Advent
(from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus, in other words, the period immediately before Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western Christian year and commences on Advent Sunday. The Eastern Churches begin the liturgical year on 1 September.[1] The Eastern equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, and differs both in length and observance (see that article for specifics).
The progression of Advent may be marked with an Advent calendar reckoning Advent to start on 1 December, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic calendar, Advent starts on the 4th Sunday before December 25; in other words, the Sunday between November 27 and December 3 inclusive.
Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Christ.
Christmas
(IPA: /krɪsməs/) is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. It refers to both the day commemorating the birth, and also the Christmastide season which that day inaugurates, concluding with the Feast of the Epiphany. The date of the celebration is traditional, and is not considered to be Jesus' actual date of birth. Christmas festivities often combine the observation of the Nativity with various cultural customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. Although nominally a Christian holiday, it is also observed as a cultural holiday by many non-Christians.
In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In Germany and some other countries, the main Christmas celebrations commence on the evening of the 24th. The day following Christmas Day, December 26, is called Boxing Day in the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, and called St. Stephen's Day or the Feast of Saint Stephen in Catholic countries. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6. Eastern Orthodox Churches that still use the Julian Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of 25 December, which is January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar, because the two calendars are now 13 days apart.
The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (25 December – 5 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.
Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace.
Ordinary Time
is a season of the Christian (especially the Catholic) liturgical calendar. The name corresponds to the Latin term Tempus per annum (literally "time through the year"). Ordinary Time comprises the two periods — one following Epiphany, the other following Pentecost — which do not fall under the "strong seasons" of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter.
The term Ordinary does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered." The weeks in ordinary time are numbered, although several Sundays are named for the feast they commemorate, such as Trinity Sunday (first Sunday after Pentecost) and the Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday in OT), and for American Catholics, the Feast of Corpus Christi (second Sunday after Pentecost).
Lent and Passiontide
Lent, Passiontide, and Easter Triduum Lent is a major fast taken by the Church to prepare for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, at the end of Holy Week. There are forty days of Lent, as the six Sundays in Lent are not counted. During Lent, the Glory to God and the Alleluia are not used at Mass. "Glory and Praise" is generally used in place of the Alleluia where as the Glory to God is just omitted.
Before the 1970 reforms, the last two weeks of Lent in the Catholic Church were known as Passiontide. During this season, the Gloria Patri is suppressed except after the Psalms in the Divine Office, the readings begin to focus even more on the Passion of Christ, and, most noticeably, the crucifixes and images of the saints are covered with violet cloth. On the Friday before Good Friday is the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Should the Feasts of St. Joseph or the Annunciation fall during Holy Week, they are transferred to the week following Easter.
Color: Violet. In some traditions, Rose may be used on the 4th Sunday of Lent, called Laetare Sunday.
The Easter Triduum consists of:
Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday
Main article: Maundy Thursday At the evening worship service or Mass of the Lord's Supper.
Some churches who celebrate this day as Maundy Thursday engage in the ritual of ceremonial footwashing.
It is customary on this night for a Watch service to take place, beginning after the evening service and continuing until midnight. (This is occasionally then re-commenced at dawn of Good Friday, continuing until the morning liturgy.)
Color: White.
Good Friday The celebration of His passion.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Mass is never celebrated on this day, although prayer services are encouraged.
Color: Varies: No color, Red, or Black are used in different traditions. (Where colored hangings are removed for this day, liturgical color applies to vestments only.)
In the Roman Catholic and High Anglican rites, a crucifix (not necessarily the one which stands on or near the altar on other days of the year) is ceremoniously unveiled. (And in pre-Vatican II, other crucifixes were to be unveiled, without ceremony, after the Good Friday service.)
Holy Saturday Commemoration of the day Christ lay in the Tomb.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Mass is never offered on this day.
Color: None
Easter Vigil Held after sunset of Holy Saturday, or before dawn on Easter Day, in anticipation of the celebration of the resurrection.
See also Paschal candle
Color: White, often together with Gold plus an off white.
In pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic rite, during the "Gloria in Excelsis" at the Mass, the organ and bells are used in the liturgy for the first time in 2 days, and the statues, which have been veiled during Passion time, are unveiled.
Easter Main
Easter Easter is the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. The date of Easter varies from year to year, according to a lunar-calendar based dating system (see computus for details). The Easter season extends from the Easter Vigil through Pentecost Sunday on the Catholic and Protestant calendars. On the calendar used by traditionalist Catholics, Eastertide lasts until the end of the Octave of Pentecost, at None of the following Ember Saturday.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Easter octave allows for no other feasts to be celebrated or commemorated during it, although if Easter falls on April 25, the Greater Litanies (normally on that date) are said on the following Tuesday. During the fifty days of Eastertide, the Gloria and Te Deum are said every day, even on ferias.
Ascension Thursday, which celebrates the return of Jesus to heaven following his resurrection, is the fortieth day of Easter, although some places transfer it to the following Sunday. Pentecost is the fiftieth day, and celebrates the sending of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles. Pentecost is commonly seen as the birth of the Church.
Color: White or Gold, except on Pentecost, on which the color is Red.
Hope and Growth
Ordinary Time
Penance and Reconciliation
Advent
Lent
Holy Saturday for liturgies other than Mass, which is not celebrated
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)
Masses and offices for the dead, including All Souls' Day
Purity and Joy
Christmastide (from Christmas day to the Baptism of the Lord)
Easter season
Holy Thursday
Feasts of Our Lord other than of His Passion
Feasts of Our Lady[2]
Feasts of the Angels
Feast of St. John the Apostle
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Feast of All Saints
Feasts of Non-martyred Saints
Weddings
Fire and Blood
Pentecost
Palm Sunday
Celebrations of the Passion of the Lord, including Good Friday
Feasts of the Holy Cross
Feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists, except St. John
Feasts of Martyred Saints, including the Holy Innocents
Confirmation Masses
Masses of deceased Popes and Cardinals.
Charity and Love
Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), where customary
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), where customary
Peace and Love
for all Feast and Memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Eternity and Universality
Universal Color of the Church
Earth
All Souls' Day
Masses and offices for the dead