The Great 50 Days of Easter
Now that
the Easter candy has been eaten, some might think Easter is over. It isn’t.
We celebrate Easter during the Great 50 Days of Easter, which is Easter
day through the day of Pentecost, inclusively.
The word “Pentecost” means 50th. It was initially used for the 50th
day after the Passover, and was assumed by Christians as the 50th
day after Easter. Each day was to be
treated (as Sundays always are) as a “little Easter”.
In the
ancient church, no fast was allowed, and all prayer was made standing during
this time. The Council of Nicea, in the
year 325 A.D. passed the following canon, apparently because some people were
ignoring this custom and kneeling anyway:
Forasmuch as there are certain persons who kneel on the
Lord’s Day and in the days of Pentecost, therefore, to the intent that all
things may be uniformly observed everywhere (in every parish), it seems good to
the holy Synod that prayer be made to God standing.”
So
you can see that the old Episcopal catchphrase “Stand to praise, kneel to
praise, sit for instruction” is a much later custom, and one which is being
replaced today because we are more aware of the ancient traditions. You might want to try standing instead of
kneeling for prayer during the Great 50 Days.
You’d certainly be in good company.
The Feast of the Ascension always
falls on the 6th Thursday (the 40th day) after Easter Day. Until fairly recently, Ascension Day was used
to divide the Great 50 Days into Easter Tide (40 days) and Ascensiontide
(Ascension Day to Pentecost). The
lighted Paschal Candle was treated as a symbol of the risen Lord’s physical
presence on earth, and was extinguished after the Gospel on Ascension Day. Recent practice has been to restore the Great
50 Days and eliminate “Ascensiontide”; the Paschal Candle is used throughout
the Great 50 Days and is not removed until Pentecost evening. Ascension Day is celebrated as a feast day,
but doesn’t end the Easter season.
So Happy Easter!
“Alleluia! Christ is Risen!”
“The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!”
