A feast day is a day set apart in a church calendar for celebrating something sacred. Churches may observe it with special Scripture readings, prayers, hymns, and clergy in vestments. The best-known examples are Christmas and Easter, while many others honor individual saints.
What is a feast day in the church year?
A church year, or liturgical year, is the calendar Christians use to organize worship through the year. Feasts mark major events in the life of Christ, celebrations of the Holy Spirit, honors for the Virgin Mary, and commemorations of saints and martyrs. The calendar appears in a liturgical calendar guide and in printed worship materials such as missals, prayer books, and service books.
A feast day is more than a birthday celebration. It places a person or event within the Christian calendar, and the observance carries a specific meaning for the church. For example, St. Nicholas Day recalls the fourth-century bishop known for his gift-giving, while the Feast of Christ the King emphasizes the kingship of Jesus.
Which churches observe feast days?
Roman Catholic churches use a formal calendar in which solemnities rank above feasts, and feasts rank above memorials. Anglicans, Episcopalians, and many Lutherans also observe feasts for Christ and the saints, while Orthodox churches mark many commemorations with services, hymns, and processions. Some Protestant congregations do not use a liturgical calendar and rarely use the term.
Sundays take priority over most other observances, so a feast that lands on a Sunday is handled differently across traditions. Jewish worshippers also use “feast day” for festivals such as Passover and Sukkot, but on a Christian calendar the phrase points to a church observance.
What happens on a feast day?
Typical elements include readings from the Bible, a psalm or responsorial psalm, prayers that name the saint or event, and hymns connected to the day. Catholic and Anglican services also use special vestments, and some congregations sing a saint’s hymn or include a procession. The observance often takes place during regular Sunday worship rather than as a separate service.
In the Catholic calendar, Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, Ascension Day, and Trinity Sunday are ranked among the highest observances of the year. The Ordinary Time on the church calendar contains many lesser feasts as well as long stretches of weeks without a major celebration.
Why do some feast dates differ between churches?
Most American Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican churches use the Gregorian calendar, the civil calendar used in the United States. Many Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar for fixed-date feasts, so the Nativity of Christ falls on January 7 rather than December 25 in those congregations. Orthodox Easter is calculated by a different method and may fall on a different date from Western Easter.
What should a visitor expect?
Check the bulletin, church calendar, or order of service to see how the congregation marks the feast. Visitors join the congregation as at any service; follow the cues for standing, kneeling, and sitting, and take communion according to the church’s practice. To find a congregation that observes a particular feast, use the churches near you tool, and see the first-time visitor guide for what to expect.