Who celebrates pre-Easter holidays?
April 20, 2011 9:11 PM Subscribe
Where is there a Thursday Pre-Easter Holiday? I met an Asian tourist today who asked whether banks, libraries, and schools would be open on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Easter. When I said the only "holiday" was Easter Sunday, he said that 15 yrs or so ago he visited the US and remembered these days as holidays. Now I'm curious. Does anyone know where in the world this might be so? I told him that some churches might hold special services on those days, but that wasn't what he remembered.
At least in the Catholic Church, those days are considered the Easter Triduum. Holy Thursday is traditionally marked as the day of the Last Supper and Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Good Friday is the day where Christians observe the death of Christ and Holy Saturday is observed as the time Christ laid in the tomb before his resurrection on Easter.
posted by inturnaround at 9:17 PM on April 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by inturnaround at 9:17 PM on April 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
The Thursday before Easter is Maundy Thursday. If that helps you in your research.
posted by mollymayhem at 9:17 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by mollymayhem at 9:17 PM on April 20, 2011
Maundy Thursday is a public holiday in several countries, though not the US or the other Anglophone countries around the world.
posted by deanc at 9:18 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by deanc at 9:18 PM on April 20, 2011
I was just reading about this myself: Maundy Thursday
"Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels."
Maundy Thursday customs around the world.
posted by hansbrough at 9:19 PM on April 20, 2011
"Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels."
Maundy Thursday customs around the world.
posted by hansbrough at 9:19 PM on April 20, 2011
Apparently Maundy Thursday is a bank holiday in the UK, though not a "public holiday."
posted by deanc at 9:21 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by deanc at 9:21 PM on April 20, 2011
Also to note: in the Catholic Church, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are considered Holy Days of Obligation--which means you're obligated to go to Mass on them. A lot of Catholic universities/schools/etc even in the US will give those days off.
Here in Ontario (and across most of Canada), Good Friday is a statutory holiday, although I don't think any provinces have Maundy Thursday as one. (Some have Easter Monday, but that's neither here nor there.)
posted by criacow at 9:31 PM on April 20, 2011
Here in Ontario (and across most of Canada), Good Friday is a statutory holiday, although I don't think any provinces have Maundy Thursday as one. (Some have Easter Monday, but that's neither here nor there.)
posted by criacow at 9:31 PM on April 20, 2011
Apparently Maundy Thursday is a bank holiday in the UK, though not a "public holiday."
That list isn't accurate, and that site looks like exists for SEO purposes: Maundy Thursday isn't, and has never been a bank holiday. Here's the official list, including Windsors-widen-the-genepool Day. It is marked by the Maundy Money service, though.
In the UK, not that long ago (say, 80s and early 90s) Good Friday was a total-shutdown holiday akin to Christmas Day.
posted by holgate at 9:33 PM on April 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
That list isn't accurate, and that site looks like exists for SEO purposes: Maundy Thursday isn't, and has never been a bank holiday. Here's the official list, including Windsors-widen-the-genepool Day. It is marked by the Maundy Money service, though.
In the UK, not that long ago (say, 80s and early 90s) Good Friday was a total-shutdown holiday akin to Christmas Day.
posted by holgate at 9:33 PM on April 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think I've heard of Maundy Thursday until approximately 1 minute 28 seconds ago +/- 43 seconds.
I am surprised, however, how many places take Good Friday off. My personal place of employment is 1. Non-religious, 2. Near Portland, OR, one of the least religious places in the US, 3. Owned by a Chinese/Hong Kong based parent company. We have Good Friday off. It was due to HK stating my office needed to add an additional paid holiday, everyone voted and figured Good Friday was Good Enough. Even the non-religious among us won't turn down a paid Friday off. I know my agnostic morals have no qualms about it.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:37 PM on April 20, 2011
I am surprised, however, how many places take Good Friday off. My personal place of employment is 1. Non-religious, 2. Near Portland, OR, one of the least religious places in the US, 3. Owned by a Chinese/Hong Kong based parent company. We have Good Friday off. It was due to HK stating my office needed to add an additional paid holiday, everyone voted and figured Good Friday was Good Enough. Even the non-religious among us won't turn down a paid Friday off. I know my agnostic morals have no qualms about it.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 9:37 PM on April 20, 2011
Best answer: I work with some Argentinians who told us that for them Thursday is a bank and school holiday, but is a regular work day for the rest of them. The same thing happens in Canada on the following Monday; schools, banks and government are closed, but the rest of us still have to go to work.
