Flashcards: Christian festivals and holy days

The Annunciation (from the Vulgate Latin annuntiatio (or nuntiatio) nativitatis Christi), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation.

Epiphany (ee-PIFF-any; Koine Greek: Ἐπιφάνεια, Epiphaneia, "Manifestation", "striking appearance") or Theophany (Ancient Greek: (ἡ) Θεοφάνεια, Τheophaneia meaning "Vision of God"), also known as Three Kings' Day, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God in his Son as human in Jesus Christ.

Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary.

A name day is a tradition in some countries in Europe, Latin America and Catholic countries in general.

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14.

The controversy over the correct date for Easter began in Early Christianity; reforming the date remains a topic of debate today.

Saint Nicholas' Day, observed on December 6 (in Western Christian countries) and 19 December (in Eastern Christian countries), is the feast day of Saint Nicholas.

Eid il-Burbara or Saint Barbara's Day, is a holiday annually celebrated on December 4 among Middle Eastern Christians in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Turkey (Hatay Province).

Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi, Welsh pronunciation: [dɨːð ɡʊɨl ˈdɛui]) is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on the first day of March, chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David.

All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows, Hallowmas, Feast of All Saints, Solemnity of All Saints, or Feast of All Saints is a festival celebrated on 1 November by several Western Christian denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church, among other Protestant traditions, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, in honor of all the saints, known and unknown.

In Christianity, All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed, in particular (but not exclusively) one's relatives.

The Dormition of the Mother of God (Greek: Κοίμησις Θεοτόκου, Koímēsis Theotokou often anglicized as Kimisis, Slavonic: Успение Пресвятыя Богородицы, Uspenie Presvetia Bogoroditsi) is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of Mary the Theotokos ("Mother of God", literally translated as God-bearer), and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into heaven.

The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, also known as Ascension Thursday, Holy Thursday, or Ascension Day, commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven.

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter.

The Feast of Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a Latin Rite liturgical solemnity celebrating the belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Holy Saturday (Latin: Sabbatum Sanctum), the Saturday of Holy Week, also known as the Great Sabbath, Black Saturday, or Easter Eve, and called "Joyous Saturday" or "the Saturday of Light" among Coptic Christians, is the day after Good Friday.

Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomas Sancta or Hebdomas Maior, "Greater Week"; Greek: Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, "Holy and Great Week") in Christianity is the week just before Easter.

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, is a relatively recent addition to the Western liturgical calendar, having been instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI for the Roman Catholic Church.

(Not to be confused with Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.) The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honour of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June.

Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is a Dutch language term derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) that became borrowed in English and French, originally denoting the mass said on the anniversary of the foundation of a church (or the parish) and in honour of the patron.

Star singers, also known as "Epiphany singers", or "Star boys' singing procession" (England), are children and young people walking from house to house with a star on a rod and often wearing crowns and dressed in clothes to resemble the Three Magi (variously also known as Three Kings or Three Wise Man).

The Day of Saint Peter and Saint Fevronia (Russian: День Святых Петра и Февроньи / Den' Svyatyh Petra i Phevronii) also known as the Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness (Russian: День семьи, любви и верности / Den' sem'i lyubvi i vernosti), the Orthodox patrons of marriage, was officially introduced in Russia in 2008.

A procession (French procession via Middle English, derived from Latin, processio, from procedere, to go forth, advance, proceed) is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.

Quinquagesima is one of the names used in the Western Church for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.

Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday (also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit) is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian calendar.

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple falls on 2 February and celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus.

The Nativity of John the Baptist (or Birth of John the Baptist, or Nativity of the Forerunner) is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, whom he later baptised.

The Federal Day of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer (German: Eidgenössischer Dank-, Buss- und Bettag, French: Jeûne fédéral, Italian: Digiuno federale) is a public holiday in Switzerland.

Rogation days are days of prayer and fasting in Western Christianity.

Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany.

The Lord's Day in Christianity is generally Sunday, the principal day of communal worship.

Repentance Day, on 26 August, is a public holiday in Papua New Guinea.

Racial Justice Sunday is observed by British Christian churches on the second Sunday of September.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus is celebrated by various Christian communities.

Lammas Day (Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, "loaf-mass"), is a holiday celebrated in some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, usually between 1 August and 1 September.