When is Easter Monday?
In 2026, Easter Monday falls on Monday, April 6, 2026. It is classified here as a Hungarian public holiday.
History of Easter Monday
Easter Monday extends the Christian celebration of the Resurrection after Easter Sunday. In Hungary it is also associated with locsolkodás, the spring custom of sprinkling women with water or, more commonly today, perfume after reciting a short verse. Its older symbolism connects water with renewal, health and fertility, while decorated eggs are offered in return.
The custom is not a single rulebook for modern households. It survives in forms ranging from village-scale traditions to playful family visits, and many people do not practise it at all. As a statutory holiday, Easter Monday creates time for church services, shared meals, countryside outings and the seasonal movement of relatives and friends from one home to another.
The best-known Hungarian folk expression, locsolkodás, is documented in many regional forms: older village practice could involve water from a well or bucket, whereas a short rhyme and a little cologne are common in contemporary visits. Participants increasingly adapt or decline the custom according to preference, so it should be described as a tradition rather than an obligation. The date is fixed by Western Easter and appears independently in Section 102 of the Labour Code, producing a nationwide non-working Monday every year without any substitution calculation.
How Easter Monday is observed
A nationwide movable statutory non-working holiday on the Monday after Western Easter Sunday. Because Easter Monday is itself Monday and is calculated from Western Easter, it requires no weekend carry-over or substitute-day rule.
Traditions of Easter Monday
Easter sprinkling
Locsolkodás may involve a short verse and a light sprinkling with perfume or water, always adapted to family comfort and consent. In Hungary, locsolkodás and decorated eggs link Christian Easter with older spring-renewal symbolism and family visiting.
Painted eggs
Decorated eggs are given, displayed and used in family games during the Easter season. In Hungary, locsolkodás and decorated eggs link Christian Easter with older spring-renewal symbolism and family visiting.
Family visits
Relatives divide visits across the long weekend, often with festive food and spring walks. In Hungary, locsolkodás and decorated eggs link Christian Easter with older spring-renewal symbolism and family visiting.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Hungarian labour law and government guidance. Employer, school and local-service schedules can differ from the statutory public-holiday calendar.
History sources: Hungary’s Labour Code, Section 102: statutory non-working days, The Fundamental Law of Hungary, Article J: national holidays, Hungarian Government decision on national events and memorial days, 2026 ministerial decree on exchanged rest days and working Saturdays, Visit Hungary: Hungarian Easter traditions, Encyclopaedia Britannica: Easter.
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