posted by cgg at 9:41 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by cgg at 9:41 PM on April 20, 2011
in the Catholic Church, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are considered Holy Days of Obligation--which means you're obligated to go to Mass on them.
AFAIK, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are not officially Holy Days of Obligation in the Latin rite Catholic Church. However, Catholic institutions are likely to have lots of seeming Holy Days of Obligation throughout the Lenten season/Holy Week. Also, some churches may instruct their parishoners of all kinds of additional days. I suspect this may be the doing of particularly enthusiastic pastors, and the bishops are not likely to discourage any additional religious observation.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:06 PM on April 20, 2011
AFAIK, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are not officially Holy Days of Obligation in the Latin rite Catholic Church. However, Catholic institutions are likely to have lots of seeming Holy Days of Obligation throughout the Lenten season/Holy Week. Also, some churches may instruct their parishoners of all kinds of additional days. I suspect this may be the doing of particularly enthusiastic pastors, and the bishops are not likely to discourage any additional religious observation.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:06 PM on April 20, 2011
Best answer: Canadians get Friday so that we can all go to church, it is still as rigidly observed as a day off as Christmas but few people I know attend Friday services. Public employees and some others get Monday off because Sunday would be a statutory (official) holiday but since most public servants don't work Sundays anyway, it rolls to Monday.
In Ontario, liquor stores as publicly run; they are all closed Sunday and some on Monday.
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 10:06 PM on April 20, 2011
In Ontario, liquor stores as publicly run; they are all closed Sunday and some on Monday.
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 10:06 PM on April 20, 2011
regarding Maundy Thursday, while it's not a public holiday in the UK, civil servants/Crown employees may be entitled to take the day off, or half of it. Can't speak for the whole of the Civil Service but the bit I work for gives me half a day on Maundy Thursday, though in practice I usually have to take it on another day.
posted by kumonoi at 10:31 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by kumonoi at 10:31 PM on April 20, 2011
Not all Catholic universities give Holy Thursday off. /bitter
posted by daniel striped tiger at 10:33 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by daniel striped tiger at 10:33 PM on April 20, 2011
Sorry, meant to add that some of my organisation's offices do close on Maundy Thursday, but not ones that would impact serving the public.
posted by kumonoi at 10:34 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by kumonoi at 10:34 PM on April 20, 2011
In Hawaii, Good Friday is a state holiday. All state services are closed.
posted by fifilaru at 10:53 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by fifilaru at 10:53 PM on April 20, 2011
The NYSE is closed on Friday for Good Friday.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:04 PM on April 20, 2011
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:04 PM on April 20, 2011
In France, Lundi Paques (Easter Monday) is an official holiday. Many people take the Friday off as well, although businesses are not officially closed. Thursday is a "normal" day. In general Paris is empty at this time because schools are closed for the annual two-week spring vacation.
posted by Paris Elk at 12:53 AM on April 21, 2011
posted by Paris Elk at 12:53 AM on April 21, 2011
Best answer: Fifteen years ago, the Thursday before Easter was April 4, 1996, which was the first day of Passover. Maybe he encountered shops that were closed early for Passover (Thursday), then shops that were closed for Good Friday (Friday) and the weekend.
posted by Houstonian at 1:22 AM on April 21, 2011
posted by Houstonian at 1:22 AM on April 21, 2011
here in the US i know some businesses are closed on good friday. Public libraries and such are open usually.
