Religious Festivals June 2011

Transcription

1 Religious Festivals June 2011 Key dates (leave may be requested in some circumstances for these days) Christian Festivals Thursday 2nd June - Ascension Day (celebrated on Sunday 5th June in the Roman Catholic Church) Ascension Day occurs 40 days after Easter Day, hence it is always a Thursday and the date moves each year with that of Easter. As western and eastern Easter fell on the same Sunday this year, the date of Ascension Day also coincides. The Roman Catholic Church currently transfers the celebration of Ascension Day to the following Sunday. This feast celebrates the conclusion of the period after Christ s resurrection when he made frequent appearances to his followers. Luke s Gospel and Acts recount this conclusion as a specific event. According to the Acts of the Apostles (written by the same person who wrote Luke s Gospel) after forty days Jesus instructed his followers to wait in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit, after which they were to take his message to the ends of the earth. Then he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1.9). In Jewish tradition, entering such a cloud is a symbol for entering the presence of God. The feast of the Ascension completes the cycle of festivals related to the earthly life and resurrection of Jesus, which began at Christmas. It celebrates his enthronement at the right hand of God the Father as Lord of all creation (again, this is symbolic language, pointing to the deep meaning of the mysteries of the incarnation, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and the nature of God as Trinity), and looks forward to the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the mission of the church, and the eventual ending of this present creation Ascension Day is celebrated with festival Eucharists (Masses, Holy Communion, the Holy Liturgy). At some Oxbridge Colleges, the choir may sing from the tower. At Lincoln and Brasenose, the door connecting the two Colleges is opened: It is traditional for parishes in England to beat the bounds on Ascension Day,, that is to walk round the boundaries of the parish, possibly being given refreshments en route, as is done this day in Oxford by the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and by St Michael at the North Gate. In many European countries this is a public holiday. In Britain it is not, but many schools and church institutions in England have traditionally kept it as a holiday. Sunday 12th June - Pentecost or Whitsun Pentecost takes its name from the Greek term for the Jewish Feast of Weeks which fell 50 days after Passover. In the Christian calendar it celebrates the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the followers of Jesus who were awaiting this gift in Jerusalem after Jesus resurrection and ascension. According to Acts, Chapter 2, the Christians who had gathered together in Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost experienced a spiritual empowerment which sent them out into the streets of Jerusalem, among the festival crowds from all parts of the Mediterranean world, to proclaim Jesus resurrection and his teaching, and to draw many new followers to believe in him and be baptized. It is therefore the feast of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Christian church.

