Whitsun

The seventh Sunday after Easter is known as Whit Sunday, the next day is Whit Monday and the whole week is Whitsuntide, or Whitsun. As it is dependent on the date of Easter, Whit Sunday can fall on any date from 10th May to 13th June.

It is a Christian celebration of Pentecost ~ a time when Jesus’s disciples were said to have been inspired to start their missionary work. Churches are decorated in red, which symbolises the fire of the Holy Spirit and the blood of martyrs.

Until the UK was about to join the European Economic Community, Whit Monday was a Bank Holiday and Whitsun would usually coincide with the school half-term week. Since 1972, it has been replaced by the ‘Spring Bank Holiday’, which falls on the last Monday of May and is therefore a more consistent marker for the school calendar.

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