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Easter Monday in United Kingdom

Quick Facts

Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland.

Name

Easter Monday

Easter Monday 2008

Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter Monday 2009

Monday, April 13, 2009
See list of observations below
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday. The date of Easter Monday is variable and is determined using a calculated lunar calendar. It is the Monday after the first Sunday approximately after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. It is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland. It is now generally just a day off work, but in the past there were a number of customs associated with this day.
Easter Monday UK
The tradition of having a holiday on the Monday after Easter stems from the medieval festival of Hocktide. ©iStockphoto.com/Sebastien Cote

What do people do?

For many people, Easter Monday is the last day in a four day weekend. If people have been on a short vacation or have visited family or friends, who live some distance away, they often travel back on this day. For other people, it is just a welcome day off to enjoy the spring weather or work on their garden or home improvements. In some places, there are egg rolling competitions, Easter bonnet parades, displays of traditional Morris dancing fairs or special sports matches. In Biddenden, Kent, special cakes are distributed in memory of conjoined twins born in 1100, who lived to the age of 34.

In Leicestershire, the villages of Hallaton and Medbourne hold a bottle kicking match. It has been held at least since the early eighteenth century, but its roots may be in pagan times. The event starts with the three bottles and a hare pie, which are actually wooden barrels, a parade through the two villages. Two of the barrels are filled with beer. The third is actually solid wood. The actual game consists of the two teams taking turns to get the three barrels across two streams a mile apart, by any means possible. The game is quite rough and participants can leave the game for refreshments at any time. The winning village gets to take the filled barrels to the local pub.

Public life

 

Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, many businesses and organizations are closed. Stores are often open to welcome shoppers, but public transport systems may run to a different timetable. There may be some congestion on train services and roads as people return from trips made during their four-day weekend. In Scotland, Easter Monday is a normal Monday.

Background and symbols

The tradition of having a holiday on the Monday after Easter stems from the medieval festival of Hocktide. This was a two day festival on the Monday and Tuesday after Easter, originating in the eleventh century. Some stories say that on the Monday the men of a town tied up the women and demanded a kiss from them before they were freed. Others say that a man had to carry a women for a certain distance or lift her up a given number of times in return for a kiss. Now Hocktide is only celebrated in the town of Hungerford in Berkshire and the main events are on the Tuesday after Easter.

Easter Monday Observances

WeekdayDateYearNameHoliday typeWhere it is observed
MonApr 71980Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 201981Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 121982Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 41983Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 231984Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 81985Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonMar 311986Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 201987Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 41988Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonMar 271989Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 161990Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 11991Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 201992Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 121993Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 41994Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 171995Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 81996Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonMar 311997Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 131998Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 51999Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 242000Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 162001Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 12002Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 212003Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 122004Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonMar 282005Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 172006Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 92007Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonMar 242008Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 132009Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 52010Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 252011Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 92012Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 12013Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 212014Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR
MonApr 62015Easter MondayCommon Local holidaysWAL, ENG, NIR

Related holidays

Other holidays in March 2008 in United Kingdom

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