Pentecost applies in addition Christmas and Easter as the third highest Christian festival in the church year. The celebrations take place on the 50th day after Easter Sunday.
This year Whit Sunday is June 5th and Whit Monday falls on June 6th.
Since Whit Monday is a national public holiday, it is a “long weekend”. In most federal states, there are school holidays around Pentecost.
BILD explains where the name Pentecost comes from and what is traditionally celebrated.
name origin
The term Pentecost is derived from the Greek word pentēkostē (hēméra), which means something like the fiftieth (day).
Logically, then, that the feast days begin on the 50th day after Jesus’ resurrection. Traditionally, the counting of the days begins with Easter Sunday itself as the first.
Pentecost originally goes back to the Jewish double festival of Shavuot, which commemorates the receipt of the Ten Commandments. On the other hand, it is the feast of the harvest.
The disciples of Jesus met in Jerusalem on this feast day when the Holy Spirit descended on them.
What do we celebrate Pentecost?
The miracle of Pentecost! In the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke describes how the disciples in Jerusalem were filled with the Holy Spirit and were suddenly able to speak and understand languages they had never known before.
The event so impressed the people that thousands were baptized. The first Christian community was formed in Jerusalem.
That is why at Pentecost we also speak of the birthday or the birth of the church!
Which symbols stand for Pentecost?
At Pentecost one often encounters the following symbols:
► Taube: The white dove represents peace and purity, but also the Holy Spirit. The Pentecostal dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who hovered over his head like a dove and descended on him during Jesus’ baptism.
► Feuer: In many depictions of Pentecost, tongues of fire buzz above the heads of Jesus’ disciples. They illustrate the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
How is Pentecost celebrated in other countries?
In other Christian countries, Pentecost has a similar importance. Like Christmas and Easter, Pentecost is spread over double holidays. That means: In addition to Sunday, Monday is also a public holiday.
► In Germany in 2005 efforts were made to eliminate Monday as a holiday. Business associations had sued, but were ultimately unable to assert themselves.
Italians and Swedes have one less day off: Whit Monday was abolished as a public holiday there.