Some students expressed disappointment that Easter Monday is not a religiously exempt holiday. 

Last year, the last day of Spring Break was on Easter, but for at least the past five years before that, Elon University had Easter Monday off. 

Easter Sunday, also known as resurrection Sunday, is a Christian Holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. 

More than 40% of students at Elon identify with Christian denominations that celebrate Easter, according to Elon’s spring 2025 Registrar’s Report.

Abby Bradbury, a sophomore at Elon, said celebrating Easter traditions with her family is important to her.

“Growing up, we had specific traditions for Easter. We would go to church and then we would go to IHOP, which isn’t the most fanciest thing in the entire world, but it was a family tradition,” Bradbury said.

Because Elon University is holding classes on Easter Monday, the day after Easter, Bradbury said she won’t be able to spend the holiday with her family. 

“It’s hard. I can’t go home at all. I’m from Houston, Texas, so the flight there is about three and a half hours, and it’s not easy to get a direct flight out,” Bradbury said. “So there was just really no possibility of me being able to go home this year for Easter.”

For Bradbury, not spending the holiday with her family due to having classes on Easter Monday is unsettling. 

“I am very upset that we don’t get Easter Monday off because I don’t get to be with my family,” Bradbury said. “I don’t get to continue those traditions. And although I can call them on the phone, it’s just not the same.”

Bradbury said being away from home has made her stronger in her faith, and not being able to spend the holiday with her family at this time is upsetting to her. 

“Since I have gotten back into my faith and wanted to learn more, it is frustrating that I can’t have the opportunity to go home,” Bradbury said. 

While Bradbury plans to spend the holiday with her friends in Catholic Campus Ministry, she said it won’t feel like it does with her family. 

“I do have friends here that are within CCM, so I will spend Easter with them,” Bradbury said. “We do have classes Monday, so I will most likely have homework and stuff, which is not how I’d like to spend my Easter Monday.”

University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement Kirstin Boswell said that if students are planning on missing class, having open conversations with professors will be beneficial. 

“My first advice is to make sure that they’re being fully open with their professors, that they’re communicating and making sure that any missed work is made up,” Boswell said. 

But for students who want to celebrate Easter that are unable to leave, Boswell advised students to take advantage of the resources on Elon’s campus.

“We have a number of communities on campus, practicing communities, and there will be many Easter services that they can choose from, whether it’s Catholic mass or our Protestant services,” Boswell said. “And so I would advise them to take advantage of that community and attend those services and be involved in that fellowship.”

She also recommends that everyone take advantage of the religious holiday notification form provided at the beginning of each semester. While Easter Monday is not listed as one of the 29 holidays on the form, Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday, is. 

“We have a process that’s called the religious holiday notification form, and that process is put in place so that students can request days of observance off. Now of course, they still have to complete the work that would be missed, but it’s not considered an absence,” Boswell said. 

For those who wish to celebrate Easter locally, the Elon Community Church holds worship services every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.