy Spirit many of the same hymns are sung as on

240-462: 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. It continues to be a "worked public holiday" in France. In Liechtenstein , Whit Monday is considered to be

270-695: The Anglo-Saxon word also appears in Icelandic hvitasunnu-dagr , but that in English the feast was called Pentecoste until after the Norman Conquest , when white ( hwitte ) began to be confused with wit or understanding. According to one interpretation, the name derives from the white garments worn by catechumens , those expecting to be baptised on that Sunday. Moreover, in England white vestments, rather than

300-508: The Gospel . Also, there will sometimes be processional and recessional hymns , and use of incense . Some but not all solemnities are also holy days of obligation , on which, as on Sundays, Catholics are required to attend Mass and to avoid work and business that hinder divine worship or suitable relaxation of mind and body. All holy days of obligation have the rank of solemnity at least at local level, though not necessarily holding that rank in

330-522: The Latin Church are indicated in the following list. There are also solemnities not inscribed in the General Roman Calendar, which are observed in particular places, regions, churches or religious institutes . The optional memorial of Saint Patrick on 17 March is a solemnity in Ireland, the memorial of Saint Josemaría Escrivá on 26 June is a solemnity within the prelature of Opus Dei , and

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360-531: The vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast. Unlike feast days of the rank of feast (other than feasts of the Lord) or those of the rank of memorial, solemnities replace the celebration of Sundays outside Advent, Lent, and Easter (those in Ordinary Time ). The word comes from postclassical Latin sollemnitas , meaning a solemnity, festival, celebration of a day. The solemnities of Nativity of

390-551: The 17th century the nearby Kersal Moor Whit races were the great event of the year when large numbers of people turned the area into a giant fairground for several days. With the coming of industrialisation it became convenient to close down whole towns for a week in order to clean and maintain the machinery in the mills and factories. The week of closure, or wakes week , was often held at Whitsuntide. A report in John Harlan and T.T. Wilkinson's Lancashire Folk lore (1882) reads: It

420-673: The Bahamas , Barbados , Belgium , Benin , The British Virgin Islands , Central African Republic , Republic of Congo , Cyprus , Denmark , Dominica , France , Gabon , Germany , Greece , Grenada , Hungary , Iceland , Ivory Coast , Luxembourg , Madagascar , Monaco , Montserrat , The Netherlands , Norway , Romania , Saint Lucia , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Senegal , Solomon Islands , Switzerland , Togo and Ukraine . In many of these countries, Whit Monday

450-582: The Christian holy day of Pentecost . It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Spirit of Truth upon Christ's disciples (as described in Acts 2 ). Whitsuntide , the week following Whitsunday, was one of three holiday weeks for the medieval villein ; on most manors he was free from service on the lord's demesne this week, which marked a pause in the agricultural year. Whit Monday ,

480-704: The General Roman Calendar. With the exception of the solemnities of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Annunciation of the Lord and the Birth of John the Baptist, all the solemnities inscribed in the General Roman Calendar are mentioned as holy days of obligation in canon 1246 of the Code of Canon Law, but are not necessarily all observed in a particular country. When a solemnity falls on a Friday,

510-743: The Lord , the Epiphany , the Ascension , and Pentecost are outranked only by the Paschal Triduum . Other solemnities inscribed in the General Roman Calendar give way also to the following celebrations: Solemnities inscribed in particular calendars yield not only to these, but also to the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed . With the exceptions noted in the table below regarding

540-503: The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus coincides with that of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist or that of Saints Peter and Paul, it is these that are transferred to the next free day. Among solemnities inscribed in particular calendars (proper solemnities) the order of precedence is: The solemnities inscribed in the General Roman Calendar and which are therefore observed throughout

570-591: The Spring bank holiday. Whaddon, Cambridgeshire , has its own Whitsun tradition of singing a unique song around the village before and on Whit Sunday itself. The name is a contraction of "White Sunday", attested in "the Holy Ghost, whom thou didst send on Whit-sunday" in the Old English homilies , and parallel to the mention of hwitmonedei in the early 13th-century Ancrene Riwle . Walter William Skeat noted that

600-772: The celebration of a new feast, officially known as the "Memorial of Mary , Mother of the Church " to be celebrated throughout the Western Catholic Church , with the exception of the Ordinariates , where the octave of Whitsun Week has been restored and the new Memorial is observed on the Saturday after Ascension Day. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches Whit Monday

630-455: The day after Whitsun, remained a holiday in Britain until 1971 when, with effect from 1972, the ruling Conservative Government decided to permanently replace it, following a five-year trial period, with a Spring Bank Holiday on the last Monday in May. Whit had been the occasion for many varied forms of celebration, and was of significant cultural importance. It was a custom for children to receive

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660-524: 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 . Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday ) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists , for

690-433: The following attractions: On Whit Monday, in the morning, will be a punting match   ...   The first boat that comes in to receive a guinea...In the afternoon a gold-laced hat, worth 30s. to be cudgell'd for   ... On Whit Tuesday, in the morning, a fine Holland smock and ribbons, to be run for by girls and young women. And in the afternoon six pairs of buckskin gloves to be wrestled for. In Manchester during

720-500: The more usual red, were traditional for the day and its octave . A different tradition is that of the young women of the parish all coming to church or chapel in new white dresses on that day. However, Augustinian canon John Mirk (c. 1382–1414), of Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, had another interpretation: Goode men and woymen, as ȝe knowen wele all, þys day ys called Whitsonday, for bycause þat þe Holy Gost as þys day broȝt wyt and wysdome ynto all Cristes dyscyples. Thus, he thought

750-707: The optional memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on 16 July is a solemnity for the Carmelites . A partial list of proper solemnities follows below: Even if it is a weekday or within Advent and Lenten season, if the day is a Solemnity, then the Gloria is said or sung (except Good Friday which is the second day of the Paschal Triduum), as well as the saying of the Creed at Mass, and there are two scriptural readings , not one, before

780-514: The resumption of Ordinary Time . While the details differ from diocese to diocese, the most widespread practice in Germany (where the holiday remains an obligation) was to have a compulsory votive Mass of the Holy Spirit outranking even solemnities (these would be local solemnities in that case). However, in February 2018, Pope Francis declared that henceforth, Whit Monday will be the fixed date for

810-464: The root of the word was "wit" (formerly spelt "wyt" or "wytte") and Pentecost was so-called to signify the outpouring of the wisdom of the Holy Ghost on Christ's disciples. The following day is Whit Monday , a name coined to supersede the form Monday in Whitsun-week used by John Wycliffe and others. The week following Whit Sunday is known as "Whitsuntide" or "Whit week". As the first holiday of

840-477: The solemnities of Saint Joseph and the Annunciation of the Lord, a solemnity that falls on the same day as a celebration of higher rank is transferred to the next day not occupied by a solemnity, a Sunday or a feast. Among solemnities inscribed in the General Roman Calendar, those of the Lord have precedence over those of the Blessed Virgin and these latter over solemnities of other saints. Thus if, for instance,

870-461: The summer, Whitsun was one of the favourite times in the traditional calendar, and Whit Sunday, or the following week, was a time for celebration. This took the form of fêtes, fairs, pageants and parades, with Whitsun ales and Morris dancing in the south of England and Whit walks , Club Days and wakes in the north. A poster advertising the Whitsun festivities at Sunbury , Middlesex in 1778 listed

900-464: Was replaced by the National Day of Sweden in 2005. 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 Pentecost Sunday. Until the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar , they were part of the octave of Pentecost, which was added in the 7th century. The Monday after Pentecost is now the first day of

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