Monday traditions

Monday around the world

Monday is the day of the moon in many languages, and several traditions give it a gentle, devotional character. In India many Hindus keep Somvar vrat in honour of Shiva, fasting until the evening and visiting a Shiva temple, and the Mondays of the month of Shravana are especially observed. Many Muslims follow the example of the Prophet in voluntary fasts on Mondays and Thursdays. In Thailand, Monday has the colour yellow, the colour of the king's birth day, and people wear yellow shirts in his honour. Housekeeping customs also grew around it. In New Orleans, Monday was wash day, so a pot of red beans cooked slowly on the stove with the ham bone left from Sunday became the dish of the day. In England the first Monday after Epiphany was Plough Monday, the farm year's restart.

Customs of Monday

• Shiva 🇮🇳🇳🇵🇱🇰: Devotees fast on Mondays, and visit temples to offer water, milk and bilva leaves.
• Fasting in Islam 🇸🇦🇪🇬🇵🇰🇮🇩🇲🇦: Voluntary fasts on Mondays and Thursdays are a recommended practice.
• Red beans and rice 🇺🇸: The New Orleans Monday dish, slow cooked on wash day.
• Plough Monday 🇬🇧: The first Monday after Epiphany, when farm workers returned to the land, with plough blessings and morris dancers.
• Thai solar calendar 🇹🇭: The Thai custom of a colour for each day, with yellow worn on Mondays for the king.
• Meatless Monday 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇧🇪🇧🇷: The modern habit of a vegetarian day at the start of the week.

On EveryParampara

Plough MondayThe first Monday after Epiphany, when farm workers returned to the land, with plough blessings and morris dancers.Thai solar calendarThe Thai custom of a colour for each day, with yellow worn on Mondays for the king.

More on Monday

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreMartin Luther King Jr. Day An American federal holiday honouring the civil rights leader with service and remembranceCeremony 🇺🇸 United StatesLabor Day A national American holiday honouring the working class with parades and picnicsCeremony 🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWhit Monday The Christian feast and public holiday held on the day after PentecostSpiritual 🇺🇸 Washington, United StatesPresidents' DayWashington's Birthday An annual American holiday honouring George Washington and the nation's past leadersCeremony 🇯🇵 JapanComing of Age Day成人の日 A Japanese public holiday welcoming new adults with municipal rites and celebrationsRite of passage 🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 3 moreRosenmontag The peak of German carnival, celebrated with satirical street parades and sweetsFestival 🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaVictoria DayFête de la Reine A Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerCeremony 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇨🇿 Czechia and 2 moreEaster whippingpomlázka An Easter Monday custom of tapping women with braided willow switches for vitalitySeasonal 🇨🇭 Zurich, SwitzerlandSechseläutenSächsilüüte Zurich's spring festival marked by guild parades and the burning of a snowman effigySeasonal 🇨🇦 CanadaThanksgivingAction de grâce An annual Canadian autumn holiday celebrating the harvest with family feastsFestival · Dinner 🇪🇬 Cairo, EgyptSham Ennessimشم النسيم An Egyptian spring festival of picnics, salted fish, green onions and painted eggsSeasonal 🇬🇧 Brockworth, United KingdomCooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake A round of cheese, a steep hill, and runners chasing it down for the prizeGame 🇧🇧 BarbadosCrop Over A Barbadian harvest festival marking the end of the sugar cane season with music and parades.Festival 🇫🇯 Suva, FijiRatu Sir Lala Sukuna Day An annual Fijian civic observance commemorating statesman Ratu Sir Lala SukunaCeremony 🇱🇺 Nospelt, LuxembourgEmaischen An Easter Monday market in Luxembourg known for small bird-shaped clay whistlesFestival 🇪🇸 Seville, SpainSeville FairFeria de Abril de Sevilla A week-long spring festival in Seville of carriage parades, marquee tents and dancingFestival · Dinner 🇹🇹 Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago Carnival An annual festival of street parades, masquerade bands, steelpan music and danceFestival 🇨🇭 Basel, SwitzerlandCarnival of BaselBasler Fasnacht A 72-hour masked carnival of drums, flutes and satire in northern SwitzerlandFestival 🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesWest Indian Day Parade A lively Caribbean street procession held every September in Brooklyn, New YorkFestival 🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreColumbus Day An annual autumn holiday marking the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the AmericasCeremony 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoMexican Revolution DayDía de la Revolución Mexicana A Mexican civic holiday marking the 1910 uprising with parades and public ceremoniesCeremony 🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Mexico and 1 moreGuelaguetza An annual Oaxacan festival of indigenous dance, music, costumes and communal sharingFestival