Octave of Easter

This article is about the eight-day celebration in Western Christianity. For the octave day (the last of the eight days), see Second Sunday of Easter. For the similar period in Eastern Christianity, see Bright Week.

"Easter Week" redirects here. For the week before Easter, see Holy Week.

The Octave of Easter is the eight-day period, or octave, that begins on Easter Sunday and ends with Second Sunday of Easter.[1] It marks the beginning of Eastertide. The first seven of these eight days are also collectively known as Easter Week.

Days in the octave

1. Easter Sunday
2. Easter Monday
3. Easter Tuesday
4. Easter Wednesday
5. Easter Thursday
6. Easter Friday
7. Easter Saturday
8. Second Sunday of Easter

Liturgical celebration

Roman Rite

In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, Easter is one of two solemnities with octaves, the other is Christmas. The days of the octave are given the second-highest rank in the calendar (second only to the Paschal Triduum and Easter itself), ranking even above normal solemnities.[2] The paschal sequence Victimae paschali laudes may be sung before the gospel reading on each of these days.

The Gospel readings for each of middle days within the octave are taken from the various Scriptural accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus.

• Monday: Matthew 28:8–15
• Tuesday: John 20:11–18
• Wednesday: Luke 24:13–35
• Thursday: Luke 24:35–48
• Friday: John 21:1–14
• Saturday: Mark 16:9–15

Lutheran

The Octave of Easter is celebrated with daily Mass. The Lutheran Missal states:[3]

The Octave of Easter forms a cohesive thematic unit with the two following weeks. The Gospel for Quasimodogeniti, the First Sunday after Easter, recounts the appearance of Our Lord to the apostles in the locked upper room, together with Thomas’ confession.[3]

References

1. Kosloski, Philip (April 24, 2019). "What Is the Octave of Easter?". Aleteia. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. "Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar". The Roman Missal (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Catholic Book Publishing. 2011. p. 96.
3. Gramenz, Stefan (6 April 2021). "Eastertide Lections". The Lutheran Missal.