So it seems some kind soul has been posting the BCP collects for each Sunday but has recently stopped doing so. These are an excellent resource to focus your mind during each week, so without further ado for this week we have Whitsunday God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. Monday in Whitsun Week God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. Tuesday in Whitsun Week God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.
I like Whit Sunday. Here in Germany Whit Monday is also a public holiday. I wonder whether this has been abolished in England.
To my knowledge Whit Monday was never a public holiday in England. It is my understanding that we possibly have the fewest public holidays in Europe and also compared with the rest of the world. We have more than when my mother was a child and Whitsun was more widely celebrated then. As a child I always remember having new clothes for Whitsun and being terrified of scuffing my new shoes before the end of the day, which one of us, at least, invaiably did. We have a public holiday here on the last Monday in May called Spring Bank Holiday. It also marks the start of one of the school holidays, in fact the last one before the end of the school year. It is called the Summer Half-term Holiday but many do call it the Whit Holiday. Before COVID-19 it marked the end of school for those in their final year and on return from this holiday the summer public examination season begins. I notice you are a Catholic. I do believe Anglicans in England give Whitsun more prominence than Catholics. In my mother's childhood Anglicans, Catholics and others used to hold Whit Walks. I don't think anyone does now. If you follow traditional Anglicanism we still observe Whit Monday and Whit Tuesday but the Catholic Church has abolished its Octave of Pentecost.
I like Whitsun. As it is a "double holiday", it is somehow on the same level as Christmas and Easter here in Germany. Only that there are no presents,
Two holidays after each other. Like Christmas and Easter. I thought that should have been clear when I mentioned Christmas and Easter. Or is there no holiday on Boxing Day and on Easter Monday any more?
It was not clear to me hence my question. I understand your point about Christmas. Christmas Day (usually 25th December) and Boxing Day (usually 26th December) are holidays in England. The former is technically a [common law] public holiday and the latter is a [statutory] bank holiday. I put usually in front of the dates because if the dates fall on a Sunday or Saturday the civil holidays are transferred to the first weekdays following. I am not sure I take your point about Easter because I do not class Easter Sunday as a holiday. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England. This thread is about Whitsun and there is no holiday at all for it in England. Like Easter Sunday, and indeed all Sundays, I don't class Whit Sunday as a holiday. Whit Monday is not a civil holiday in England.