2 Whitsunday (literally White Sunday ) is an English term which was possibly applied to Pentecost because of the white robes worn by the newly-baptized. In the western church, from early times, Pentecost was second in popularity to Easter for baptisms. The liturgical colour at Pentecost however is red, recalling the flames of fire which, along with the sound of a strong wind, accompanied the disciples experience of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as described in Acts. The Orthodox churches keep this Sunday as the feast of the Holy Trinity and the Monday as the feast of the Holy Spirit. Source: Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Sunday 19th June-Trinity Sunday In the western church, the first Sunday after Pentecost marks the conclusion of the annual liturgical remembrances of the life of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit, by a celebration embracing the mystery of God as One in Three: that the one God exists in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and yet in one substance. The understanding of God as One and Three arises from the experience of God mediated through Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, witnessed in the New Testament and lived in subsequent Christian experience. After several centuries of debate on how the one-ness and three-ness of God might be modelled and understood, the fundamentals of this doctrine as stated in terms of Greek philosophy were universally agreed at the ecumenical Council of Nicaea in AD 325, but it was far from being a new idea at that time. The Sunday after Pentecost gradually became a specific feast of the Holy Trinity in the west, where it was made a universal feast by Pope John XXII in It became particularly popular in England, possibly because of its association with St Thomas Becket who was consecrated bishop on that day in In the Church of England it inaugurates the long period of Sundays after Trinity that runs through the summer towards the beginning of the new church year on Advent Sunday Sunday 19th June-All Saints Day (Orthodox Church) The feast of All Saints, which in the west is kept on 1 November, is kept by the Orthodox churches on the Sunday following Pentecost. It commemorates all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history. Thursday 23rd June or Sunday 26th June - Corpus Christi The feast of Corpus Christi (Latin: the Body of Christ ) is a western feast commemorating the institution and gift of the Eucharist. It is observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or on the following Sunday. The Church of England now terms it the Day of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion (Corpus Christi) and since 1970 its official Roman Catholic name is Festum Corporis et Sanguinis Christi (Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ). The institution of the feast was ordered by Pope Urban IV in 1264, amid contemporary scholastic discussions of the doctrine of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body of Christ during Mass, and it became universal in the Western Church in the 14th century. The choice of Thursday reflects Maundy Thursday, the day of the Last Supper, Colleges in both Oxford and Cambridge take their name from this feast. In some countries, Catholic churches celebrate not only with a Mass, but also with an outdoor procession of the Blessed Sacrament, carrying the consecrated wafer through the streets as a sign of Christ s saving presence for the world. The Catholic Church in England and Wales will celebrate Corpus Christi on the Sunday following 23rd June. Source: Oxford Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church Thursday 24th June - Nativity (Birth) of St John the Baptist St John the Baptist is unique among saints in having two feasts. The churches of east and west celebrate his birth on 24th June and his beheading on 29th August., John is known to us both from the New Testament and the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Antiquities ). He was a prophetic figure who preached repentance for sin, turning to God, and invited people to be baptised in the river Jordan as a sign of their inner and outer cleansing. Luke s Gospel has the story of John s birth (Luke 1: 5-24, 57-80). According to Luke, John was a cousin of Jesus and his elder by six months, hence the feast of his birth is celebrated

3 six months before Christmas. John is revered in Christian tradition as the forerunner who announced the coming of Christ. According to all four Gospels, Jesus public ministry began after he himself had been baptized by John. Josephus records that John was perceived by Herod Antipas as a potential political threat. Herod had him arrested, imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus in Perea across the Jordan, and executed. The Gospels give a similar account. St John s College in Oxford is St John Baptist College, and Merton College Chapel (originally a parish church) is also dedicated to him. This feast of St John the Baptist on 24th June is also Mid-summer s Day, three days after the actual solstice on 21 June, and hence has an association, particularly in northern Europe, with the lighting of midsummer bonfires dating from pre-christian times. Tuesday 29th June - Feast of St Peter (or St Peter and St Paul). This ancient feast, kept by the Churches in east and west, commemorates the martyrdoms in Rome of two of the main leaders of the early church. The Church of England keeps it as the feast of St Peter. St Peter, a fisherman from Galilee, was one of Jesus first disciples and a leader among the inner group of twelve apostles. His missionary travels eventually took him to Rome where tradition places his martyrdom during the persecution by Nero in AD 64. His grave is marked by St Peter s Basilica, and in Roman Catholic tradition he is regarded as the first Bishop of Rome. St Paul was born in Tarsus in modern Turkey. A dedicated Jew, he studied in Jerusalem and became an active persecutor of Christians. He had a sudden conversion through a vision of Christ while on the road to Damascus to arrest Christian leaders there. He developed into a prominent Christian missionary and theologian, travelling the eastern Mediterranean, writing letters to the churches he knew or founded, being arrested in Jerusalem and finally reaching Rome ca AD62 as a prisoner. He continued preaching and teaching as a missionary even under house arrest, until being martyred at Rome ca AD67. His career can be traced both in his letters which form part of the New Testament in the Bible, and in the Acts of the Apostles written by St Luke, who describes Paul s journeys and accompanied him on some of them. Ordinations of priests are often carried out on this feast or in its octave, the period of eight days following 29th June. ************************************************************************************************ Jewish Festivals Sundown Tuesday 7 th June- Shavuot (1st Day) Shavuot is also known as the festival or feast of 'Weeks'. This is the anniversary of Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah, at Mount Sinai, a highly important historical event. It also marks the beginning of the Summer harvest. It is the second of the three pilgrimage festivals (of Passover, Shavuot, and Succot) to the Temple in Jerusalem. There is no set date for the two day festival but it takes place seven weeks (fifty days) after the first day of the spring festival of Passover. This also marks the start of the wheat harvest and the end of the barley harvest. Prayers are said on Shavuot (especially at dawn) to thank God for the five books of Moses (known as the Torah) and for his law. Some people also spend the first night of Shavuot studying the Torah. Synagogues are decorated with flowers and plants on this joyous occasion to remember the flowers of Mount Sinai. Dairy products are also eaten during Shavuot ************************************************************************************************ Pagan Festivals Tuesday 21st June-Summer Solstice Litha Solstice, Midsummer or Litha means a stopping or standing still of the sun. It is the longest day of the year and the time when the sun is at its maximum elevation. This date has had

