The Christian year is divided into seasons and adorned with
holidays (holy days). Like the monastic hours of prayer, the Church
calendar exemplifies the "sanctification of time."
Advent
Advent is a four-week period of preparation for Christmas, during which
we focus our attention not only on Christ's first coming as a child in Bethlehem,
but also on his second coming to judge the world. Sermons preached
during Advent traditionally deal with the "four last things": death,
judgment, hell, and heaven. The Scripture lessons include readings
about John the Baptist, the forerunner whose prophetic ministry prepared
the Jews of the early first century for Jesus's adult presence among them.
Advent always begins on the Sunday nearest to November 30, which is either
the last Sunday in November or the first Sunday in December.
During Advent, the vestments are purple (violet) or, sometimes, indigo.
The joyful hymn Gloria in Excelsis is not sung at the Eucharist.
In some places, a wreath of evergreen boughs is set up in churches
and homes, with four candles set in the wreath, the successive lighting of
which counts out the four weeks of the Advent season.
Christmas
Christmas Day (December 25) is the beginning of a twelve-day festival
commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Within the Christmas season, we commemorate (on December 28) the massacre
of the Holy Innocents, slaughtered by the jealous King Herod in a futile
attempt to assasinate Jesus, whom he saw as a potential rival to his throne.
On the eighth day of Christmas (January 1), we recall Jesus's circumcision
in obedience to the Law of Moses.
In Christmastide, the vestments are white or gold (except on the holy
days in honour of Saint Stephen and the Holy Innocents, when red is used).
Nativity scenes of a stable, with a figure of the infant Jesus in
a chreche or manger, are set up in churches and homes, continuing
a custom begun by Saint Francis of Assisi.
Epiphany
Epiphany is a season commemorating the manifestation of Jesus as the
Christ, to his people and world. In the Western Church, the festivial
of Epiphany itself, celebrated on January 6, commemorates the arrival of
the Magi, the wise men of the East, who came to Bethlehem to worship the
infant Jesus and to offer their gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. During
the weeks between January 6 and Septuagesima, the Scripture readings tell
the stories of several manifestations of Jesus's identity and power: his
Bar Mitzvah at the Temple in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old; his
Baptism in Jordan by John the Baptist, when the voice of the Father was
heard to identify Jesus as "my beloved Son"; Jesus's first miractle, wrought
at the wedding in Cana of Galilee; and his first healing miracle.
On the festival of Epiphany and during its octave, white or gold vestments
are worn; for the rest of the Sundays after the Epiphany the vestments are
green.
Pre-Lent
Pre-Lent is a season of seventeen days (including three Sundays), which
is a kind of liturgical preparation for Lent (which is itself a season of
preparation). The three pre-Lent Sundays are called Septuagesima, Sexagesima,
and Quinquagesima. In those places and at those times when Lent was
most strictly observed, the pre-Lenten season was observed, outside of Church,
as a time of partying and getting it all out of one's system; its secular
names include "fasching" and "carnival."
The last day of pre-Lent is called Shrove Tuesday, and is a day on which
many people make their confessions, so as to begin Lent with a clean slate.
In places where a meatless lent is observed, Shrove Tuesday is the
last day to use up animal fats (hence, Mardi Gras in French-speaking
lands).
Purple vestments are worn during the pre-Lenten season. The hymn
Gloria in Excelsis is not sung.
Lent
Lent is a season of forty days (not counting Sundays) during which the
Church contemplates those marvelous acts by which our salvation was wrought.
Forty days is a time period of symbolic significance; for example,
our Lord himself fasted for forty days in the wilderness before commencing
his public ministry. The whole forty-day period is observed with
penitence, fasting, and self-denial. Traditionally, no meat is consumed
during Lent, and other kinds of food and drink may be put aside as well.
The last two weeks of Lent are called Passiontide. During that
time the Church enters more deeply into its contemplation of Christ's suffering
and death.
