Seasons of the Christian year

Episcopal Church Calendar/Seasons

Most people, when thinking about the calendar, assume all calendars used today are about the same. This is not quite correct.

The common calendar used by the western world starts January 1^st and ends December 31^st. There are however several calendars such as the lunar new year beginning in late January used by many Asian cultures. The Muslim year of the Hegira, which celebrates the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, has cycle differences from the common calendar by about 600 years and starts in March.

The common calendar we use starts at the birth of Christ. Please note that AD does not mean "after death" but Anno Domini or "The Year of our LORD", starting with the birth of Christ. Even this is not totally correct as Christmas or the birth of Christ is December 25th not January 1^st.

The Episcopal Church calendar is based on seasons, not months and the year starts with the preparations for the birth of Christ.

ADVENT

The first Season of the Church is ADVENT.

ADVENT is a season of hopeful anticipation of God's breaking into our world and our time. The season starts four (4) Sundays prior to Christmas Day, about the first of December. Altar decorations and vestments are usually the liturgical color of Blue or Purple. The choice of blue or purple is at the discretion of the minister although purple is considered as traditional. Blue is used to represent water in the Creation over which God's Spirit moved (Gen.1) to begin the process of life and the water of Baptism. This is the starting place for all Christians. Purple is also used. In antiquity, purple dye was very expensive. Purple, because of the expense, came to signify wealth, power and royalty. For this reason purple was selected for the color for Advent and Lent to celebrate the coming of the King. As Christians we prepare for our King through reflection and repentance which has associated purple as a penitential color.

The Advent Liturgies are characterized by a sense of the majesty of the Messiah we await.

Many mark this time of waiting by the use of an Advent Wreath with four or five candles. The outer ring of the wreath has four candles and may have a fifth candle in the center. The outer candles are three purple with one pink and the center if present is white. One of the purple candles is lit each of the first three Sundays with the pink lit the last Sunday. The white candle is lit on Christmas Day, which starts the beginning of the next season...

CHRISTMAS

The second season is CHRISTMAS.

Christmas is the season when we proclaim the unique nature of Jesus Christ. He does not stand aloof from us, but he enters into our lives. The first liturgy of Christmas is the Eve of Christmas Day. This late night liturgy, called the Christ Mass, is a highlight of our year. Other liturgies may occur early Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The season of Christmas is short lasting only twelve (12) days. Starting on December 25^th and ending on January 5^th which is the Twelfth Night.

The white color symbolizes purity, joy, and hope.

EPIPHANY

The third season is Epiphany.
The day of Epiphany is January 6th.

The word Epiphany means "showing forth", "revelation" or "manifestation". This occurs on January 6^th and commemorates Christ's first manifestation to the Gentiles as the promised Messiah, symbolized by the visit of the Wise Men. After the Epiphany, the Sunday Gospels focus on other revelations such as the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and the marriage feast at Cana. This is the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.

The season of Epiphany celebrates Christ's divine power and glory revealed for all people. Christians see Christ as "The Light of the World".

Epiphany often comes on a weekday. Because of this, for years it has not received the attention it deserves. The 1979 prayer book changed this by emphasizing and magnifying Epiphany through eliminating pre-Lent Sundays and making the period after Epiphany longer by three weeks, thus giving more time to focus on Jesus' revelation of himself to his own people and to the world.

Epiphany and the weeks following are a time to ponder and meditate on the coming of light to the whole world in Jesus Christ, a time for rededication of ourselves to our missionary task and spreading the light of Christ's forgiving and redeeming love.

Many customs have evolved around this time, such as the Epiphany cake, the burning of Christmas greens and the service of The Feast of Lights.

The colors are white on the day of Epiphany and the remainder of the season is green. The color green symbolizes hope, life and growth.

LENT

Lent, a term derived from Anglo-Saxon, means "long days" or "spring". It dates from the fourth century and was a time of special discipline for those preparing for baptism on Easter. Over time, it became a period of fasting and penitence for all in preparation for Easter.

Lent, is a period of forty days excluding Sundays which are considered feast days and starts the fortieth weekday before Easter. This, the starting day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday and takes its name from the ancient custom of burning to ashes the palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. The ashes are then placed on the foreheads of the faithful in the form of a cross as a reminder of the mortality and an outward and visible sign of inward repentance.

Ash Wednesday and the other weekdays of Lent are to be observed by "special acts of discipline and self denial" as stated in the prayer book. The prayer book does not specify abstinence which means going without food with the exception of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is encouraged that each person undertake his or her own discipline or self-denial to prepare for his ministry during the forty days of fasting and wrestling with temptation.

The fourth Sunday in Lent is known as Mid-Lent, Sunday Refreshment or Mothering Sunday, from the Gospel of the day, which tells the story of the feeding of the multitude. The color of the season of Lent is purple. Some churches have a Lenten array.

HOLY WEEK

Holy Week, is the period of seven days before Easter and time when we commemorate the events and circumstances of our Lord's last days on earth.

The first day of Holy Week is Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday. This is the day we commemorate Christ's entry into Jerusalem to proclaim his messiahship. The color is purple or red. Often, crosses in the church are veiled to symbolized the shadows of betrayal, trial, suffering, and death. The prayer book provides the Liturgy of the Palms in which the people and clergy reenact the entry of Christ into Juresalem by processing into the church with carrying palm branches. The Gospel may be read as a responsive narrative of the passion with the people participating.

Maundy Thursday is the day just prior to Good Friday. The word Maundy comes from the word "mandate" or "commandment". This is our Lord commanded the apostles to love one another as he had loved them, and at the "Last Supper" instructed them to partake of the Blessed Sacrament "in remembrance of me". White is the color for the celebration of the Eucharist. At the completion of the Eucharist, the altar is stripped of everything save the cross to symbolize the stripping of Christ of his garments. We remember our Lord's washing the feet of the apostles, his agony, betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. This precedes the darkest day of the Christian year …

Good Friday the day when Christ was crucified. Services are held in many churches at noon in remembrance of the noon hour crucifixion. This is the time when the faithful meditate upon the cross and the last hours and words of our Lord.

Holy Week comes to an end on Easter Eve. The Vigil of Easter, an ancient service, is celebrated between sunset Saturday and sunrise Easter Day. On this the day of resurrection, includes the lighting of the Paschal candle, recalling of the Passover and deliverance of our Hebrew forebearers with readings from the Old Testament, Baptisms, Confirmations, Renewal of Baptism Vows, followed by the joyful celebration of the Easter Eucharist.

EASTER SEASON

Allulua. Christ has risen.
The Lord has risen indeed. Alleluia.

The heart and soul to the Christian faith is found in the fact that Christ is risen. The fact that sin and death have been vanquished. God's power over our spiritual enemies is acknowledged and complete. The Christian Easter is the transformation of the Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess of spring, Eostre, festival. This festival celebrated the gift of new life. Also included in the transformation is the Jewish Passover, celebrating God's deliverance of his people from tyranny and oppression.

Easter is the apex of the Christian year and cosidered the "queen of feasts". Easter is always the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21. (Calendar date of Easter)

Please note that this page is in the development stage and will be expanded to include all the seasons of the Christian year.