Copyright Notice: This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

The Monday after Easter, rather than Good Friday as in every other state, was a legal holiday in North Carolina for 52 years. The bill establishing the holiday was introduced by Senator Paul Davis Grady of Johnston County and was ratified on 19 Apr. 1935. Although no written documents support the claim, oral tradition has long maintained that the reason North Carolina celebrated Easter Monday was to afford fans a greater opportunity to attend the North Carolina State-Wake Forest baseball game, which for many years was played the Monday after Easter. The law was amended in 1987 to observe the holiday on Good Friday rather than Easter Monday.

Additional Resources:

1935 NC Session Laws:https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/public-laws-and-resolutions-passed-by-the-general-assembly-at-its-session-of-...1935/4113812

1987 NC Session Laws: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/session-laws-and-resolutions-passed-by-the-general-assembly-1987-first-session-v.2/4007686

Citation

Williford, Jo Ann. "Easter Monday Holiday." NCpedia. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Accessed on December 12th, 2024. https://www.ncpedia.org/easter-monday-holiday.