I love a public holiday just as much as the next person, but even so, I’ve always found Easter Monday ever so slightly suspect. Not because I lack faith, I do, but because I know we will look for any excuse to take a day off.
Before you diagnose me as suffering from ‘holiday guilt’ as a result of societal pressure to constantly be productive, let me inform you that for me, rest is not a guilty pleasure but a necessity.
My issue is not the day off itself, perish the thought, but rather the insistence on dressing it up as a proper liturgical affair, as though it popped straight out of scripture rather than a particularly generous HR policy.
Let’s be honest, Easter Monday is essentially the encore to Easter Sunday. It’s Boxing Day in a different hat; pleasant, welcome, but about as religious as leftover chapatis. Perhaps it’s time we admitted as much and gave it a more honest name.
Take South Africa, for instance, where it’s officially dubbed Family Day. This rebrand arrived in 1995 courtesy of a post-apartheid rethink, aiming for a calendar that didn’t feel like an exclusive club for Christians while everyone else, the Muslims, the Jews and the Hindus, loitered awkwardly by the door.
Kenya, lest we forget, is a secular country, though one wouldn’t always know it, and since the Bible makes no mention whatsoever of ‘Easter Monday’, perhaps we might follow suit. After all, what distinguishes that particular day from the other 39 days between resurrection and ascension?
Before the Christians come for me, it’s worth noting that many nations, some thoroughly Christian, don’t recognise Easter Monday as a public holiday at all.
Consider the United States, that curious blend of fervour and pragmatism, where the White House cheerfully hosts an Easter Egg Roll (which sounds suspiciously pagan) while banks, post offices and the stock market carry on as if nothing miraculous has occurred.
In Brazil, deeply Catholic though it is, Easter Monday doesn’t warrant a day off; Good Friday takes centre stage instead. Mexico follows a similar pattern: lots of celebration, no official pause. Portugal, too, stands firm: no Easter Monday holiday, despite being surrounded by neighbours who treat the day like a sacred extension.
I am aware that the Public Holidays Act stipulates that if a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is promoted. Fair enough. But surely this means we can enjoy the day without insisting it is religious. Have the break, skip the sermon.
Some Christian traditions argue that the day commemorates the angel at the empty tomb announcing, “He has risen,” and, therefore, ought to be called ‘Monday of the Angel’. Admirable effort, but it hardly rolls off the tongue.
Renaming holidays is hardly unfamiliar territory; we’ve made quite a sport of it over the years.
October 10 was once Moi Day, celebrating President Daniel arap Moi’s rise to power in 1978, a milestone deemed worthy of annual remembrance starting in 1988. Given that he ruled for 24 years, and subsequent presidents have all managed decade-long tenures, do they all deserve a holiday?
Anyway, when public affection for Moi waned, the day vanished briefly, then returned as Utamaduni Day, with the noble aim of celebrating culture. That enthusiasm fizzled somewhat, and it now answers to Mazingira Day, at least until we think of something else. Personally, I think if a holiday can’t decide what it wants to be when it grows up, perhaps it should be put out of its misery.
That said, perhaps we could borrow an American idea and have Presidents' Day as a public holiday to honour all presidents in perpetuity. It bears consideration.
October 20 has had its own identity crisis, evolving from Kenyatta Day to Mashujaa Day after questions arose about who exactly deserved the spotlight. The revised version sensibly honours all Kenyan heroes, a far more inclusive and less awkward arrangement.
All of which brings me back to the matter at hand: If we’re content to observe Easter Monday and Boxing Day as public holidays, then fairness would suggest extending similar courtesy to the day after Eid, and while we’re at it, perhaps the morning after Diwali, too. One can never be too equitable when it comes to a well-earned day off.