4 spiritual significance for thousands of years as humans have been amazed by the great power of the sun. The Celts celebrated with bonfires that would add to the sun's energy, Christians placed the feast of St John the Baptist towards the end of June and it is also the festival of Li, the Chinese Goddess of light. According to Pagan lore, Litha celebrates the consummation of the marriage of the young Goddess and God (who were married at Beltane - 1 May). In a pagan community, the festival would be celebrated with dancing, singing, storytelling, and feasting. Ancient people believed that the Litha fires possessed great power, and that prosperity and protection for oneself and one's community could be secured by jumping over the Litha bonfire. A good time for handfasting (the Pagan marriage ceremony), modern pagan couples will also jump the embers of a Litha fire three times to ensure a long and happy marriage and fertility. Nothing is wasted at Litha, even the charred embers from the Litha bonfire have traditionally been thought to possess protective powers. The ashes are traditionally gathered and used as charms against injury and bad weather in harvest time. Pagans are in awe of the incredible strength of the sun and the divine powers that create life. For Pagans this spoke in the Wheel of the Year is a significant point. The Goddess took over the earth from the horned God at the beginning of spring and she is now at the height of her power and fertility. The union of the God and Goddess and is seen as the force that creates the harvest's fruits. This is a time to celebrate growth and life but for Pagans, who see balance in the world and are deeply aware of the ongoing shifting of the seasons it is also time to acknowledge that the sun will now begin to decline once more towards winter. When celebrating midsummer Pagans draw on diverse traditions. In England thousands of Pagans and non-pagans go to places of ancient religious sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury to see the sun rising on the first morning of summer. In addition to the large events at major sites such as Stonehenge, many more Pagans hold small ceremonies in open spaces, everywhere from gardens to woodlands. ********************************************************************************************************* Sikh Festivals Thursday 16th June- Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Nanakshahi calendar) Guru Arjan was the fifth Sikh Guru and the first Sikh martyr: he gave up his life for the Sikh people. The Guru laid the foundation of the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar. He also designed the four doors in a Gurdwara, proclaiming that "My faith is for the people of all castes and all creeds from whichever direction they come and to whichever direction they bow." He also declared that all Sikhs should donate a tenth of their earnings to charity. The greatest contribution he made to the Sikh faith was to compile all of the past Gurus' writings into one single volume. This original text was known as the Adi Granth and would be added to at later dates to become the current Sri Guru Granth Sahib the Sikhs follow to this day At this time through a series of political intrigues, the sovereignty of Guru Arjan and his people were challenged by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. To protect the independence of the community, Guru Arjan allowed himself to be tortured for five days and five nights. He was chained to a hot metal plate while his captors poured burning sand on his body. Guru Arjan smiled the entire time, for he saw the hand of the Divine behind it all. He saw the One Creator playing every part in the torture and recognized his union with the one ultimate existence. After five days and nights, Guru Arjan was permitted to bathe in a nearby river.

5 Guru Arjan dove into the water and dissolved into light. His physical body was never seen again.