Easter Monday
Easter Monday
After the Paschal Triduum and Easter Sunday culmination, there comes the time to unwind and enjoy some secular traditions associated with Easter. In the United Kingdom, Easter Monday is the last day of the long weekend, and it is joyously celebrated throughout the country with practices and contests revolving around the symbol of the chicken egg, the rabbit and the lamb. Some British cities hold Easter social events, such as parades and sports matches. Many citizens choose to spend the day outdoors, gardening or playing games, for it is the beginning of the warm spring. Easter Monday falls right after Easter Sunday, which is observed with relation to the full moon after the March Equinox.
Easter has been a holiday celebrated from the dawn of Christianity; the first official observance probably took place in the 1st century A.D. Most of its developments occurred in the Middle Ages, when it was among the top Christian holidays. In the 11th century, the medieval Hocktide festival came to existence; it became the prototype for Easter Monday, because it consisted of two-day celebrations on the Monday and Tuesday after Pascha. Centuries later, the existence of Easter became controversial due to partial Protestant reluctance towards it. One might only imagine how abominable the Puritans believed Easter Monday to be, since it was predominantly a secular occasion. Nevertheless, the most popular on the Isles Anglican Church was fond of the celebration. In the 17th century, first Greek Orthodox immigrants came to the UK. More nationalities, such as Russian and Romanian, came in the 1900s, and introduced the wider British public to the Eastern Christian holiday of Easter. It falls on the 40th day after Western Pascha.
Western and Eastern traditions of Easter celebration are fairly similar, especially when it comes to the secular Easter Monday. There are a few prominent customs surrounding the symbol of the egg. Acording to the ancient belief, egg was the representation of new life, which corresponds with Easter springtime. Children like to paint on boiled eggs or eat those made out of chocolate; eggs are a part of Easter basket that is blessed on Resurrection Sunday; there are races with eggs on spoons and egg rolling competitions throughout Great Britain, especially Hallaton and Medbourne in Leicestershire. These villages also hold barrel rolling competitions, and the winner gets a barrelful of beer. Moreover, many large cities in the UK organize Easter parades, featuring Morris dancers and people dressed as bunnies. The main food of the day are different variations of candy shaped like egg or bunny.
Easter Monday is a bank holiday in the UK, which means that most institutions, organizations, schools and businesses are closed. The only region where Easter Monday is not observed is Scotland, hence the holiday weekend there is shortened by a day.