Church Calendar (Liturgical)
During the time of the Old Testament, God established a calendar
with Israel composed of various festivals and feasts. The early Christian Church at first
only celebrated each Sunday as the Lord's Day in commemoration of His Resurrection. Over
time, the Church formed its own calendar that would serve to teach the people about their
Savior during the course of the year.
The church calendar has it's own series of Scripture readings relating
to the various events of the church year. These readings became known as the lectionary
(also known as lessons). Each Sunday we have a reading from the Old Testament, Gospel, and
Epistle. The particular lesson for each Sunday (or holiday) in the year will refer to the
particular feast, festival, or season in the church calendar. Christmas and Easter are
obvious examples. To provide more variety, the lectionary was changed in the 1970's from a
one to three year cycle. Thus, the readings repeat every three years vs. annually.
The calendar was a way to educate Christians about their faith. The
church year is divided into two halves, festival and non-festival. In the festival half we
focus on Christ's life and what He has done for us. In the non-festival half we focus on
the church and our response to His love and forgiveness. The year begins with the season
of Advent (the period of 4 Sundays before Christmas) and ends with the last Sunday in the
Pentecost (formerly Trinity) season. Since 1982, when the Missouri Synod issued its new
hymnal, Lutheran Worship, the church year underwent some minor changes. Our
readings correspond to this revised church year as outlined below.
The Church Year Looks Like This...
- Advent
This season marks the beginning of the Festival Half of the church year. It's the time before Christmas, when Jesus comes to us in Bethlehem. Advent means "coming", and we anticipate that time during Advent. It's a penitential season where we focus on what our coming Savior will accomplish. - Christmas
From Christmas Eve (Dec 24) through Jan 5 we have the Christmas season. Christmas Day (Dec 25) is celebrated as the day of Christ's birth. Jan 1 is the Feast of the Circumcision, since Jewish law required male children to be circumcised on the eighth day. - Epiphany
Jan 6 is the Day of Epiphany, to commemorate the arrival of the Wise Men to visit the young Jesus. Epiphany varies in length depending on the date of Easter. The Wise Men remind us of how Christ came to save the whole world, Gentiles as well as Jews. - Lent
This is a penitential season of 40 days to prepare us for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday. We reflect on the sacrifice our Lord made on our behalf. - Easter
Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, marks the beginning of Holy Week. Maundy Thursday is when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper (and instituted the Lord's Supper) with His disciples. Good Friday is the day of His crucifixion. Easter Sunday, or the Feast of the Resurrection, marks the day when He rose from the dead. Easter is the first holiday (Holy Day) that the early Christians observed. It's this day which is the primary focus for the church, not Christmas. Forty days later is Ascension Day, when Christ ascended to His Father in Heaven. The Easter season concludes with Pentecost. This day gets its name from the Greek word for "fifty", since it's the fiftieth day after Easter. It is also the last day in the Festival Half of the church year. - Pentecost
This season (formerly known as Trinity) begins with Trinity Sunday, celebrating our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Each Sunday we focus on a different aspect of the Christian life and what we do out of our love for God. It concludes with Christ the King Sunday. The season has a few minor festival days like:
Reformation Day (Oct 31)
All Saints Day (Nov 1)
Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November in the U.S.)