Where Easter Monday is a Public Holiday

Easter Monday is a public holiday for many countries around the world. The following chart shows how most of Europe has the day off work, as well as Australia and several countries in Africa. The United States is notably one of the countries that does not enjoy the national holiday, despite the largest religion being Christianity.

In several countries, including Germany, Botswana and Australia, both Easter Friday and Easter Monday are given as a public holiday. The Danes and inhabitants of the Faroe Islands even have Maundy Thursday off, giving them a five day national break. In most Central and Southern American countries, which have large Catholic populations, the days before Easter - Good Friday and sometimes also the Thursday - are a public holiday rather than the Monday. For example, this is the case with Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Argentina, among others.

In the Armenian Apostolic Church, Easter Monday is known as a “Merelots”, which is a Remembrance Day of the Dead. Five Merelots take place a year in Armenia, in each case the day after a significant date of the religious calendar: after Christmas, Easter, the Feast of the Transfiguration, the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

In several countries in northern and central Europe, Easter Monday has its own traditions. For example, according to the U.S. embassy in the Czech Republic, one custom involves boys braiding willow branches and decorating them with colorful ribbons, before using them to "gently switch" their female friends as a symbol of luck and renewal.