Holy Easter Monday?

The question has been raised whether the Monday following the Christian holiday of Easter has religious significance. The answer, unfortunately, is no and young Christians do not have a religious excuse for not attending the newly added April 21 school day. For Jewish and Baha'i students, however, the prospects look slightly better.

April 21 is the beginning of the festival of Ridvan in the Baha'i religion. Ridvan is a twelve day period commemorating Baha'u'llah's announcement of his claim to prophethood and his departure from Baghdad in 1863. According to the Baha'i invitation home page, Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith from 1921 to 1957, described the Rivan as "the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals." It is observed from sunset 20 April to sunset, 2 May.

For Jewish students, April 21 lies during the festival of Passover, which begins April 17 and ends April 24. Passover is a festival remembering the Jewish people's release from bondage by the Egyptians, as described in both the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible. April 21, however, does not have enough significance, according to the school system, to merit an excused absence from school.

As for the argument that a day is needed to "recuperate" from the Sunday Easter celebrations, just remember that we went to school on January 2, the day after New Year's.