Occasional Digest

Whit Monday, also known as Pentecost Monday is a public holiday in several countries on the Monday after Whitsunday. Also known as Pentecost or Whitsun, Whitsunday is observed fifty days (approx. seven weeks) after Easter and 10 days after Ascension.

It marks the end of the Easter cycle, which began 90 days ago with Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent.

Until fairly recently, Whit Monday was a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland. Until 1967, it was a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, when it was replaced by the ‘spring bank holiday’ on the last Monday in May.

It gets its English name for following “Whitsun”, the day that became one of the three baptismal seasons.

The name “Whitsunday” is now generally attributed to the white garments formerly worn by the candidates for baptism on this feast. 

The day commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament in Acts, 2.

The Holy Spirit allowed the apostles to speak in other languages, and they started preaching the word of Jesus to the Jews who come to Jerusalem for the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost). Saint Peter then delivered the first Christian sermon, which led to the conversion and baptism of 3,000 people. Many Christians recognize this event as the birth of the Church.

The Azores is a region of Portugal composed of nine islands. The archipelago discovered by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976, following the Carnation Revolution of April 25th 1974.

The date moves each year to coincide with the first Monday following the Sunday of Pentecost, which is the beginning the Azorean traditional Holy Ghost festival cycle.

One of the highlights of the event is the bestowing of honours to distinguished Azorean personalities and institutions who have contributed to the wellbeing of the Azores and its people. 

The Day of the Autonomous Region of the Azores was established by the Legislative Assembly in 1980. The date, observed throughout the archipelago, as a public holiday.

According to the latest US census over 1.3 million individuals of Portuguese descent live in the United States, the majority with roots in the Azores.

Malta’s position in the Mediterranean sea has made the islands a strategically important location since classical times, with the islands passing from one ruler to another through the ages.

In 1800, the British had assisted Malta in removing the occupying French forces and the Maltese people had asked to become a sovereign nation in the British Empire. This was ratified in the treaty of Paris in 1815.

Following the end of World War I, tensions had been rising due to the inability of the colonial government to ensure basic supplies to the island. This had led to some merchants being seen to have made a lot of money from the situation, while others fared badly.

Added to this was the feeling that political moves for greater autonomy and independence for Malta were seemingly going unheard.

In early June 1919, a change in the governor of the island was treated with scepticism by some and on June 7th, a crowd started removing British flags from buildings that had been flying at half-mast across the island due to the recent death of the President of the Court.

The mob grew in size and turned their attention to the homes of the merchants who had been doing well from the recent supply issues. It was at one of these houses that a standoff between the mob and the army ended in tragedy with the soldiers firing and killing three protestors and injuring fifty others. The uprising continued for a few days during which time, a fourth civilian died from injuries received while resisting arrest.

The uprising was short-lasting, but the bloody events of June 7th 1919 led to the National Assembly drafting the new Constitution. Two years later, Malta was given responsibility for self-government and home affairs and the first Maltese Parliament was set up