Easter Monday in Lesotho
Easter Monday is a statutory public holiday in Lesotho, listed alongside Good Friday and Ascension Day in the Public Holidays Act. It follows Easter Sunday, the Christian celebration of Jesus’s resurrection, while the law sets the holiday’s national status rather than prescribing particular local customs.[1][4]
A holiday established by law
Lesotho’s Public Holidays Act 1995 names Easter Monday in its schedule of public holidays. The Act allows the King, acting on the advice of the Minister of Home Affairs, to appoint additional public holidays by notice in the Gazette; Easter Monday itself is already included in the schedule.[1]
For workers, the Labour Act 2024 provides a paid day off when a public holiday falls on a day that would otherwise be a working day. A worker who works on the holiday is entitled to double the normal daily wage, or, by agreement, normal pay plus a paid day off in lieu.[2]
The Public Holidays Act does not set an automatic substitute day when a scheduled holiday falls on a weekend. Its provision about public holidays as non-business days is specifically for laws concerning bills of exchange or promissory notes, so it does not establish a general replacement day off.[1]
Christian roots in Lesotho
Easter Monday belongs to the wider Christian Easter observance, which follows the commemoration of Jesus’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. In Lesotho, the government reports that the first Christian missionaries to arrive in the country were Eugene Casalis and Thomas Arbousset in 1833, a point of historical context for the holiday’s place in a country with a substantial Christian community.[3][4]
The holiday’s listed legal status is specific to Lesotho, but the statute does not explain why Easter Monday was added or describe its historical adoption in the country. The available sources therefore support its statutory status and Christian setting, but not a more detailed national origin story.[1][3]
Observance and practical arrangements
A Lesotho News Agency report on Easter Sunday in Maseru describes Christians from different denominations attending church services, with hymns sung at Anglican churches visited by the agency.[4]
Residents and visitors should check directly with the office, business, church or transport provider they plan to use.[1][2]
Easter Monday around the world
Easter Monday is observed in many places as the day after Easter Sunday. Lesotho’s law identifies it by name as a public holiday, while the date moves with the Easter calendar.[1][4]
Frequently asked questions
Is Easter Monday a public holiday in Lesotho?
Yes. The Public Holidays Act lists Easter Monday as a public holiday in Lesotho.[1]
Who is entitled to a day off?
Under the Labour Act, a worker whose public holiday falls on a day that would otherwise be a working day is entitled to a paid day off. The Act also sets pay or time-off arrangements for workers required to work that day.[2]
Is another day given if Easter Monday falls on a weekend?
The Public Holidays Act does not provide an automatic substitute day for a scheduled public holiday that falls on a weekend. It does allow additional holidays to be appointed by Gazette notice.[1]
Sources and references
Sources used for Easter Monday in Lesotho:
- Public Holidays Act 1995- Parliament of Lesotho; hosted by ILO NATLEX
- Labour Act, 2024- Government of Lesotho; hosted by LesothoLII
- NPCC Commemorates Arrival of Missionaries- Government of Lesotho
- Christians Celebrate Resurrection- Lesotho News Agency