Plough Monday is the traditional start of the English agricultural year. Plough Monday is the first Monday after Epiphany, 6 January.[1][2] References to Plough Monday date back to the late 15th century.[2] The day before Plough Monday is referred to as Plough Sunday, in which a ploughshare is brought into the local Christian church (such as the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions) with prayers for the blessing of human labour, tools, as well as the land.[3][4]
- ^ Hone, William (1826). The Every-Day Book. London: Hunt and Clarke. p. 71.
- ^ a b "Plough Monday". Oxford English Dictionary (online edition, subscription required). Retrieved 1 December 2006.
- ^ "After Epiphany, the Twelfth Night of Christmas". St. Andrew Lutheran Church. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
Sunday celebrations usually involved bringing a ploughshare into a church with prayers for the blessing of the land.
- ^ Nicholls, Janet (2006). "Plough Sunday" (PDF). Diocese of Chelmsford. Retrieved 4 June 2023.