Everything you may want to know about Holy Cross Day is found right here in this article. We go over what Holy Cross Day is, why it is celebrated, when it is, who celebrates it and explain the background and meaning behind Holy Cross Day. Have anything to add, or have any other questions about Holy Cross Day? Just leave a comment below, and I’ll get back to you.
When is Holy Cross Day?
It is the same date every year, September 14th.
What else is Holy Cross Day called?
The Holy Cross Day has been given three other names. These names are Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Triumph of the Cross, and Holy Rood Day.
The holiday is mostly known as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
What is Holy Cross Day in Christianity?
Holy Cross Day is a holiday celebrating the discovery of the true cross. Meaning, the original cross that Jesus was crucified on.
How to celebrate Holy Cross Day
The most common way is to celebrate at church with a feast, prayer, and special service. Some families also have their own traditions at home that they also observe on this holiday.
When was Holy Cross Day first started as a celebration?
So we don’t have an exact date on which the celebration/holiday was established, but we do know it was between 527-565 A.D.
There is evidence that the holiday, in its earlier form, first started back around 415 A.D., but it was not a celebration specifically about the original cross. It was an eight-day-long celebration. It first started as a feast of the Dedication of the two churches Martyrium on Golgotha and Anastasis rotunda. Both were located over Jesus’ tomb and were also called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Church of the Resurrection.
It wasn’t until much later in the sixth century that the day was specifically celebrating the original Cross used to kill Jesus. The term “Exaltation” is first used by the monk Alexander of Cyprus (527-565), when he reports that the Fathers, commanded by the Emperor, determined that the day of the exaltation of the venerable Cross and of the dedication should be celebrated annually on Sept 14th. [1]
Why do we celebrate Holy Cross Day?
Holy Cross Day, better known as Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is celebrated in memory of the original cross being found. The mother of Constantine, Helena, had felt led by God to travel to the Holy Land, and that is where she found the original cross that was used to crucify Jesus.
In Christianity, of course, the cross holds very significant importance. It is upon the Cross that Jesus was crucified and sacrificed himself for us. Finding the original cross is a very valuable item to find.
How do we know that Helena found the original cross?
There are historians such as Socrates of Constantinople telling of Helena traveling to the Holy Land back in 326 – 328. Then later, historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Tyrannius Rufinus confirmed that Helena, while at the Holy Land, discovered the original cross. [2]
Who celebrates the Day of the Cross?
Many different denominations inside of Christianity celebrate. There are references to this holiday on official websites for Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopals, and many others.
Resources:
- Louis van Tongeren, Exaltation of the Cross: Toward the Origins of the Feast of the Cross and the Meaning of the Cross in Early Medieval Liturgy (Leuven: Peeters, 2000), 17-18.
- Drijvers, Jan Willem (1992), Helena Augusta, the Mother of Constantine the Great and the Legend of Her Finding of the True Cross, Leiden.