The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and during that time the events
of the last week of our Lord's earthly life are commemorated. On
Palm Sunday, we recall his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the people
waved palm branches and greeted him with "Hosanna to the son of David,
blessed is he who cometh in the Name of the Lord!" On Spy Wednesday,
we recall his betrayal by Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve. On Maundy
Thursday, we recall his Last Supper with his disciples, during which he
washed their feet as a token of his humility and instituted the Eucharist,
and after which he was arrested while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
On Good Friday, we commemorate his trial before the Roman Governor,
Pontius Pilate, and his suffering on Mount Calvary, where he died on the
Cross. On the Holy Sabbath, we contemplate his burial in a borrowed
tomb.
During Lent, the vestments are usually purple (violet), although an ancient
English custom was to use unbleached cloth instead. The joyfuly hymns
Gloria in Excelsis and Te Deum Laudamus are not sung; flowers
are not used to decorate the church. In Passiontide (or, in some places,
thoughout Lent) statues and pictures are veiled.
During Holy Week, even the antiphon Gloria Patri is suppressed.
In some places, crimson vestments are worn during Holy Week (and black
vestments on Good Friday). There is a glimpse of Eucharistic joy at
the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday, after which, however, the
altar and church are stripped bare of all adornment.
Easter
The principal festival of the Christian year is that of the Resurrection
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, called "Easter" (i.e., rising) in English.
Easter is the new Passover, and is called in some languages "Pasca"
or "Pasch" (from "Pesach," the Hebrew name of Passover).
The festal season lasts for fifty days, each of which is a day of joy and
gladness. On the fortieth day of Eastertide, the Church commemorates
our Lord's ascension into heaven, in the sight of his Apostles.
In Eastertide the vestments are white or gold. The church building
and altar are decorated with flowers; all of the joyful hymns are sung. Special
liturgies of great antiquity and solemnity mark out Easter as the greatest
of festivals.
Pentecost
The fiftieth day after Easter is Pentecost (known in traditional English
usage as Whitsun Day). As the Jewish festival of Pentecost (also called
"Shavuoth" or the "Weeks") marked the giving of the Law to Moses and the
Hebrew church, the Christian festival marks the giving of the Holy Spirit
to the Apostles and the Christian Church. One nickname for Pentecost
is "the birthday of the Church." The importance of Pentecost as a Christian
festival is second only to that of Easter itself.
On Pentecost, and during the following week, red vestments are worn, recalling
the cloven tongues of fire that lit upon the Apostles at the first Pentecost.
Red vestments are also worn at confirmations and ordinations, each
of which is a kind of "little Pentecost," in which the Holy Spirit descends
anew.
Trinity
Trinity Sunday, the Octave of Pentecost, is marked off as a special festival
of God's self-revelation as Three-in-One, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
On Trinity Sunday, and for the following seven days, white or gold vestments
are worn.
The rest of the Sundays of the year, until Advent, are counted as Sundays
after Trinity Sunday. (In some Christian communities, the rather
blander phrase "Sundays in ordinary time" is used.) During the weeks
of Trintytide, the Scripture lessons recall Jesus's teaching and his acts
of power, as well as the Apostles' advice on living a Christian life.
During the weeks after Trinity Sunday, the vestments are green--a colour
of nature and of growth.
Saint's Days and Special Festivals
Festivals of our Lord
On February 2, we commemorate our Lord's Presentation in the Temple on
the fortieth day of his earthly life, which was also the day of the ritual
Purification of his mother after childbirth.
On the fortieth day of Easter (Holy Thursday in traditional English usage)
we observe our Lord's Ascension into heaven.
The Thursday after Trinity Sunday is observed as a festival of the Body
of Christ (Corpus Christi), and as a solemn commemoration outside of Holy
Week of our Lord's institution of the Eucharist.
On August 6, we commemorate our Lord's Transfiguration on Mount Tabor,
when he went to pray on the mountaintop with three of his disciples and,
in their sight, was revealed in the "glistering" light of his divinity.
September 14 is the festival of the Holy Cross.
The last Sunday in October is a festival in honour of our Lord Jesus Christ
as King, although in some places this celebration has been moved to the Sunday
next before Advent (which always falls in November).
White or gold vestments are worn on these festivals of our Lord (except
Holy Cross Day, when red is worn).
