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CHRISTIAN  HOLY  DAYS  AND  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES
MAJOR  CHRISTIAN  HOLY  DAYS AND  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES-Cont. - 14229_61

Religious Program Specialist 3 & 2, Module 01-Personnel Support
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celebrated  the  last  3  days  before  Lent.  In  France,  the  day  is  known  as Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). Mardi Gras celebrations are also held in several American  cities,  particularly  in  New  Orleans.  The  day  is  sometimes  called Pancake Tuesday by the English because fats, which were prohibited during Lent,  had  to  be  used  up. *  Ash  Wednesday—The  first  day  of  the  Lenten  season,  which  lasts 40  days.  Having  its  origin  sometime  before  A.D.  1000,  it  is  a  day  of  public penance  and  is  marked  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  by  the  use  of  ashes from palms blessed on previous Palm Sundays and burned for this purpose. With  his  thumb,  the  priest  then  marks  a  cross  upon  the  forehead  of  each worshipper. The Anglican church in the United States also observes the day, but generally without the use of ashes. *  Palm  Sunday—Is  observed  the  Sunday  before  Easter  to  commemo- rate  the  entry  of  Jesus  into  Jerusalem.  The  procession  and  the  ceremonies introducing the benediction of palms probably had their origin in Jerusalem. For Greek Orthodox, Palm Sunday is the first day of Greek Orthodox Holy  Week. *  Holy  Week—All  the  days  of  the  week  preceding  Easter  have  special connotation as they relate to the events of the last days in the life of Jesus. Beginning  with  Palm  Sunday,  each  of  these  days  takes  on  a  special  impor- tance. *   Holy   Thursday   (in   Holy   Week)—This   day,   often   referred   to   as Maundy  Thursday,  is  marked  by  the  sacrament  of  Holy  Communion  in remembrance of the Last Supper which Jesus observed with His disciples. *  Good  Friday—This  day  commemorates  the  Crucifixion  of  Jesus.  A feature in Roman Catholic churches is the Liturgy of the Passion: there is no Consecration,  the  Host  having  been  consecrated  the  previous  day. *  Easter  Sunday—Observed  in  all  Christian  churches,  Easter  commem- orates the Resurrection of Jesus. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or next after March 21 and is, therefore, celebrated between March 22 and April 25 inclusive. Differences concerning the date of Easter arose between the East and the West as early as the second century. The date of the Orthodox Easter was finally fixed by the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, which decreed that Easter should  be  celebrated  on  the  Sunday  immediately  following  the  first  full moon after the vernal equinox (the first day of spring), but always after the Hebrew  Passover.  This  maintains  consistency  with  the  Biblical  sequence  of events. The Easter of the Western churches is not necessarily preceded by the Hebrew  Passover. Once  every  few  years,  the  dates  for  Easter  in  Eastern  and  Western churches  coincide,  though  not  in  a  fixed  pattern.  When  they  do  not  fall  on 2-32







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