Pentecost Monday 2024: When is Pentecost Monday 2024 & 2025?

Below you can find dates of Pentecost Monday 2024 and Pentecost Monday 2025. In the table you can check how many days you have been on holiday, which week is the holiday and which day of the month.

Pentecost Monday

Pentecost Monday is the day following Pentecost (Sunday), the annual Christian festival held for commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his ascension from earth to heaven on Ascension Day. Pentecost Monday is also known as "the second day of Pentecost" and is a public holiday in many countries with Christian traditions.

 

In the United Kingdom, Pentecost Monday is usually called “Whit Monday”, the day following Whit Sunday, which is the English name for Pentecost. Pentecost Monday takes place on the Monday 51 days after Easter. Today, Pentecost and Pentecost Monday are not widely celebrated as religious days, instead a secular public holiday gives worker in many industries the day off.

 

It is important to note that Pentecost was originally celebrated by the Hebrews as the day that the Torah was given to the Hebrew people after the Exodus. In Hebrew, it is called ‘Shavuot’ or ‘Shavu’oth’ which is also a festival to celebrate the harvest of wheat in Israel. In the Bible, the passage begins with ‘When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.’ The disciples were gathered together to observe Shavuot when they were filled with the Holy Ghost.

 

Pentecost Monday Background

Pentecost Monday is observed by Christians as early as the first century AD, and it is the day that the Holy Ghost came upon the disciples of Jesus Christ who received the “gift of tongues” on the 50th day after Easter, according to the New Testament. It gets its name from Pentecost which is a reference to the white cloths worn by those who are newly baptized on Pentecost.

 

The word Pentecost derives from the Greek pentekoste, a reference to the fiftieth day. In ancient times, the feast of Pentecost was originally calculated with Easter Sunday being the first day of fifty, putting the feast of Pentecost on Pentecost Monday. In recent years, Pentecost Monday's status as a public holiday has changed in many countries. It is no longer a public holiday in most of the former British colonies, and Ireland had recently abolished public status. France changed its status in the mid-2000s to an unpaid word day donated to charity with the money paid. However, France reorganized it as a public holiday in 2008. Many countries around the world celebrate this day in their local ways. Many chants are sung during Monday's services of the Holy Spirit in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. After this time, the weeks begin as a ritual until the next holy week, which results on Saturdays instead of Sundays on Saturdays. Many of the same ceremonies held at the Eastern Orthodox Church at the Pentecost took place again on Whit Monday. Until 1967, Whit Monday 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.

 

Pentecost Monday Celebrations

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.

 

• In Europe, Pentecost Monday is a public holiday in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
• In Lichtenstein Pentecost Monday is considered to be the “most favorite” holiday like Christmas is in many countries of the Western world.
• In Germany and Austria, people mark the Second Day of Pentecost with various local and regional customs.
• In France, families normally gather outdoors for picnics and sports while many villages hold festivals in honor of the holiday. The day is meant to be celebrated with family, friends, food, and wine.
• In Greece, the holiday is an excuse for plenty of festivities and a three-day public holiday getaway for a lot of Greeks.
• In Norway, it is quite popular to spend time outdoors or in the garden with family or friends.

 

There are a number of customs associated with Whit Monday. Cheese rolling and throwing competitions are held in some parts of England. In other parts of the country, Whit walks, which are parades led by local brass bands, clergy, dignitaries and local organizations, are held. The walks are often concluded by various activities that include competitions, dancing and food. In the United States some churches organize Whit Monday prayer rallies, which include prayers and street marches. In France it is a holiday that is respected by many citizens. In 2005 millions of workers stayed at home during Whit Monday, despite the government's cancellation of the holiday, causing a halt in public transport and the closure of many municipal offices. The French government recently reinstated Whit Monday as a public holiday, while retaining a more flexible Day of Solidarity.

Pentecost Monday Customs and Traditions

There are various events to attend and things to do on Pentecost Monday.

You can,

• Visit a church for a Pentecost service. During this time the church has a series of fasts and rituals including speaking in tongues.
• Complete the Catholic pilgrimage from Notre-Dame in Paris to Chartres Cathedral. It is a 100-kilometre pilgrimage and a major tradition in France.
• Watch a documentary or film with religious undertones. There are plenty of films that examine religion, especially the Christian church. Pentecost (2011) is an Irish short film that was nominated for the Best Short Film at the 2012 Oscars and Passion of the Christ (2004), and Son of God (2014) all depict Christian themes.
• Read a book on the history of religion in Europe in order to further understand the meaning of Pentecost and Pentecost Monday. Our favourites:
• The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch
• Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe by Simon Winder
• History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides

 

In some Orthodox churches, Pentecost Monday or Whit Monday is observed after the date set by the western churches. This is because some Orthodox churches still observe holidays according to the Julian calendar, which preceded the Gregorian calendar adopted by many western churches.

 

Pentecost Monday Facts

• Pentecost Monday or Whit Monday, popularly known as the Monday of the Holy Spirit and is a day celebrated by Christians around the world directly after the day of Pentecost. The holiday is considered moveable as its date is determined by the date of Easter in both the Eastern and Western forms of Christianity.
• The name Pentecost comes from the Greek pentekoste meaning fiftieth.
• Ministers and Priests wear red to symbolize the fire which brought the Holy Spirit to earth. Other symbols include the wind- the breath of God- and a dove- bringing peace.
• Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church.
• Pentecost comes from a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot; the apostles were celebrating this festival when the Holy Spirit descended on them.
• There would be no Christmas if there was no Easter. Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader.
• Some Christians view Pentecost as the beginning of the modern Church. As the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they began to speak many languages, and were then able to spread the word of Jesus to many people.
• Many countries observe Whit Monday as a public holiday. These include France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and several other European and Caribbean countries. In Germany, Whit Monday remains a day of Holy Obligation, as it was for many years in other countries. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it has been converted from a Holy Day of Obligation to a bank holiday.
• Whit Monday used to be one of the major annual holidays in Pennsylvania Dutch country in the United States. From around 1835 to just after the Civil War, Whit Monday was referred to as the “Dutch Fourth of July” in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where people came to eat, drink and be entertained.

 

Pentecost Monday Symbols

Pentecost Monday is a Christian observance that celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The day, also known as Whit Monday, is generally full of good spirits. Ministers will wear red robes as a symbol of the flames in which the Holy Spirit came to Earth. Symbolism is important on the day. The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) which Christians use as a way to interpret God.

Check out the Pentecost Monday in the following years.

• 2024 Holidays
• 2025 Holidays
• 2026 Holidays
• 2027 Holidays