{"id":7093,"date":"2019-03-05T04:08:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T04:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicaldifference.com\/?p=7093"},"modified":"2023-01-28T05:05:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T05:05:49","slug":"feastingandfasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicaldifference.com\/feastingandfasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Feasting and Fasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring 2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Lent: March 6 – April 18<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I<\/span>n my young mind, Mardi Gras was bright purple, yellow, and green. Lent was brown, on the spectrum somewhere between the colors of dust and sackcloth. Brown still seems like a good color for Lent, but in a peaceful and anticipatory way, like newly tilled soil. It\u2019s waiting for something to complete it. It was a long road, getting to an image of Lent that had a positive vibe. It was an even longer road that brought me to the point where I preferred Lent to Mardi Gras.<\/p>\n

Lent is designed for one main purpose\u2014to increase our joy in the feast of Easter. And it works. There is a tie between physical and spiritual. Physical manifestations of gratitude, repentance, and reverence during Lent make the physical manifestations of joy, abundance, and grace at an Easter feast more meaningful. Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are made real. These days, my mini-passion is restoring the traditional church calendar to the minds of Christians. Why? I was not raised in the church. I thought I was a minority when I didn\u2019t know that an \u201cEpiphany\u201d was a church thing, or that Lent had any more value than simply being not fun. I had an epiphany of my own when I discovered that many \u201cchurched\u201d adults didn\u2019t know much more than I did. It seems even Christian homes aren\u2019t transferring a distinctly Christian way of life.<\/p>\n

In the Old Testament, the seasons and lives of His chosen people were structured around fast days and feast days, rituals and observances. While these things are no longer required, the centuries old \u201cchurch calendar\u201d can do the same for us. What is the benefit? We, like the chosen people of old, learn more deeply the story of Jesus. Knowledge is strengthened. Faith is fed.<\/p>\n

There are many events on the traditional church calendar that I would like to add to our family\u2019s traditions. Specifically, feasting together on some of the \u201cFeast Days\u201d written into the church calendar can add additional benefits\u2014 the uniquely Christian joys of fellowship and corporate worship. The Bible is filled with references to celebrations. What if instead of being known as \u201ccritical\u201d and \u201calways complaining \u2026 we as believers were known as the people of celebration and gladness, and [our homes] the place of feasting?\u201d* Contrast the joys of Christian feasting with the debauchery and excess of celebrations like Mardi Gras. It is good to teach our children to feast in the right way, and for the right reasons. We can look to the traditions handed down by our brothers and sisters through the ages for help on how to live Christianly\u2014and how to teach our children to do the same.<\/p>\n

This partial list of the major \u201cFeast Days and Observances\u201d in the traditional Christian calendar provides ample opportunity for the fellowship of feasting.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 JANUARY 6\u2014Epiphany
\n\u25a0 JANUARY\u2014Baptism of Our Lord (First Sunday after Epiphany)
\n\u25a0 JANUARY 25\u2014Conversion of Paul
\n\u25a0 FEBRUARY\u2014Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent
\n\u25a0 MARCH 17\u2014St. Patrick\u2019s Day
\n\u25a0 MARCH\u2013APRIL\u2014Palm Sunday, Holy (Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday
\n\u25a0 MARCH\u2013APRIL\u2014Easter (Feast of Feasts)
\n\u25a0 MAY\u2014Ascension Day (40 days after Easter, always on Thursday)
\n\u25a0 MAY\u2013JUNE\u2014Pentecost (50 Days after Easter)
\n\u25a0 MAY\u2013JUNE\u2014Holy Trinity (Sunday after Pentecost)
\n\u25a0 OCTOBER 31\u2014Reformation Day
\n\u25a0 NOVEMBER 1\u2014All Saints Day
\n\u25a0 NOVEMBER\u2014First Sunday of Advent (4th Sunday before Christmas)
\n\u25a0 DECEMBER 25\u2014Christmas \"\"<\/p>\n

By Stormy Goodwin<\/p>\n

Read \u201cThe Lost Art of Feasting\u201d<\/a>
\nPrint the \u201cTraditional Church Calendar\u201d
\n<\/a>*See citations<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spring 2019 Lent: March 6 – April 18 In my young mind, Mardi Gras was bright purple, yellow, and green. Lent was brown, on the spectrum somewhere between the colors of dust and sackcloth. Brown still seems like a good color for Lent, but in a peaceful and anticipatory way, like newly tilled soil. 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