Festivals of our Lady
Candlemas (February 2) is both a festival of our Lord (recalling his Presentation
in the Temple) and of the Blessed Virgin Mary (recalling her Purification
after childbirth).
On March 25 (Lady Day) we recall the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin
Mary by the angel Gabriel. Although observed as a festival of our
Lady, the Annunciation is also a principal festival of the Incarnation,
as it was at that time that Jesus was conceived in the Virgin's womb.
On July 2, we celebrate the Vistitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her
kinswoman, Saint Anne, the mother of John the Baptist, who first acknowledged
Mary as the Mother of the Saviour.
On August 15 we commemorate the Dormition (falling asleep) of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, and, therefore her "heavenly birthday." A venerable
and pious tradition holds that her body was not left to decay in the grave,
but was assumed into heaven, as a foretoken of the bodily resurrection of
all faithful Christians.
On December 8 we recall the Conception (and on September 8 the Nativity)
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On December 12 we celebrate the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Our Lady of Guadalupe) to the convert, Juan Diego, at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico
in 1531, as a sign of our Lord's special favor to the people of the Americas.
The vestments on festivals of our Lady are usually white or gold, but
in places where Christianity was first introduced by Spanish missionaries
(including California and the Southwest), blue vestments may be worn instead.
Festivals of the Saints
Throughout the year, we observe holy days in honour of the saints of
God, the holy men and women who have borne witness to our Lord during the
last two thousand years. Feast days are set aside for the Twelve
Apostles and the Four Evangelists (Gospel-writers): Andrew (November
30), Thomas (December 21), John (December 27), Matthias (February 23), Mark
(April 23), Peter (June 29), Philip and James the Younger (May 1), James
the Elder (July 25), Bartholomew (August 24), Matthew (September 21), Luke
(October 16), Simon the Zealot and Jude Thaddeus (October 28). There
are also festivals in honour of those New Testament figures in addition
to the Twelve who are also reckoned as Apostles, such as Timothy (January
24) and Barnabas (June 11). January 25 is the solemnity of Paul's
conversion while on the road to Damascus.
On December 26 we commemorate the witness of the Deacon Stephen, the
first Christian martyr; on March 19 we honour Joseph, our Lord's foster
father; and on June 24 we celebrate John the Baptist, the forerunner of
our Lord.
On July 22, we recall Mary Magdalene, from whom our Lord cast out demons,
and who thereafter followed and looked after him, becoming the first witness
of his Resurrection.
The Church has set aside festival days in honour of others who have served
the Lord in their times, or who died for their faith in Jesus. When
the date of a saint's death (called his or her "heavenly birthday") is known,
the fesival is on that day. The observances vary from place to place,
but some are kept almost everywhere. March 17 is the festival of the
Bishop Patrick, who brought Christianity to Ireland. August 28 is kept
in honour of the Bishop Augustine, a great theologian of the late fourth
and early fifth century. October 4 is observed as a festival in honour
of the Deacon Francis of Assisi, who founded an order of friars. December
6 is the commemoration of the Bishop Nicholas of Myra, protector of children.
The Church also celebrates the ministry of those spiritual beings, our
fellow creatures, who are God's messengers. September 29 is the festival
day of Saint Michael and all Angels.
On November 1, the Church celebrates a festival in honour of all the
Saints.
The vestments are red on the feasts of martyrs, symbolizing blood and
fire. The vestments are white or gold on most other festival days
(although there is an ancient English custom according to which yellow is
used on the festivals of saints who were not martyrs).
Other Festivals
Anglicans in North America celebrate as holy days the anniversary of
Bishop Samuel Seabury's consecration as the first American bishop on November
14, 1784, and also the anniversary of the consecration of four bishops on
January 28, 1978, to continue the Anglican witness on this continent in
the face of mass apostasy.
The Church in each country observes certain civil festivals, consecrating
them to God. Independence Day in the United States (July 4) and Canada
Day in Canada (July 1) are such civil festivals. Thanksgiving Day (in
November in the United States; in October in Canada) is another. In
England, certain days connected with the civil sovereign are observed with
special prayers and services (i.e., the current monarch's official birthday
and the anniversary of her or his accession to the throne).
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