Celebrations & festivals


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  • Created by: Popping
  • Created on: 01-06-17 13:20
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  • Celebrations & festivals
    • Advent
      • begins on the Sunday nearest the end of November and marks the period of preparation for Christmas
      • Christians light Advents Wreaths, sing carols, decorate their homes and prepare spiritually for the celebration of Christ’s birth.
    • Christmas
      • 25th December is the date used to celebrate the birth of Christ.  
      • Special Holy Communion services are held, carols are sung, nativity plays performed and Bible readings retell the story of Christ’s birth in a stable in Bethlehem.
    • Epiphany
      • – the word means ‘coming’ and refers to the arrival of the wise men at the stable, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  
      • Epiphany takes place on 6th January
      • In the Orthodox Church, both the birth of Christ and the arrival of the wise men are celebrated on 6th January.
    • Lent
      • – Lent is the period of fasting and spiritual preparation before the festival of Easter.  
      • .  It lasts for 40 days and remembers when Jesus fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days and nights, and where he was tempted by the Devil.  
      •  It is traditional for Christians to give up something they enjoy during Lent in order to remember the fasting and temptation.
      • .  The eve of Lent is Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day).  The word ‘shrove’ has come to mean being forgiven.
    • Ash Wednesday
      • the first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday.  
      • The name comes from the custom practiced by some Christians of rubbing ashes on their foreheads as a mark of sorrow and repentance for the sins committed during the past year. 
      • The ashes are made by burning the palm leaves used the previous year on Palm Sunday. 
    • Palm Sunday
      • Jesus enters Jerusalem.
      • Many churches are decorated with palm branches and each member of the congregation is given a palm cross. 
      • Sometimes processions are held around the streets or around the church.
    • Maundy Thursday
      • the Last Supper and the arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.  
      • he Last Supper was probably the Passover Seder Meal celebrated a day early. 
      • The Last Supper is remembered and repeated by Christians in the Holy Communion service
      • Many Churches have a special Passover meal, and in Britain the King or Queen gives Maundy Money to the poor.  
      • Some Christians hold a vigil to remember Jesus’ time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. 
      • Some churches ***** the altar to remember how Jesus was *****ped and beaten by the Romans.
    • Good Friday
      • Roman Catholics pray at the Fourteen Stations of the Cross – pictures of sculpture which record the places Jesus stopped on his journey from Pilate’s Judgement Hall to Golgotha (Calvary) the place of the crucifixion.  
      • Vigils and quiet services are held in churches. Untitled
    • Easter
      • Easter Sunday is the most joyful day of the Christian year
      • Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ in different ways – Easter gardens (models with rock rolled away from the tomb) are made. 
      • The Paschal Candle is lit – the victory of light over darkness – Jesus is the light of the world.  
      • In Greek Orthodox churches the priest comes out of the darkened church at a minute past midnight with the lighted candle
      • All of the congregation outside have candles and the light is passed from person to person.
      • There are fireworks and  bonfires too!
    • Pentecost
      • This festival, known by two different names – either Pentecost or Whitsun – marks the gift of the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ followers after his resurrection and ascension.  
      • This used to be a favourite time for baptisms, particularly of new converts.  
      • Those being baptised were dressed in white so it became known as White Sunday or Whitsun.
      • Many churches hold processions around the streets which are called ‘Walks of Witness’.
    • Sunday
      • This is also known as the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day
      • The fourth of the Ten Commandments says ‘Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy’ (Exodus 20).
      • This day is devoted to resting, as God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh (Genesis 1), and worshiping God.  
      • It is the weekly remembrance of the resurrection of Christ and when the main service of Holy Communion takes place.  

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