Yes today is WHIT MONDAY

While you probably enjoy having the day off for the Late Spring Bank Holiday do you know why we have this holiday?

The holiday originates from the Christian festival of Pentecost (also known as Whit Sunday). Pentecost is observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter. On this day the Holy Spirit visited the disciples and inspired them to go out and preach the word of Christ. For this reason the day is celebrated as the anniversary of the birth of the Christian church. Traditionally a time of baptism, the alternative name Whit Sunday, or White Sunday, derives from the custom of wearing white while being baptized. Whit Monday (the bank holiday) was of course the following day.

Easter is a moveable holiday so the Whit Monday used to fall anywhere between 11 May and 14 June, (the day after the seventh Sunday after Easter.) To make this a regular date, in 1971, Whit Monday was formally replaced by a fixed spring holiday on the last Monday in May. Although the bank holiday no longer falls on the church's Whitsuntide most people still refer to this holiday as Whit Monday.

There are a number of customs associated with Whit Monday. In the south west of England you can see cheese rolling and throwing competitions. In the north west Whit walks are parades led by local brass bands, clergy, dignitaries and uniformed organisation such as Girl Guides and Scouts. The walks often end up at a Whit Ale a type fair with sports, competitions, dancing and of course drinking and eating!