posted by majortom1981 at 3:43 AM on April 21, 2011
posted by majortom1981 at 3:43 AM on April 21, 2011
Some schools/universities in the U.S. that use a "balanced calendar" give Thurs - Sun off, to make it the same as Thanksgiving break. Fri - Mon is a bit more common as it better accommodates travel for Easter Sunday, but means MWF classes miss twice.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:58 AM on April 21, 2011
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:58 AM on April 21, 2011
Wanted to add -- my state uses the eminently sensible metric of "30% of the student body will miss school" for schools to use as a guideline in choosing their holidays in a religiously-neutral way. It allows the schools to respect local culture (if half the school won't be there because they're at Good Friday services, it's stupid to hold school) without forcing public schools to use religious calendars or try to guess which religious holidays are "important enough," etc. In theory, you could have the first day of deer hunting season off if enough students routinely were pulled out of school for it (as they were where my dad grew up!). It's also the guideline for when to cancel school due to, say, a flu outbreak.
I grew up in one of the few districts in the state where, under this rule, we had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off, but not Good Friday! :)
Anyway, it's also possible your tourist was visiting somewhere with a local tradition of strong Holy Thursday observance, due to the particular mix of immigrant backgrounds or Christian sects in that place. Moving around the U.S. you often discover new holidays you'd never heard of before that are a Big Freaking Deal in a particular state or local area. (I'm looking at YOU, Casimir Pulaski Day!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:15 AM on April 21, 2011
I grew up in one of the few districts in the state where, under this rule, we had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off, but not Good Friday! :)
Anyway, it's also possible your tourist was visiting somewhere with a local tradition of strong Holy Thursday observance, due to the particular mix of immigrant backgrounds or Christian sects in that place. Moving around the U.S. you often discover new holidays you'd never heard of before that are a Big Freaking Deal in a particular state or local area. (I'm looking at YOU, Casimir Pulaski Day!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:15 AM on April 21, 2011
I'm afraid cgg was told wrong. I live in Argentina and both today and tomorrow (Thu & Fri) are most definitely public holidays - all offices, banks etc closed. I believe this is the case in most if not all South American countries. Certainly in Colombia it is. Monday is a normal day.
posted by jontyjago at 5:45 AM on April 21, 2011
posted by jontyjago at 5:45 AM on April 21, 2011
Just to reiterate: in the US, Holy Thursday and Good Friday are *not* holy days of obligation for Catholics. (Neither is Ash Wednesday - a lot of people seem to think it is.)
It may be a local school holiday - traffic was light when I drove to work this morning because the local school district has a holiday today and tomorrow (although I think teachers are still meeting today.)
posted by Salieri at 6:15 AM on April 21, 2011
It may be a local school holiday - traffic was light when I drove to work this morning because the local school district has a holiday today and tomorrow (although I think teachers are still meeting today.)
posted by Salieri at 6:15 AM on April 21, 2011
I am a state employee in the Southern US and we have this friday off, ostensibly for "Spring Holiday" but pretty much everyone here knows its for Good Friday.
posted by ejazen at 8:30 AM on April 21, 2011
posted by ejazen at 8:30 AM on April 21, 2011
One of the colleges I went to -- officially Protestant but in reality completely secular -- gave everyone Good Friday off. Everyone thought it was weird.
posted by miyabo at 9:15 PM on April 21, 2011
posted by miyabo at 9:15 PM on April 21, 2011
Here in SE Michigan, today (Good Friday) was a day off from K-12 school and employees of a certain big automaker's factories. I don't know who else got the day off -- as an atheist, I forgot it was a holiday for some, and my college does not close in observance.
Maundy Thursday was not a day off for anyone, though, as far as I know.
posted by asciident at 4:36 PM on April 22, 2011
Maundy Thursday was not a day off for anyone, though, as far as I know.
posted by asciident at 4:36 PM on April 22, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 9:15 PM on April 20, 2011 [2 favorites]