SECTION 3 CHRISTIANITY- TOPIC 1.3.5 CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS CELEBRATIONS Flashcards
What are the Christian religious celebrations?
Christmas
Christmas celebrations
Advent
Easter
Easter Day
Christmas
birth of Jesus on 25 December
some Christians (ORTHODOX) believe it to be 7 January in Gregorian calendar
Advent
Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
During the four weeks of Advent, Christians remember the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of Jesus and think about the biblical references to the second coming of Jesus and the final judgement
Catholic Christians are expected to free themselves from sin before Christmas by receiving the sacrament of reconciliation.
Christmas celebrations
twelve days of Christmas
begin with:
-special services at midnight on Christmas Eve, when a crib is often set up and blessed
-services on the morning of Christmas Day which recall the Gospel accounts of Christmas
-gifts being exchanged to remember that Jesus was given presents by the wise men and as a sign of love for each other to reflect God’s love in the gift of Jesus
-On the Sunday after Christmas, Christians remember the family life of Jesus and Catholics have a special Mass for the Holy Family
The significance of Christmas
-Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation w/o birth of Jesus there’d be no Christianity
-before the incarnation, it was only possible
to have a partial relationship with God because of the effects of sin jesus through the incarnation which led to the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus it has become possible for humans to have a full relationship with God and go to heaven after death.
-celebrations of Christmas remind Christians that all Christians, whatever their colour or ethnicity, share a common faith
-Christmas shows the importance of the family in their worship remember to try
and be spiritually like them
Easter-
Holy Week is the week before Easter Sunday. It begins with:
-Palm Sunday, which remembers the way Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem by a crowd which five days later denied him
-Holy (Maundy) Thursday remembers the Last Supper of Jesus with his apostles
-Good Friday remembers the death of Jesus.
-Holy Saturday is a day of reflection and prayer.
The significance of Holy Week
-Christians have an opportunity to renew and deepen their faith in Jesus through remembering the events of Holy Week
-It reminds them how Jesus faced adulation, then rejection and crucifixion.
-Palm Sunday reminds Christians that Jesus is the Messiah, is worthy of their praise and adoration
-Holy Thursday reminds Christians of the origins and importance of the Eucharist
-Holy Week reminds Christians of the suffering Jesus experienced, which will give them strength to cope with the suffering they may face.
Easter Day
a ceremony of light to remember the darkness of the tomb and the joy
and light of the resurrection
Bible readings to remember how the resurrection of Jesus brought back the goodness of the world at creation
a renewal of baptismal vows to remember the rebirth brought by Easter
Eucharist to remember that salvation now comes through the sacraments
The significance of Easter
It celebrates the resurrection of Christ- it shows Jesus true natures: human and divine
final part of the work of Jesus -this because through the resurrection, forgiveness of sins is assured and people can be restored to God
proves that death has been overcome and assures Christians that this life is not all there is as is Easter celebrates the eternal life for those who follow Jesus
SOWAA FROM CORINTHIEANS
“that Christ died for our sins”
