Whit Monday

Pentecost is a major Christian observance in the Solomon Islands that takes place on the fiftieth day of Easter – 49 days after Easter Sunday. It is also known as Whit Sunday, and is celebrated with a Whit Monday public holiday each year. Pentecost is the final celebration of the seven-week Easter period. According to Christian belief, Pentecost commemorates the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and disciples of Jesus, giving them the ability to speak in different languages to share the good news about Jesus. The name “Whit” Sunday and Monday comes from the white clothes traditionally worn by those being baptised on this popular day for baptisms. Solomon Islands is a heavily Christian nation, with over 90 percent professing some form of Christianity. Most of the people are either Anglican, Roman Catholic, or Evangelical. And in many local congregations across these islands, Pentecost is a significant date on the church calendar. Key themes focused on at these churches for Pentecost include the power for Christian living and service the filling of the Spirit, the joy of the Holy Ghost, the task of worldwide evangelising with which the Church is tasked, and the unity of all God’s people across barriers linguistic, cultural, political, and geographic.