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Whit Sunday or Pentecost

Whit Sunday 19th May 2013

Pentecost is a Christian holy day commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament of the Bible. It is also known as Whit Sunday.

Background

As recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, it was on the 50th day after Easter that the apostles were praying together and the Holy Spirit descended on them. They received the “gift of tongues”, the ability to speak in other languages, and immediately began to preach about Jesus Christ to Jewish people from all over the world who had flocked to Jerusalem for the Feast of Shavuot, which commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai.

Christian Pentecost became not only a commemoration of the Holy Spirit’s visit but also marks the birth of the Christian Church. Although it is not certain when Pentecost began to be observed by Christians, it may have been early as the first century. Whitsuntide, also referred to as Whitsun in modern times, is the period beginning with the Saturday before Whitsunday and ending the following Saturday.

Symbols

The symbols of Pentecost are those of the Holy Spirit and include flames, wind, the breath of God and a dove. In Estonia and Finland eggs are dyed as at Easter because their hens don’t lay eggs until this time. In Germany the day is called “Pfingsten” and pink and red peonies, called “Whitsun roses”, are the symbols along with the birch trees. The English refer to the holiday as Whitsunday with reference to the white garments worn on Pentecost by the newly baptized. Some churches lower a carved dove into the congregation and call this “swinging the Holy Ghost”. Cattle are decorated and an overdressed person is said to be “dressed like a Whitsun ox”. A holdover pagan game is called “hunting the green man”, a young man dressed in leaves and moss hides, and children hunt him.