VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and are able to enjoy the sunshine.

Today is Whit Sunday. Whit Sunday is also known as Whitsun or Whitsunday, all names that refer to what is the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. The name White Sunday, used more commonly in Britain, refers to the special white garments worn by the newly baptised. The festivals celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples following the death of Jesus Christ. Whitsuntide is the week beginning on Whitsunday which are Pentecost or Whitsunday, Whitmonday, and Whit-Tuesday.

According to the New Testament, the apostles began to speak in tongues when the Holy Spirit descended. Saint Peter took this opportunity to address the crowd and deliver the first Christian sermon. This act led to the conversion and baptism of 3,000 people. This sermon is hailed as the birth of the Christian church as a religious force.

It is not known when the festival was first celebrated, but it was mentioned in the second century by the “Epistola Apostolorum,” a work from the Eastern church. In the third century, it was mentioned by Origen, a Christian priest and writer.

In the early church, the entire 50-day period beginning with Easter was referred to as Pentecost. Baptisms would take place at the beginning (Easter) and the end (the day of Pentecost) of the Paschal. These 50 days were seen as a festival, and each was observed as a day of joy. Solemn worship took place daily, fasting was forbidden, and no one kneeled while praying. At these services, the Acts of the Apostles were read, alms were distributed, slaves were liberated, and places of worship were decorated with evergreens.

In Western churches, priests and members of the congregation often wear red to symbolise the “tongues of fire” that descended on the disciples from the Holy Spirit, and the altar is dressed in a red frontal cloth.

Whit Sunday marks the beginning of many outdoor and springtime activities, which include festivals and organised outdoor activities. In many European countries, the Monday after Pentecost is a legal holiday.

Have a blessed Sunday a wonderful week to come.

God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.