what is the church calendar?
centering the seasons on Christ and his church
We all know how our calendar, the Gregorian Calendar, works. Every year, without fail, December comes right after November. And when that’s over, January is sure to follow.
We know the seasons: Summer is hot, Winter is cold.1 In fall the leaves change, and April showers bring May flowers.
We all know the special days throughout the year: New Year’s Day is a big celebration pretty much everywhere. There are holidays specific to your country: in the U.S. Independence Day is for bratwursts and fireworks, and Thanksgiving is for turkey,2 pies, and football. (I think those two holidays used to have some deeper meaning, but no matter; now they’re mostly about food, right?)
We even have our own special days that might not mean anything to others. May 12th isn’t anything special to most of the globe, but in my home, it’s a pretty big day: my wedding anniversary! You’ve got days you remember too: birthdays, anniversaries, maybe even somber days like the day a beloved family member died.
But there are other calendars we follow, too. A football fanatic might be looking forward to the Draft, the first game of the season, or the Super Bowl. Those don’t happen on the same day on our calendar every year, but anyone who puts a high value on football knows when they’re coming.
Christians, though, we’ve got our special days of the year, too, right? And if you’re a non-liturgical evangelical like me, you know there are precisely TWO special church days every year: Christmas and Easter.
That’s it.3
But what if I told you that’s not it? What if I told you that centuries ago, the church had a much bigger calendar, with Christmas and Easter as just the two holiest of a slew of holy days throughout the year?
What if I told you that there are many churches that still use this calendar? What if I told you that you can use it, too?
If you’re a Christian, that should at least sound interesting.
introducing the (not at) all new church calendar!
It’s true: for almost two thousand years, the Christian Church has had a calendar built around the life of Christ and the Church. It begins not with January 1st, but four Sundays before Christmas. It proceeds through his birth and a celebration of his incarnation, a reflection on his forty days in the wilderness, leading to his final week before the crucifixion and resurrection. After that is his ascension into heaven and the birth of the Church through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
These celebrations and commemorations fall into two broad cycles of the church year, focusing on two important aspects of Christ:
The Christmas Cycle focuses on the Incarnation of Christ and includes Advent, Christmas, and the Epiphany.
The Easter Cycle points to the Resurrection and consists of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
The time between Pentecost and the beginning of the next Advent is either called the Season After Pentecost or Ordinary Time.4 After spending most of the year following the flow of these special seasons, Ordinary Time is less eventful, but not empty. It’s a time to focus on the work of the church in the world. But it also contains a number of feast days.
what are feast days?
Alongside and including the overarching seasons of the church calendar are several levels of feast days. Right at the top are the Principal Feasts, which the calendar is shaped around:
Christmas Day
The Epiphany
Easter Day
Ascension Day
The Day of Pentecost
Trinity Sunday
All Saints’ Day
These are the most important feasts of the year, and the calendar is structured around them.
Below these are other Holy Days, often called Red-Letter Days. These include commemorations of the Apostles and Evangelists, special events in Jesus’ life like the Transfiguration, and days such as Holy Cross Day.
Other commemorations include many saints from throughout church history: teachers, missionaries, martyrs, and more. In more traditional churches, Red-Letter Days are considered mandatory, while these others, sometimes called Black-Letter Days, are optional.
The calendar also includes days of fasting and prayer. Ash Wednesday, for example, begins the season of Lent and so is a special day of Fasting, as is Good Friday, for reasons that should be obvious. There are even special days to pray for “those called to Holy Orders,” or in less traditional terms, those in the ministry, which are called Ember Days.
the church week
In addition to both fast and feast days throughout the year, there is even a weekly flow within the church calendar. The Christian week starts with Sunday, and traditionally, every Sunday of the year is a celebration of the Resurrection and therefore a feast day.
On the other side of that coin, every Friday is in a sense Good Friday, a commemoration of Christ’s death for our sins. Because of this, many traditional churches encourage fasting on Fridays. This is why Roman Catholics have been known to eat fish on Fridays. Historically, they fasted from meat on Fridays, but since fish was not considered meat, it became a popular Friday option.
As you can see, there is a lot to the traditional church calendar.
why does all of this matter?
There are so many things that shape how we see time: weather, school, sports, food, vacation. But I believe that the way the Body of Christ experiences time should be shaped first and foremost by the story of Jesus and his Church. Believers that came before us have left a way for us to do that.
Perhaps it’s not perfect. It isn’t something that is mandated by the Bible. There’s nothing that says we’re required to celebrate even Christmas. (There have been Christian groups that refused to!) And it can certainly become rote and legalistic, losing it’s true meaning and value, as any tradition can.
But there’s a real appeal to building the shape of your year around Christ and his Church. It puts us a step removed from the secular world around us. It’s worth trying.
If you agree, then you’re in the right place. My plan is to continue this series through a whole year. We’re going to look at the different seasons, feasts, and holy days. Along the way, we’ll learn what makes a saint, and why they’re worth commemorating throughout the year. We’ll learn about fasting and feasting,5 and hopefully along the way, we’ll grow closer to God in the process.
I hope you’ll join me for a year in the church calendar.
Not where I’m from, but I’m trying to speak in generalizations!
Public Service Announcement. Turkey is mediocre at best. Ham is better.
OK, maybe you’d add in Good Friday, when Jesus died, but that’s just a precursor to Easter.
Sometimes the period between The Epiphany and the beginning of Lent is also considered Ordinary Time.
Although maybe we already know that last one well enough!
what you speak of is so obvious yet I am glad to learn about the details as if understanding it for the first time. We always want to be nearer to God, why wouldn't we renew our calendar on that basis.