24 December 2011 - Christmas eve. We hold a
Christmas Eve carol service. The final candle, the Christ Candle,
is lit.
25 December 2011 - Christmas day. We celebrate Christ's
birth. This is a very symbolic time in many religions.
The winter solstice has just passed on December 21, and the days
are lengthening, signifying the triumph of light over darkness. We
light Christmas lights and spend time with our families.
Christmas day is Day 1 of the traditional "12 days of
Christmas". Day 12 is the day before Epiphany. "12th Night"
refers to the last night before Epiphany.
21 February 2012 - Shrove Tuesday. The day before Ash
Wednesday. Some people traditionally eat pancakes on Shrove
Tuesday (Pancake Day). This is also the day for final
parties and carnivals like Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and Fastnacht
before the fasting of Lent.
22 February 2012 - Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent, a 40 day (not counting Sundays, which are not considered part of Lent) countdown to Easter. Lent is traditionally a time of self-denial. The name Ash Wednesday dates back to a time when people put ashes on their foreheads to remind them of the sackcloth and ashes of penitent sinners. On the first Sunday of Lent we light 6 candles representing the six weeks of Lent and put out one a week until the final one is extinguished on Good Friday.
20 March 2012 - Vernal Equinox. Days and nights are of equal length. The date of Easter is set relative to this.
1 April 2012 - Palm Sunday. The Sunday prior to Easter Sunday. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and people scatter palm branches on the ground. Sometimes we hand out palm branches at the service.5 April 2012 - Maundy Thursday - The day before Good Friday. Services are held at selected churches.
6 April 2012 - Good Friday. The Crucifixion. We have a Church service on Good Friday. The service rotates among Richmond churches.
6 April 2012 - Full Moon. First full moon after the vernal equinox. Easter is the first Sunday after this. With the full moon on Friday this year, Easter is almost as early as it can be.8 April 2012 - Easter Sunday. The Resurrection.
Easter is always on the first Sunday following the first full moon
after the vernal equinox . Traditionally, this was the
holiest day of the year. Often people who came to church only once
a year came on Easter Sunday. This role now seems to be
taken by Christmas Eve.
17 May 2012 - Ascension. Jesus ascends into heaven on the 40th day after resurrection. In some countries this is a holiday. Not here. We observe it on the nearest Sunday.
27 May 2012 - Pentecost. From the Greek "50th day". If you count Easter as day 1, Pentecost is day 50. Jesus' disciples receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Some traditions hold that they could "speak in tongues" and understand foreign languages, symbolic of being able to spread the Gospel to all peoples. Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Christian Church.
3 June 2012 - Trinity Sunday. Celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost. Celebrates the Creator, Word and Spirit in one God. (In older tradition "Father, Son and Holy Ghost")2 December 2012 - First Sunday of Advent.
Official start of the 2013 Church Year.