Thursday a consequence, some call Thursday "thirstday" or "thirsty Thursday". In the United Kingdom, all general elections since 1935 have been held on a Thursday, and this has become a tradition, although not a requirement of the law — which merely states that an election may be held on any day ""except Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday, bank holidays in any part of the United Kingdom and any day appointed for public thanksgiving and mourning."" Additionally, local elections are usually held on the first Thursday in May. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 removed Maundy Thursday as an excluded
Maundy Thursday males partook of the rite. Others theorize that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maundsor baskets" or "maundy purses" of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, "maund" is connected to the Latin "mendicare", and French "mendier", to beg. A source from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod likewise states that, if the name was derived from the Latin "mandatum", we would call the day Mandy Thursday, or Mandate Thursday, or even Mandatum Thursday; and that the term "Maundy" comes in fact from the Latin "mendicare", Old French "mendier",