As the secular year moves through its rhythms and seasons, so the church year also moves through times of death, and times of new life and renewal, seasons of waiting and seasons of rejoicing for expectations fulfilled. Like nature's seasons, too, the church's seasons have their characteristic colors which give special meaning to the church furnishings themselves and set the tone for the worshiper. And each season, each special day in the church calendar brings its own mood, has its own purpose, its own music and prayers.
At the heart of every season is the Week, which itself is a microcosm of the entire church year.
THE WEEK: Some people think that the number seven became holy as a symbol of creation. In ancient times people knew that there were seven celestial bodies that seemed to move in the heavens. These were the sun, the moon, and the planets Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. (Neptune, Uranus and Pluto were not able to be seen until the invention of the telescope.)
The Jewish people keep a seven-day week. Each day begins at sunset, not at midnight. The days of the week are called "first day," "second day," and so on. The seventh day alone has a special name. It is called the Sabbath, the day of rest.
According to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, God created the world and all of its creatures in six days. On the seventh day - the Sabbath - God rested. According to God's law, which is set forth in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the people are commanded "to remember to keep holy the Sabbath day." The Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday night and ends at sundown on Saturday. It is the holiest day.
The Romans thought a seven-day week that included at least one day of rest was a good idea. They named the days after the sun, moon and planets. In the English language we still have "Sun's Day" and "Moon's Day," and "Saturn's Day." But the other days got named after Norse gods: Tiw's Day, Woden's Day, Thor's Day and Freya's Day.
The "Sun's Day," the first day of the week, is also called the Lord's Day, the weekly feast day for Christians. On Sundays we gather for the Eucharist, which is a joyful banquet with the risen Lord and our sacrifice of praise offered to God.
Why is Sunday so joyful for us? On this day God began the work of creation. On this day Jesus was raised from the dead and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples. Sunday is the best day for baptism and Eucharist. Sunday is our holiest day.
Some Christians call the Lord's Day "the eighth day of the week"- the day that leaps out from the other seven days. Sunday is the wonderful day that can give us a taste of heaven's own timelessness. It is a day to "play heaven."
Friday, the sixth day, is the day God created humans-completing creation. Friday is also the day on which Jesus died so that we might be brought back to the innocence of Eden. Christians are called to prepare for the Lord's Day by keeping Fridays with extra prayer, fasting and works of charity.
One reason it's customary to fast from eating meat on Fridays is to show respect for the animals, who also were created on the sixth day. By not eating meat, we give thanks to God, the creator of all living things. Each week the prayer, fasting and charity of Friday can become the "first course" of our Sunday feast.
The liturgical or church calendar year consists of two parts: the first is based on an unmovable date, Christmas; the second part is based on a movable date, Easter. Easter day is the first Sunday after a full moon on or after March 21. The day cannot come before March 22 or after April 25.
ADVENT: The church's year begins as the secular year is drawing to a close. Advent, a season of preparation and expectation, looking forward to the birth of the Christ, begins four Sundays before Christmas. While Advent is a joyous time as we think of the birth in the stable in Bethlehem, it is also a solemn time as we recall that birth as a symbol of the birth of Christ in the heart of each Christian, and so the color of this season is a penitential violet or sometimes blue. During Advent we try to prepare a worthy place for that silent birth and are comforted to recall that the physical birth of Jesus is said to have taken place in rough stall among farm animals. As unfit for his dwelling as we may consider our own hearts, surely that memory must make us bold to welcome him. During Advent we also look beyond the physical coming of Jesus to Earth to the time when God's reign will change the world we know into a place of peace, justice and unexpected joy.
CHRISTMAS: As a foretaste of that joy, the season of Christmas -- white and pure full of happy music, arrives and stays for a full twelve days until the season of Epiphany.
EPIPHANY: January 6, The Day of the Three Kings, recalls the arrival of the Magi who came from foreign lands and thus signify the spread of the Good News to all the world. As non-Jews, the Magi have special significance for those of us gentiles who also worship Jesus. The predominant color of this season is green -- the color of living things and of creation. Epiphany may last as little as three weeks or as long as two months -- depending the date of Easter.
MARDI GRAS/SHROVE TUESDAY: The day before Ash Wednesday is Shrove Tuesday, also called Mardi gras or "fat Tuesday" because of its last-minute celebrations on the eve of Lent. (For more information about Shrove Tues
LENT: Beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending 40 days later (not counting Sundays) with Easter, Lent is a major period of fasting, repentance and prayer. The church hangings are either violet or off-white reminiscent of the desert where Jesus spent 40 days fasting and in pray and preparation. The fourth Sunday in Lent is the mid-point of Lent, Laetare Sunday, also known as "Mothering Sunday," celebrating our spiritual mother, the heavenly Jerusalem, our destination and final home.
PALM/PASSION SUNDAY: Lent concludes with Holy Week which is inaugurated with the commemoration of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and a choral reading of his Passion from one of the Gospels.
THE PASCHAL TRIDUUM: Holy Week climaxes in the Paschal Triduum. "Triduum" is Latin for "three days," and includes Maundy Thursday and the commemoration of Christ's institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper with his disciples; Good Friday and the Passion of our Lord; Holy Saturday, on which no Eucharist is celebrated and Jesus' burial is commemorated; and Easter Eve with its vigil including the Lighting of the New Fire, Holy Baptism, and the first Mass of Easter. The Triduum concludes with Easter Day itself.
EASTERTIDE: Easter is not only a Day, but a joyous Great Fifty Days of celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. The church is filled with colorful hangings and flowers to symbolize our rejoicing in the glorious meaning of Easter for each of us as Christians.
PENTECOST Both a day and a season -- The Day of Pentecost at the end of the Easter Season, marks the gift of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church. Sometimes referred to as the "Birthday of the Church," we use the color red to symbolize the Spirit's appearance among the Apostles as "tongues of fire." From this day until we again arrive at Advent, we are in the time after Pentecost or Ordinary Time symbolized by green, echoing the color of summer and of the "living" Christ in each of us. The theme of this season is the growth that takes place through the Holy Spirit as we listen to and apply the teachings of Jesus more and more.
The outer trappings and colors of the seasons are, of course, not the main element of the seasons. As with the Sacraments, they are the "outward and visible signs" of the changes that are going on inside. Allowing yourself to be carried along by the flow of the liturgical year is one of the wonderful pluses of being an Episcopalian. In a very real sense, the calendar sets the tone for the service and for the worshiper. If it is Lent, we repent of our weaknesses and seek ways to grow through them. During the Sundays following Pentecost, we celebrate life, creation and possibilities; and if it is Advent as it is now, we enter this period of waiting with joy and expectation.
Reading about the calendar, while it may give you a few clues, certainly can't let you know what the truth of the liturgical year is. To learn that, you must consciously live it.
(Adapted from To Love As You Are Loved published by Forward Movement Publications and Companion to the Calendar by Mary Ellen Hynes for Liturgy Training Publications.)