Pentecost

Pentecost
Pentecost, Hours of Etienne Chevalier, illuminated by Jean Fouquet , Muse Cond , Chantilly
Observed	the Christians
Type	Religious Celebration
Meaning	Commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the 50th day after Easter.
Date	7 weeks after Easter
Previous date	May 23, 2010
Current Date	June 12, 2011
Next date	May 27, 2012
Related	Shavuot

Pentecost (from Greek / "fiftieth") is a Christian feast inspired by the Jewish holiday of or Its celebration is attested from the ^fourth century and takes place after a period of fifty days after Easter.

It commemorates a mystical experience of collective apostles of Jesus of Nazareth reported by the Acts of the Apostles and celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on them on the fiftieth day after Easter, commemorates as Shavuot, fifty days after Passover , the descent of Mount Sinai by Moses , carrying the Tablets of the Law.

In the Christian tradition and according to Acts, the episode in which the actors will disseminate the Gospel opens the story of the first generation of Christians.

Summary 1 Origins of the festival 1.1 The Hebrew celebration Christianity 1.2 2 Christian Traditions 2.1 Pentecostalism 2.2 Catholic and Orthodox Churches 3 Whit Monday 3.1 Holiday in some countries 3.2 In France 4 Popular Culture 4.1 Music 5 Commercial exploitation 6 Notes and references 7 Related Articles 8 External links

/ / Origins of the Day

Hebrew Day

In the Jewish calendar , Shavuot takes place "seven weeks" or fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath " which becomes progressively the celebration of the Sinai Covenant between God and Moses and the establishment of the Mosaic Law . Towards the beginning of the ^first century, it became one of three major pilgrimages yearly, especially celebrated by some Hellenized Jews and by some Jewish sects while keeping out of these minority groups to its agricultural dimension ^first century AD. It was not until the ^second century the Pharisaic bind the harvest festival to commemorate the giving of the Law at Sinai .

Christianity

Following an episode recounted in the Acts of the Apostles , the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth receive the Holy Spirit and divine inspiration in the Upper Room in Jerusalem fifty days after the Resurrection and ten days after the Ascension of it following: tongues of fire rest on each of them, formalizing the coming of the Spirit in an episode inspired communication that allows followers to speak in other languages than Galilean without knowing s' rather, the polyglottism or glossolalia .

The image of fire - according to Jewish tradition of the time on the episode of the Sinai revelation that the episode will renew - embodies the divine Voice. The Christian tradition sees this and Pentecost as receiving the gift of languages that can bring the promise of universal salvation to the ends of the earth and seem to confirm the nationalities of the list of witnesses to the event .

In an episode reported by a single Gospel according to John , one of the last Supper which is held on the eve of his Passion , Jesus seems to announce the Pentecost of Acts. According to this passage , Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit, he called the Paraclete (the Advocate): "I told you these things while I am still with you, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you. " . Meanwhile, the Synoptic Gospels do not refer to the Holy Spirit after the resurrection.

Christian Traditions

In Christian traditions, the feast of Pentecost is a specific occasion of celebrating the Holy Spirit , third person of the Christian Trinity.

If a festive period of fifty days is attested in some Christian communities from the late ^second century , it was not widespread and it was not until the ^fourth century established what the feast of Pentecost at the end of this period .

Pentecost is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter. The date varies because Easter is a movable feast and the next will take place on Pentecost Sunday May 27 2012.

Pentecostalism

The Pentecostalism , also called Pentecostal movement, is an evangelical Protestant movement giving special importance to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as those exhibited by the apostles and other faithful gathered at the day of Pentecost.

Roman Catholic and Orthodox

Council until Vatican II , Whit Monday was a day of obligation in which the Catholic Church addressed the newly baptized and confirmed. Since then, Whit Monday is no longer apart solemnized in the branches traditionalists in the Church. Since Vatican II, who presented the honor to the worship of the Holy Spirit, the celebration sometimes gives rise to particularly festive celebrations, especially in the charismatic communities. In a few Catholic churches in Western Europe, use inherited from the Middle Ages, rose petals are thrown on the faithful in the singing of the sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus.
Pentecost is also part of the twelve major feasts of the Orthodox liturgical calendar.

Whit Monday

Whit Monday takes place fifty days after Easter Sunday. Whit Monday, as Easter Monday, has no meaning in connection with the Bible.

Day public holiday in some countries