Today We Celebrate Pentecost, or Whitsunday

Pentecost (from the Greek pentecostē, or “50th day”) is a major festival celebrated on the 50th day after Easter. You can read the Biblical account of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-41, but here’s the short version. 

Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven the twelve apostles, Jesus' mother and family, and many other disciples gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival celebrated on the fiftieth day of Passover. While they were indoors praying, a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads. This was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh promised by God through the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29). The disciples were suddenly empowered to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival. Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many of whom had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. This created a sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd, preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result was that about three thousand converts were baptized that day. 

Red is the liturgical color for this day. Red recalls the tongues of flame in which the Holy Spirit descended on the first Pentecost. The color red also reminds us of the blood of the martyrs. These are the believers of every generation who by the power of the Holy Spirit hold firm to the true faith even at the cost of their lives. 

A tradition of some churches in earlier times was to baptize adult converts to the faith on Pentecost. The newly-baptized would wear white robes on that day, so Pentecost was often called "Whitsunday" or "White Sunday" after these white baptismal garments. Many Christian calendars, liturgies and hymnals (particularly those from the Episcopal/Anglican tradition) still use this term.