By Benedict Smythe
The Christian and Roman Catholic world commonly celebrates the day the Lord resurrected on Easter Sunday. The secular world may celebrate Easter Sunday as a day full of egg hunts, children's activities, meals with family and friends, and a visit by the Easter Bunny. While these have nothing to do with the religious observance of the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, it's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon in a beautiful garden filled with people that you love. This, however, isn't what Easter is all about.
What exactly happens on Easter Sunday?
Easter Sunday, as a religious celebration, is the day that Jesus rose from the dead after 3 days of death. The Catholic Church holds a special mass during Easter Sunday, and so does the Christian Church. In more traditional scenarios, merry-making and having fun between Maundy Thursday up until before Easter Sunday is not allowed, and so most celebrations (e.g. dinner with friends and family) happen on Easter Sunday itself, when the Lord has risen.
The secular world participates in Easter Sunday through various activities and shopping mall promotions. The Easter egg hunt also happens on this day, wherein children are given the chance to search for hidden eggs around a given area. Various prizes are offered during this egg hunt contest. Also as previously mentioned, the Easter Bunny makes its presence felt on this day as the harbinger of said Easter eggs.
If this is what happens on Easter Sunday, what happens then on an Easter Monday?
Just like Boxing Day, Easter Monday is a public holiday that immediately proceeds another holiday. It's a time spent visiting friends and relatives, and is a time of rest from the activities done on Easter Sunday. The Catholic Church holds a "crucession" as well as a mass that is held specifically for Easter Monday. This mass is almost identical to the previous day's service, aside from some minor changes in hymns. After the celebration of holy mass, citizens usually rest and spend time with loved ones.
Searching for more information on this UK holiday
If you'd like to know more about Easter Monday, there's a wealth of information to be found on this Internet about it. A quick search on Google reveals many tidbits that one could use to help him or her understand more about this largely Catholics celebration in the UK, and would also give some insight on some of the secular activities that are involved during this day.
While it's easy to dismiss Easter Monday as a UK holiday that does not hold much significance as the globally acknowledged Easter Sunday preceding it, it just goes to show that much worth is placed upon the Roman Catholic Holy Week in this part of the world. While other Catholic nations may have varying customs and traditions, celebrating Easter Monday and the entire Holy Week is an important religious event in the UK, and citizens are given the opportunity not only to observe the standards and practices of their religion during this time, but to give them a much needed break after it as well.
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