Short backgrounds on observances across the faiths listed on this site.
Holiday names open the Holiday Calendar with dates for that observance.
The Orthodox Feast of the Ascension is celebrated forty days after Pascha with festal liturgy and the leave-taking of the Easter season’s daily Paschal emphasis in the days that follow. It affirms Christ’s enthronement and the waiting for the Spirit at Pentecost. The date depends on Orthodox Pascha. Parishes publish Ascension and Pentecost service times together.
The Nativity of Christ is celebrated in Orthodox churches with a fasting period beforehand and a festive liturgy. Some jurisdictions celebrate on 25 December (Gregorian), others on 7 January (Julian calendar date of 25 December). Hymns, the nativity icon, and family meals mark the feast. It is one of the great fixed feasts of the Orthodox year. Local custom shapes the length of celebration afterward.
The Dormition of the Theotokos remembers the “falling asleep” of Mary, the Mother of God, and her passage into eternal life. In Orthodox tradition it is one of the great feasts of the church year, often preceded by a fasting period. Services include vespers, liturgy, and in some places processions with the epitaphios of the Theotokos. The feast is observed on 15 August in churches that follow the revised calendar, with date differences where the Julian calendar is used. Communities treat it as a solemn and joyful memorial of Mary’s resting place with God.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 14 September commemorates the finding and elevation of the Cross. Orthodox churches celebrate with festal liturgy and veneration of the cross. It is one of the great feasts of the year and a day of fasting in many traditions. Hymns focus on the Cross as the instrument of salvation. Parishes list service times for the feast.
Great Lent in the Orthodox Church begins on Clean Monday and is the principal fasting season before Pascha. Services such as the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Canon of St Andrew shape the weeks. The fast is about prayer, repentance, and almsgiving as much as diet. Dates follow the Orthodox Paschal cycle and often differ from Western Lent. Parishes publish Lenten service books and times.
Holy Friday (Great and Holy Friday) commemorates the crucifixion of Christ in the Orthodox Holy Week. Services include the reading of the Passion, the Epitaphios procession in many parishes, and strict fasting. It is the most solemn day before Pascha. Local service books give exact times.
Orthodox Palm Sunday commemorates the entry into Jerusalem and opens Holy Week. Branches are blessed; the festive atmosphere shifts quickly toward the Bridegroom services and the Passion. The date follows the Orthodox calculation of Pascha. Faithful often attend both the Divine Liturgy and evening services in the days that follow. Local churches publish the full Holy Week order.
Pascha is the Orthodox celebration of the resurrection of Christ, the feast of feasts. It is preceded by Great Lent and Holy Week, culminating in the midnight Paschal service with the proclamation “Christ is risen.” Feasting follows the Lenten fast. The date often differs from Western Easter because of the Julian calendar and Orthodox computus. Parish life centers on the long, joyful liturgy and the days that follow.
Orthodox Pentecost (Trinity Sunday in some popular naming) celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit fifty days after Pascha. Kneeling prayers are often offered at Vespers; churches may be decorated with greenery. It is one of the great feasts of the year. The date depends on Orthodox Pascha. Service books for the feast are used in parish worship.
Great feasts such as the Nativity of the Theotokos and Theophany (Baptism of Christ) structure the Orthodox year alongside Pascha and the Nativity of Christ. Each has prescribed hymns, fasting rules beforehand in some cases, and a festal liturgy. Calendar date can differ between churches using the Julian and revised Julian calendars. Parish life centers on the liturgical celebration of the day.
The Transfiguration commemorates Christ revealed in glory on the mountain before Peter, James, and John. It is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church. Fixed civil dating follows the calendar style used for other fixed feasts in this list. Fruit blessing is a familiar custom in some communities.
This holiday reference covers major observances across the faiths listed on this site. Local and regional customs can still differ. If something important to your community is missing, or a description needs a correction, please write to us at info@mysacredtimes.com.
