Moveable feast
Encyclopedia
In Christianity
, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day
– whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter
, the date of which varies according to a complex formula
. Easter is itself a "moveable feast".
In addition, in the Anglican
Christian tradition, Boxing Day
, the first working day after Christmas
, is also a moveable feast, it is normally the 26th of December (which is also St Stephen's Day), but if Christmas Day falls on a Saturday then Boxing Day is the following Monday.
By extension, other religions' feasts are occasionally described by the same term. In addition many countries have secular holidays that are moveable, for instance to make holidays more consecutive; the term "moveable feast" is not used in this case however.
By metaphor
ic extension, a movable feast was used by Ernest Hemingway
to mean the memory of a splendid place that continues to go with the moving traveler for the rest of life, after he has had the experience of it and gone away. The author used the term A Moveable Feast
for the title of his late-life memoir
s of his early life as a struggling writer in Paris
in the 1920s. He said to a friend: "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, a moveable feast or movable feast is a holy day – a feast day or a fast day
Fast Day
Fast Day was a holiday observed in some parts of the United States between 1670 and 1991."A day of public fasting and prayer", it was traditionally observed in the New England states. It had its origin in days of prayer and repentance proclaimed in the early days of the American colonies by Royal...
– whose date is not fixed to a particular day of the calendar year but moves in response to the date of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, the date of which varies according to a complex formula
Computus
Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....
. Easter is itself a "moveable feast".
In addition, in the Anglican
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
Christian tradition, Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
, the first working day after Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, is also a moveable feast, it is normally the 26th of December (which is also St Stephen's Day), but if Christmas Day falls on a Saturday then Boxing Day is the following Monday.
By extension, other religions' feasts are occasionally described by the same term. In addition many countries have secular holidays that are moveable, for instance to make holidays more consecutive; the term "moveable feast" is not used in this case however.
By metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ic extension, a movable feast was used by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
to mean the memory of a splendid place that continues to go with the moving traveler for the rest of life, after he has had the experience of it and gone away. The author used the term A Moveable Feast
A Moveable Feast
A Moveable Feast is a set of memoirs by American author Ernest Hemingway about his years in Paris as part of the American expatriate circle of writers in the 1920s. The book describes Hemingway's apprenticeship as a young writer in Europe during the 1920s with his first wife, Hadley...
for the title of his late-life memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
s of his early life as a struggling writer in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the 1920s. He said to a friend: "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
Moveable feasts in Christianity
- TriodionTriodionThe Triodion , also called the Lenten Triodion , is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite during Great Lent, the three preparatory weeks leading up to it, and during Holy Week.Many canons in the Triodion contain only three odes or...
– the period of 70 days before Easter (Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Greek-Catholic) - SeptuagesimaSeptuagesimaSeptuagesima is the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied also to the period that begins on this day and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. This period is also known as the pre-Lenten season or...
– 63 days (ninth Sunday) before Easter (Pre–Vatican II Calendar) - Saturday of SoulsSaturday of SoulsSaturday of Souls is a day set aside for commemoration of the dead within the liturgical year of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches...
– 57 days before Easter (Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Greek-Catholic) - SexagesimaSexagesimaSexagesima , or, in full, Sexagesima Sunday, is the name for the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday in the Gregorian Rite liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, and also in that of some Protestant denominations, particularly those with Anglican and Lutheran origins.The name "Sexagesima"...
– 56 days (eighth Sunday) before Easter (Pre–Vatican II Calendar) - Quinquagesima Sunday – 49 days (seventh Sunday) before Easter (Pre–Vatican II Calendar)
- Shrove Monday – 48 days before Easter. (Western Christianity)
- Shrove TuesdayShrove TuesdayShrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
/Mardi GrasMardi GrasThe terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
– 47 days before Easter. (Western Christianity; not technically a moveable feast, because it is not a holiday on any church calendar) - Ash WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
– 46 days before Easter. (Western Christianity; strictly speaking, not a feast but a fast, characterised by solemnity and acts of self-denial) - Triumph of OrthodoxyFeast of OrthodoxyThe Feast of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the liturgical calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Greek-Catholics...
– 42 days before Easter (Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Greek-Catholic) - People's SundayPeople's SundayThe People's Sunday celebrations are held on the first Sunday of Lent at Żabbar, Malta, popularly known as Ħadd in-Nies, are living recollections of the centuries-old devotion to Our Lady of Graces...
– 41 days before Easter (in MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
) - Mothering SundayMothering SundayMothering Sunday is a Christian festival celebrated throughout Europe that falls on the 4th Sunday in Lent. Secularly it became a celebration of motherhood. It is increasingly being called Mother's Day, although in countries other than the UK and Ireland that holiday has other origins...
– 21 days before Easter (AnglicanismAnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
) - Passion SundayPassion SundayPassion Sunday is a name that the Roman Rite liturgy gives to the sixth Sunday of Lent, but that in the pre-1960 form of that liturgy was given to the fifth Sunday...
– 14 days before Easter (Anglicanism) - Lazarus SaturdayLazarus SaturdayLazarus Saturday, in the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, is the day before Palm Sunday, and is liturgically linked to it...
– 8 days before Easter (Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Greek-Catholic) - Palm SundayPalm SundayPalm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
– 7 days before Easter - Maundy ThursdayMaundy ThursdayMaundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...
– 3 days before Easter - Good FridayGood FridayGood Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
– 2 days before Easter (Good Friday is actually a fast rather than a feast. See Ash Wednesday above.) - Holy SaturdayHoly SaturdayHoly Saturday , sometimes known as Easter Eve or Black Saturday, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter...
- 1 day before Easter - EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
– the date around which the others are placed - Saint Gregory's Day – 3 days after Easter (in MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
) - The Octave of EasterOctave of EasterThe term Octave of Easter may refer either to the eight day period from Easter Sunday until the Sunday following Easter, inclusive; or it may refer only to that Sunday after Easter, the Octave Day of Easter . That Sunday is also known historically as St...
or Divine Mercy SundayDivine Mercy SundayDivine Mercy Sunday is a Roman Catholic solemnity celebrated the Sunday after Easter. It is based on the Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy due to Saint Faustina Kowalska, and is associated with specific indulgences.-Background:...
, also known as Low Sunday or Quasimodo Sunday – the Sunday after Easter. - Radonitsa – 8 or 9 days after Easter (Eastern Orthodox)
- Ascension Day – 39 days after Easter
- PentecostPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
– 49 days after Easter (50th day of Easter) - Whit MondayWhit MondayWhit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
or Pentecost Monday – the day after Pentecost - Trinity SundayTrinity SundayTrinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
– 56 days after Easter (Western Christianity) - All SaintsAll SaintsAll Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
– 56 days after Easter (Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Greek-Catholic), but in the West this feast is fixed on November 1 - Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
– 60 days after Easter (Western Christianity) - feast days of some significant saintSaintA saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s' days, if a moveable feast falls too close to their usual date.
Some of the fixed feasts in Christianity
- ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
– December 25 - Octave of the NativityOctave of the NativityThe Octave of the Nativity is January 1, the eighth day after the celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas. References to this name could refer to:...
– January 1 - Presentation of Christ in the Temple – February 2
- TransfigurationTransfiguration of JesusThe Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....
– August 6 - Dormition of the TheotokosDormition of the TheotokosThe Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos , and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into heaven. It is celebrated on August 15 The Dormition...
/Assumption of MaryAssumption of MaryAccording to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
– August 15 - Exaltation of the Cross – September 14
- feast days of most individual saints
External links
- "Why Some Feasts Are Moveable", a SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
article - Advent, Christmastide, Lent, Eastertide