When is Easter Monday?
In 2026, Easter Monday falls on Monday, April 13, 2026. It is classified here as a Greek public holiday.
History of Easter Monday
Easter Monday follows Orthodox Pascha and is expressly named as a compulsory holiday in Article 60 of Law 4808/2021. Its movable date must be derived from the Orthodox Paschalion rather than western Easter: the Orthodox churches retain a Julian ecclesiastical basis for the calculation, after which the result is represented on the Gregorian civil calendar. The Monday closure gives households time after the demanding Holy Week services, midnight Resurrection liturgy and Sunday feast, while also accommodating return journeys from ancestral villages and islands.
The day’s atmosphere is more relaxed than Sunday’s principal celebration. Families continue meals with remaining roast meat, pies and red eggs, visit godparents or friends, and attend local feasts where available. Transport routes, ferries and airports can be busy as travellers return, while public offices, banks and most undertakings covered by the law close. Easter Monday is already fixed by definition to Monday and needs no substitute arrangement; its date shifts between years with Orthodox Easter and may coincide with western Easter only in some years.
How Easter Monday is observed
A compulsory nationwide public holiday on the Monday after Orthodox Easter, calculated from the Orthodox Paschalion rather than western Easter.
Traditions of Easter Monday
Second Easter table
Families share food remaining from Sunday’s feast, continue red-egg contests and welcome relatives who celebrated elsewhere the previous day.
Village visits
People extend stays in family villages or island communities before beginning heavily travelled return journeys toward urban centres.
Local feast days
Some parishes and municipalities organise liturgies, dancing or communal meals that continue the Resurrection celebration beyond Easter Sunday.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Greek Ministry of Labour and government guidance. Collective agreements, regional arrangements and school schedules may differ from the general statutory rule.
History sources: Ministry of Labour and Social Security: compulsory public holidays, Bank of Greece: holidays observed during 2026, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese: dating Pascha in the Orthodox Church.
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