The Church Year is an ancient custom that helps Christians take a journey through the stories and experiences of faith. The trajectory of the Church Year follows the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the early struggles of the church, and the church's hope that God's loving purposes for humankind will be complete both now and in the future. 

 Sunday

Sunday is the most ancient celebration in the Christian church. It was celebrated by the first Christians as the "Lord's Day"—a day set apart for the sharing of a sacred meal that symbolized the community's incorporation into the Body of Christ. To this day, every Sunday is a "little Easter," a renewal of our experience of the power of the Risen Christ in our lives. For this reason, fasting and other acts of penance are forbidden on Sunday, even during the penitential season of Lent.

 Advent

The Church Year begins with Advent, a season of spiritual anticipation and preparation that precedes the celebration of Christmas in the churches of the West.*

The word "Advent" is from Latin adventus, meaning the "coming" [of Christ]. The first Sunday in Advent is the fourth Sunday before December 25—the traditional date of Christmas in the Western church. The season's focus is not only on Christ's birth but also on Christ's return at the close of history. The seasonal color, royal purple, symbolizes the authority of Christ, the "Prince of Peace." In some traditions, the seasonal color is blue—the color of Mary, whose prayerful waiting for the birth of Jesus corresponds to our own waiting for the coming reign of God in our lives and in the world. In some churches, the color for the Third Sunday of Advent is rose, mixing the purple of Advent with the white of Christmas in anticipation of the coming festival of Christ's birth. An "Advent wreath" of candles and evergreens is used in many churches and homes to mark the season's progression.

 Christmas

Christmas falls on a day close to the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. This was no accident. In ancient Rome, the solstice was associated with pre-Christian rituals of light celebrated on the longest night of the year. The early church borrowed and expanded this theme. By the fourth century, the Western church had transformed the ancient festival of light into a celebration of Christ's coming as the "light of the world."

Christmas continues for twelve days until January 5. The season's traditional color is white—the festal color also used for Easter and other seasons of celebration.

 Ordinary Time I: the season after Epiphany

Epiphany follows on January 6. In the Eastern church, this is the date associated with the celebration of Christ's birth. In the West, the feast has a double theme: the visit of the three Magi or "Wise Men" who brought gifts to the infant Jesus, and the "manifestation" (epiphaneia in Greek) of Christ's Good News (Gospel).

The first Sunday after the Epiphany is the Baptism of Christ—an observance of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River and a time to remember our own baptism into the Body of Christ. The remaining Sundays until Ash Wednesday are part of Ordinary Time—a season that serves as a bridge between the major seasons of the Church Year, in this case, between Christmas and Lent. The traditional color of Ordinary Time is green, a symbol of spiritual growth.

 Lent

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent—a penitential season of self-examination, prayer, fasting and works of love. In many churches, ashes are placed on the forehead as a reminder of mortality.

The word "Lent" is from the Middle English verb meaning "to lengthen." In the Northern Hemisphere, the season corresponds with the lengthening of days during late winter and early spring.

During Lent, Christians prepare themselves spiritually for the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday. The season spans 40 days: the number 40 symbolizes spiritual journeys home, corresponding to the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert on a spirit quest and the 40  years Israel journeyed through the wilderness towards the promised land. The color of Lent is purple. During Holy Week, red is sometimes worn to symbolize the blood shed by Jesus for the salvation of humanity.

 Holy Week

Lent ends with Holy Week, beginning with Palm (or "Passion") Sunday and continuing with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. ("Passion" is from the Latin passio, meaning "suffering.") The color for most of Holy Week is red—symbolizing the blood shed by Jesus on the cross.

Maundy Thursday, however, is an exception to the somber and introspective mood that normally prevails during Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday, Christians gather to remember the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples—an event Christians associate with the first celebration of Holy Communion (or the "Lord's Supper"). So the color of the day is festal white.

"Maundy" is derived from the Latin word, "mandatum," meaning "commandment." The celebration recalls not only the Last Supper but Jesus' last commandment to his disciples: "love one another as I have loved you."

Good Friday is the observance of the arrest, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. The center of attention is the cross: hanging criminals on a cross was a common method of execution in the Roman Empire. As Christians behold the cross on Good Friday, they remember the arms of the Savior of the world, stretched out on the wood of the cross for the salvation of humanity.

 Easter

Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of the crucified Lord from the dead. It is the greatest festival in the Church Year. In many churches, it begins with a solemn "vigil" on Saturday night. Stories from the Bible about God's loving care for humanity are read, and bells are rung while the congregation sings "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God's people on earth."

The celebration of Christ's resurrection continues for 50 days. The color of the season is festal white.

The season ends with Pentecost Sunday—exactly 50 days after Easter Sunday. (Pentecostē means "fiftieth [day]" in Greek.) The custom of counting 50 days from Easter to Pentecost was borrowed from Jewish tradition, which celebrates the harvest festival of Shavuot 50 days after the feast of Passover.

In Christian tradition, Pentecost Sunday celebrates the gift of Christ's Holy Spirit to the church. The Spirit is often symbolized as fire, so the color of Pentecost is red.

 Ordinary Time II: the season after Pentecost

With Pentecost Sunday, Easter comes to an end and a second period of "Ordinary Time" begins. This is the longest season in the Church Year, bridging Easter in the spring with Advent in the fall. The first Sunday of this season following Pentecost is usually a celebration of the Trinity—an opportunity for Christians to reflect on God's threefold being as "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," or "Creator, Savior, and Sanctifier."

The color for Trinity Sunday is white. For most of the rest of the season, the color is green. Ordinary Time ends on the Sunday before Advent with the feast of the Reign of Christ. Advent then returns, marking the completion of another Church Year.

 Other Holy Days

In many churches, additional Holy Days are observed throughout the Church Year. Most of these represent some event in the life of Jesus.

• The Holy Cross (Sept. 14) is a time to reflect on the cross not as a symbol of defeat, but of victory.
• New Year's Day is often observed as the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus or the Circumcision of Jesus. The date is eight days after Christmas; in Jewish tradition, males are traditionally circumcised eight days after birth.
• The feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is celebrated on Feb. 2, and in some traditions marks the close of the Christmas season. It is sometimes called "Candlemas" and is celebrated at night with lighted candles.
• Transfiguration is celebrated in many churches on the last Sunday before Lent, and recalls the transfiguration of Jesus into a radiant being—an event that revealed his divine glory to the disciples.
• The Annunciation (March 25) recalls the message of the angel to Mary that she would bear a son and name him Jesus. Mary's "yes" to God's messenger is also observed during Advent.
• The Visitation (May 31) recalls Mary's visit to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. In the Bible, Mary sings a song (the "Magnificat," or "[My soul] praises")—set to music by the world's greatest composers.
• Ascension, 40 days after Easter Sunday, celebrates Christ's Ascension into heaven.
• Corpus Christi ("The Body of Christ") honors the sacrament of Holy Communion and falls on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.
• In many churches, Aug. 15 is observed as a feast in honor of the Virgin Mary.
• Reformation Day is celebrated on Oct. 31 or the preceding Sunday.
• All Saints is observed on Nov. 1 or the following Sunday. 

* The ancient church was divided into two families: the "Western" church, centered in Rome, which worshipped in Latin, and the "Eastern" church which worshipped in Greek and in various ancient languages of the Middle East. During the Reformation (15th century), the Protestant and Anglican churches separated from the Roman Catholic Church, but are still considered part of the "Western" tradition.

Learn more about the symbolism of the Church Year in the Book of Worship of the United Church of Christ and The New Century Hymnal. Both are available from United Church Press.

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