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Christian Year

PENTECOST

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Shavuot is a Hebrew word which is often translated into English as “Festival of Weeks”. It is one of the main Jewish festivals and acts as a time for giving thanks to God for the harvest [Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:9-10]. It occurs 50 days after Passover and for this reason Greek-speaking Jews called it “Pentecost” (meaning “fifty”).

It was at the first Pentecost after Jesus’s resurrection that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples [Acts 2: 1-5] and gave them the courage and power to go out and spread the Gospel.

In the Christian calendar, Pentecost is 50 days after Easter. Until recently, the day was more often referred to as “Whit Sunday”. Here “whit” is the same as “white” although it is not clear why this colour is significant. It may relate to the colour used in churches on the day or to the colour of the robes worn by those who were to be baptised.