Advent

Advent - the color is blue.

The season of Advent consists of the four Sundays before Christmas Day (December 25th) and the days in between.

The Church Year (which is designed to tell the story of our salvation through Jesus Christ annually) begins with the season called Advent which means "coming to."  The theme of coming looks toward 1) Bethlehem and the coming of Christ to the world  as a baby in the manger and toward 2) the Second Coming of Christ, the consummation of all the promises of God.  Blue suggests hope, which is a primary theme of Advent. (In some traditions, purple was used to mark the season of Advent.)

The traditional names of the Sundays in Advent are translated from Latin to English:  Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, in that order.

An Advent Wreath (or Advent Log) with four candles helps count down the time until the arrival of the Christ.  There are several traditions of the color of the candles.  One is that all four candles are white.  Another tradition has all the candles the color blue.  And older tradition has three purple candles and one pink one.  The pink one is lit on the third Sunday and is connected with the Joy Sunday (Jubilate Sunday).

The Season of Christmas

Christmas - the color is white.

Christmas is both a major festival day in the life of the Church marking the birth of Jesus Christ into the world - the Incarnation of God, as well as a season.  As a season, Christmas goes from December 25th until the eve of Epiphany (which is January 6th).  The Christmas season lasts twelve days. 

Christmas Eve has become more popular for worship attendance because of the association with the night and the stars and the visits of the shepherds to the manger. 

The name of Christmas came from celebrating the Mass of Christ to recognize the incarnation.

Themes of Christmas include gladness, light, joy.  One of the strong traditions of Christmas is gift giving like that of the Wise Men.  The greatest gift of all is the gift of Jesus who was born into the world for the purpose of reconciling us all to God.  Therefore, Christmas is appropriately celebrated with the remembrance of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for the redemption of the world.

The Season of Epiphany

Epiphany - the color is white for the festival of Epiphany on January 6th, for the second Sunday of Epiphany and for Transfiguration (the last Sunday of Epiphany). Green is the color of the Sundays between the beginning and end of the season. 

Epiphany means the manifestation of God in the world.  Epiphany serves as a bridge between Jesus' birth and his passion.  From the visits of the Magi to the baptism of Jesus, the first miracle at Cana and culminating in the Transfiguration (a really big show!), the themes of Epiphany give us a glimpse of Jesus in modest and splendid circumstances.

The Season of Lent

Lent - the color is purple.

Purple suggests somberness and solemnity.

Lent is the 40 day season that begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday (excluding Sundays which are observed as feast days celebrating the resurrection).  Lent originally meant spring (lenthenging of days).  It is the time before Easter to reflect upon our baptism and the death and resurrection of Jesus.

An alternate color for Ash Wednesday can be black, suggesting the ashes to which all living things return.  Our destiny with God is a gift, not a birthright.

The Sunday before Easter is observed as Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday.

On Passion Sunday the color changes to red/scarlet, which is the color of blood.  The sacrifice of Christ and the shedding of his blood results in victory, not defeat.  With this emphasis, the color of Holy Week remains red through Maundy Thursday.

Alternately, white may be used for Palm Sunday, emphasizing the arrival of the King.  White may also be used for Maundy Thursday, emphasizing the Lord's Supper (as opposed to the passion to follow).

Good Friday uses no paraments indicating the humiliation of Jesus.  Alternately black paraments may be used.  It is the most passion-filled day of the church year, marking Christ's death.

Observing Lent prepares us to celebrate Easter more fully through 1) repentance from personal inadequacies and shortcomings, 2) penitential practices like fasting and self-denial which help us understand the sacrifice of Christ for us, 3) resolution to live a life more in alliance with Christ, and 4) participation in additional acts of devotion, worship and service to renew and strengthen conviction of faith.


The Easter Season

Easter - the color is white (with some gold).

Easter is the queen of all the seasons. It lasts not for a day or for a week, but for a week of weeks (7 weeks).  Easter is a continuous celebration of the resurrection which marks the defeat of sin, death and evil by Risen Lord Jesus. 

Easter is the most important festival of the church year.  Without it, there would be no gospel salvation and no other festival.  The name of Easter Lutheran Church was taken to tell that wonderful story in a word:  Christ suffered and died and rose again to life.

Easter is associated with the Jewish Passover historically and the lunar calendar.  Therefore, the festival of Easter varies from year to year.  Briefly, it is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox; if the full moon occurs upon a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday after.. (Passover is associated with the spring full moon as well.)  So Easter occurs on the first, second or third Sunday in April each year (and once in a while in March).

The Sundays After Pentecost

Pentecost - the color is red.

Pentecost is the culmination of the resurrection.  Jesus promised to send his Holy Spirit to inspire and empower the life of the church - which is the body of the Risen Christ in the world.  Pentecost was the 50th day of Easter.  It coincided with a Jewish harvest festival called the Feast of the Tabernacles which explains why Jews from all over the then-known world were in Jerusalem, celebrating one of the three major festivals.

Pentecost has been called the birthday of the church.  On that day the Holy Spirit descended on believers and inspired more than 3,000 to join the community of believers in Jesus Christ.

Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity Sunday  - the color is white.

This is the Sunday that celebrates not an event in the life of Jesus but a revelation of God that Jesus gave us which is a Mystery.  We can know the one true God in three distinctively personal ways:  as Father-Creator; as Son-Redeemer; as Holy Spirit-Sanctifier.  We do not have three Gods, but one.  The ancient creeds of the Church (Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian Creeds) give witness to this central truth of the Christian experience.  As believers in the revelation of God in Jesus, we see the God experience through Christ's eyes.  Three-in-one is a mystery more than a doctrine for believers in Christ.


Season of Sundays after Pentecost

Sundays after Pentecost - the color is green.

This is the longest season of the church encompassing half the year.  The theme is growth in faith through the examination of the teachings and activities in Jesus life and in the life of the faith community (the Church).   Growth in the Spirit as the Risen Christ is formed in the people describes the theme for this season.

Christ the King Sunday

Christ the King - the color is white

This is the last Sunday of the church year and celebrates the Lordship of Christ over all creation and all eternity.  Jesus is the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, and everything for believers.


Reformation

Reformation Sunday - the color is red.

The Reformation was a powerful renewal movement in the life of the church in the early sixteenth century resembling the Pentecost of the early church.  God's Holy Spirit is always active in renewal and reform of the hearts of believers and the life of the church.  The historical reformation resulted in the Lutheran expression of Christian life as well as many other Protestant religious expressions.  On this day we do not celebrate schism, but renewal and hope. 

Reformation Day is October 31st.  Martin Luther, a priest in the Roman Catholic Church and a professor of theology at the University of Wittenburg wrote 95 Theses (statements) and posted them on October 31, 1517 to give notice of his intent to debate these issues on the following day, November 1 - All Saints' Day - a tradition of the University at that time.

Historical events and the power of the Holy Spirit converged in a way that resulted in the formation of the Lutheran Confessions by 1530 and the Lutheran movement within God's holy church in the world.

Reformation Sunday is observed on Reformation Day or the Sunday closest to it in October each year.

All Saints' Day

All Saints' Sunday - the color is white.

This Sunday remembers the life and faith of believers throughout the life of the church, especially those who have claimed the promise of their baptism, namely eternal life with God. 

All Saints' Day is November 1st each year.  All Saints' Sunday is celebrated on that day or the closest Sunday to it in November.