Easter Monday 2021 amid coronavirus and ban on social gatherings



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Easter Monday is the Monday after Easter Sunday and it is considered a public holiday in many countries because schools and most businesses are closed on that day in many countries.

However, the day is a normal working day in some countries.

Easter is a celebration by Christians to remember the betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as rejoicing is an integral part of the celebration, believing that with Christ Christians have emerged victorious from the death and sin.

Traditions

The tradition of having a holiday on the Monday after Easter stems from the medieval festival of Hocktide and it was a two-day festival on the Monday and Tuesday after Easter, originating in the 11th century.

According to some reports, on Monday, men in one town tied up the women and asked them for a kiss before they were released. Others say that a man had to carry women a certain distance or lift her a certain number of times in exchange for a kiss.

Now Hocktide is only celebrated in the town of Hungerford in Berkshire and the main events take place on the Tuesday after Easter. The date of Easter depends on the ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox.

According to Officeholidays.com, it was once celebrated as Easter week in many places, but was later reduced to a one-day celebration in the 19th century. In many countries in Europe and South America, this day is known as “Little Easter”. The Catholic Church calls it “Angel Monday”.

According to the National Catholic Register, Pope John Paul in 1994, in a Vatican Radio recording, gave an explanation for Angel Monday.

“The Pope asked, stressing the need for an angel to call from the depths of the grave:” He is risen. “These words” were very difficult to proclaim, to express, for a person, “said John Paul II.

“In addition, the women who were at the tomb met it empty but could not say ‘he was risen’; they only claimed that the tomb was empty. The angel said more, “He’s not here, He’s risen.”

He said, “Angels are servants and messengers of God and as purely spiritual beings they have minds and wills. They are personal and immortal. They surpass all visible beings in their perfection.

“Christ himself bears witness to the angels when he said, ‘The angels in heaven always see the face of my father who is in heaven!’ (Matthew 18:10).

If people have had a short vacation or visited family or friends, who live some distance away, they often come back that day. For other people, it’s just a welcome day off to enjoy the spring weather or to work on their garden or to renovate their home.

Easter Monday is a public holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, many businesses and organizations are closed.

Stores are often open to welcome shoppers, but public transport systems can operate on different schedules. There can be some congestion on rail services and roads as people return from trips made during their four-day weekend. In Scotland, Easter Monday is a normal Monday.

In Austria and southern Germany there is the traditional “Emmausgang”, commemorating the disciples’ walk to Emmaus, to which Jesus followed them without being recognized.

In Canada, Easter Monday is a statutory holiday for federal employees, and while it is not required by federal regulations, some employers also grant this day off to employees, as a standard practice.

In Egypt, the ancient feast of Sham Ennessim literally means “to feel the breeze”). It is celebrated on Coptic (Eastern) Easter Monday, although the festival dates back to the Pharonic times (around 2700 BC).

It is an Egyptian national holiday, which has traditional activities such as painting eggs, eating meals outside, and consuming feseekh (fermented mullet).

In Germany, people go to the fields early in the morning and organize Easter egg races. For Roman Catholics, Easter Monday is also a holy day of obligation in Germany.

Differentials

In the Republic of Ireland, Easter Monday is a day of remembrance for the men and women who died in the Easter Rising which began on Easter Monday 1916.

Until 1966, there was a veterans parade, past the Irish Republican Army Headquarters at the General Post Office (GPO) on O’Connell Street, and a reading of the Proclamation of the Republic of Ireland.

In Italy, Easter Monday is an official holiday called “Pasquetta”. It is customary to prepare a family picnic in the countryside or barbecues with friends.

In New Zealand, it’s a national holiday and schools often extend weekends until Tuesday to give students a five-day break.

In Spain and the Netherlands, Easter Monday is officially a public holiday, while in the United States of America it is not a federal holiday and is generally not observed nationally, at except for a few traditions such as the White House Easter Egg Roll. .

Locally, the day is observed informally in some areas such as the state of North Dakota and some cities in New York, Michigan and Indiana.

In Ghana, the day is considered a public holiday. Churches during this time organize picnics for their congregation so that they can eat and drink together, dance and participate in sports activities together.

The idea is to prevent members of the congregation, especially young people, from visiting places of interest that are against the teachings of the Church or places that might draw them into temptation.

The public visits beaches, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and more on this day in many parts of the country and Ghana is no exception.

Easter Monday and COVID-19

However, with the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries have imposed a number of restrictions on public gatherings, especially those that do not provide urgent or essential services.

In Ghana’s nightclubs, beaches and pubs are still closed as part of broader measures adopted by the country’s leaders to control the spread of the virus.

While vacations, whatever the circumstances, are enjoyed by the working working class, a number of them who preferred to visit places of interest still off-limits in Ghana and other parts of the world may have to look elsewhere. to relax and be entertained this time around. to make the most of the day.

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