Whit Tuesday (syn. ''Whittuesday'', ''Whitsun Tuesday'') is the Christian holiday celebrated the day after

Pentecost Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. ...

, the third day of the week beginning on Pentecost. 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.
Rapalje, Stewart and Lawrence, Robert L., "A dictionary of American and English law, Volume 2," Frederick D. Linn & Co., 1888, page 1357

Observance

It was a holiday in the Lutheran Church in Germany at Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's time, where all major holidays were celebrated for three days. Bach and others composed cantata music for the occasion. It used to be a public holiday in Denmark and Sweden. In Denmark it was abolished 26 October 1770, and in Sweden 4 November 1772, both places as part of larger reductions of the number of holidays. The

Dancing procession of Echternach The dancing procession of Echternach is an annual Roman Catholic dancing procession held at Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach's is the last traditional dancing procession in Europe. The procession is held every Whit Tuesday. It honour ...

takes place on Pentecost Tuesday. In the 19th century, it was also the occasion of the feast of

Saint Tetha Tetha ( kw, Tedha; cy, Tedda), also known as Teath (), Tecla, and by a variety of #Name, other names, was a 5th-century consecrated virgin, virgin and list of Cornish saints, saint in Wales and Cornwall. She is associated with the parish churc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

.Orme, Nicholas
''English Church Dedications: With a Survey of Cornwall and Devon'', p. 119
University of Exeter Press (Exeter), 1996.

Observance in Eastern Orthodoxy

In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

, Whit Tuesday is known as the "Third Day of the Trinity" and is part of the Feast of Pentecost.

Monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, cathedrals, and

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

es often celebrate the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

on this day.

References

Pentecost Holidays based on the date of Easter June observances {{Christianity-stub

Observance

Observance in Eastern Orthodoxy

See also

References