Whit Tuesday

Whit Tuesday (syn. Pentecost Tuesday, Whitsun Tuesday) is the Christian holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost Monday, the third day of the week beginning on Pentecost.[1] Pentecost is a movable feast in the Christian calendar dependent upon the date of Easter. "Whit" relates either to the white robes worn by those baptized on Pentecost, or to the French word "huit," since Pentecost is the eighth Sunday after Easter.[2]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Whit Tuesday is known as the "Third Day of the Trinity" and is part of the Feast of Pentecost. Not only monasteries and cathedrals, but parish churches often celebrate the Divine Liturgy on this day.

It used to be a public holiday, at least in Sweden. It was abolished 4 November 1772, together with the second day of Christmas, 27 December {Tredjedag jul, "Third-day Christmas" in Swedish}, Tredje- and Fjärdedag Påsk {2nd and 3rd Easter day} and the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, 2 February {Kyndelsmässodagen}.

The Dancing procession of Echternach takes place on Pentecost Tuesday. In the 19th century, it was also the occasion of the feast of Saint Tetha in Cornwall.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lucchese, Kathryn M. and Rylander ,Cathy "Folk like me: The read-aloud book of saints," Morehouse Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8192-2289-3, page 43.
  2. ↑ Rapalje, Stewart and Lawrence, Robert L., "A dictionary of American and English law, Volume 2," Frederick D. Linn & Co., 1888, page 1357
  3. ↑ Orme, Nicholas. English Church Dedications: With a Survey of Cornwall and Devon, p. 119. University of Exeter Press (Exeter), 1996.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.