Origin & history
Easter Monday in Suriname, locally known as Tweede Paasdag, derives from the Christian liturgical calendar brought to the Guianas by Dutch colonists and the Moravian Brethren, who began missionary work in Suriname in 1735. The Moravian Church (Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine) and later the Roman Catholic, Dutch Reformed and Lutheran churches all observed the Easter Octave, treating the Monday after Easter Sunday as a continuation of the Resurrection feast.
The holiday entered Surinamese public law through the Dutch colonial administration, which enshrined the Christian feast days of the Netherlands in local ordinance. When the colony established its official list of public holidays, Easter Monday was included alongside Good Friday, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Suriname achieved independence in 1975, and the new republic retained Easter Monday in its national holiday schedule. The 1990s and 2000s saw the holiday framework formalized to recognize the country's religious diversity, with Hindu, Muslim and Indigenous observances added, but the Christian holidays, Easter Monday among them, remained unchanged.
Customs & traditions
Suriname's Easter Monday is a quiet, family-oriented public holiday. Many people attend morning church services, particularly in the Moravian and Catholic congregations of Paramaribo and the older plantation districts along the Suriname River. The rest of the day is typically spent visiting relatives, sharing meals and resting, since shops and most government offices are closed.
Food is central to the day: families prepare dishes such as pom (a baked casserole of chicken and taro), pastei (a savory pastry) and broodje (a filled bread roll), often followed by bojo, a dense cassava and coconut cake. Some households serve traditional Easter foods with a Surinamese twist, combining Dutch-style breads with local ingredients like coconut, cassava and plantain.
For many, the afternoon is a chance to enjoy outdoor activities after the religious observances of Holy Week. Families head to the rivers, beaches and recreation grounds around Paramaribo and Wanica, and kite flying, picnicking and games are common among children. Because the holiday falls in the dry season, it doubles as a relaxed day of leisure before the working week resumes.
Why it is celebrated
Easter Monday is celebrated in Suriname as the joyful conclusion of the Easter Triduum, marking the day after Christ's Resurrection. For the country's Christian communities, it is a day of continued thanksgiving and reflection, while the public holiday allows all citizens, regardless of faith, to spend time with family and rest after the solemnities of Holy Week.
The holiday also reflects Suriname's layered history: it carries the Dutch name Tweede Paasdag and the Calvinist and Moravian traditions of the colonial era, yet it has been adapted to the multi-ethnic, multi-religious society of the modern republic. As one of the fixed Christian public holidays in a country that also honors Hindu, Muslim and Indigenous festivals, Easter Monday stands as a symbol of the coexistence of traditions that shapes Surinamese national life.