Easter 2023: Why is Monday a public holiday?

RESURRECTION You have to go back to the Middle Ages and then to Napoleon to have the explanation of the Easter Monday holiday

Easter, for the luckiest children, is the promise of a good harvest of chocolate eggs. But it is above all, originally, a great celebration for Christians. Easter is the holiday seen by many as the most important in Christianity . It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The date of Easter may change. But it always falls on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, details Sortir à Paris . But that does not explain why the Monday following Easter is a public holiday.

The “Easter Octave” as an origin

To find the answer, we must go back to the Middle Ages , a period in which we find traces of an ancient Christian tradition. Emperor Constantine (272-337 AD) then imposed eight consecutive public holidays in Rome, a period called the “Octave of Easter”. Monday, like other days, was a public holiday. Masses were held every day to celebrate the Easter feast. During this period, pilgrims could also take the opportunity to travel to Rome. This Easter octave, however, came to an end under Napoleon Bonaparte.

From 1801 and the signing of the Concordat with the Pope, the then First Consul undertook to reorganize the practices of the Catholic Church of France. He also removed public holidays, which numbered 50 at the time, specifies Eurekoi . Napoleon thus chose to keep the Assumption, the Ascension, Christmas and All Saints. On the other hand, it abolished the public holiday week following Easter to keep only one day exempt from work: Monday. This is the case in almost all of Europe, except in Portugal, notes L'Internaute . In 2023, Easter Monday falls on April 10.

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