Pentecost has pagan roots? Didn't realise that
It doesn't.
Pentecost was the Greek name for Shavu'ot or Feast of Weeks, one of the three Jewish high holy days which God commanded the Jews to gather together in Jerusalem--which is why we read in Acts ch. 2 that there were Jews from many different places in Jerusalem. In Christianity Pentecost became the celebration of that, of God pouring out the Spirit on all flesh and the inauguration of the Church's mission in the world.
On the Christian calendar Pentecost is fifty days (specifically the seventh Sunday) after Holy Pascha, or Easter in English, the Feast of Christ's Holy Resurrection.
However, rather than actually bother to study anything, some Christians have grown completely comfortable believing easily disproven lies about their own holy days. Days which we have historically observed in honor of Jesus Christ.
Christmas has no pagan origins.
Easter has no pagan origins.
Pentecost has no pagan origins.
All Saints Day (and thus Halloween) has no pagan origins.
The season of Lent has no pagan origins.
The season of Advent has no pagan origins.
What they all do have is emphatically and explicitly Christian origins.
In the Western Church the year can be thought of as beginning and ending in Advent.
The season of Advent is the beginning of the year in that it observes the hope of the ancient prophets of the coming of the Messiah. It is a season of hopeful expectation as we prepare ourselves for the Feast and season of Christmas.
Christmas, of course, is the Feast of the Holy Nativity of Jesus Christ our Lord, the day which we celebrate the birth of the Son of God in the world, the Incarnation, God has become flesh, our Salvation has been born of the virgin. The season of Christmas lasts twelve days, with Christmas Day as the first day of Christmas, and January 5th being the 12th day of Christmas.
January 6th is the Feast of Epiphany, and is broadly themed around the manifestation of Christ's messianic mission, most central is His baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. But it also includes the visit of the magi from the east who bring him gifts of frankincense, myrrh, and gold.
The season of Epiphany is followed by the season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday. It is called Ash Wednesday because traditionally Christians begin the period of fasting and repentance of Lent by receiving ashes on our forehead, a biblical sign of contrition and repentance. The season of Lent covers a period of 40 days, corresponding to the 40 days Christ was fasting in the wilderness after His baptism in the river, where He was tempted by the devil. In the West we exclude Sundays from the fast because Sundays are days of celebration, not days of fasting--Christ rose on Sunday and so every Sunday is itself a kind of little Easter.
The final week of Lent is known as Holy Week, and begins on Palm Sunday, the day of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where the people sang Hosanna and placed palm leaves down before Him. The Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday (maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, "mandate" or "command"), the day Christ washed His disciples' feet, instituted Holy Communion, and on which night our Lord was betrayed by Judas and arrested. Good Friday, from the older English meaning of "God's Friday"; the day on which our precious Lord, the Lamb of God Himself, was crucified, died, and was buried.
Holy Pascha, the Feast of Feasts, or Easter Sunday is the day our Lord Jesus rose victorious from the grave. The word "pascha" is Greek, it comes from the Hebrew word Pesach ("Passover"). The word "Easter" and the German "Ostern" are unique among the world languages, in most languages this great and holy day is known as Pascha or some variation. Such as Danish Påske, Dutch Pasen, French Pâques, Welsh Pasg, Hawaiian Pakoa, Indonesian Paskah, Portuguese Páscoa, and so on and so forth.
The 40th day after Pascha is the Feast of the Ascension.
The 50th day, or specifically 7th Sunday after Pascha is Pentecost Sunday.
Following Pentecost days are generally counted, the nth Sunday after Pentecost, and so this period is often called Ordinary Time (because the days are counted by their ordinals, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc). This is also occasionally called Kingdomtide in some churches, as it is the time between the birth of the Church and Christ's return, and so it highlights our right now. As we as the Church are in the world.
And then Advent happens again, and it acts as a kind of end of the year because it points to our hope and expectation right now of the Lord's glorious return, when He comes to judge the living and the dead and bring with Him His everlasting kingdom.
That's the Christian Year in the West. And as can be plainly seen there is nothing pagan whatsoever with any of it.
-CryptoLutheran
