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The Lamentation of Christ on the Cross
Photo: Martin Jung / imagebroker / IMAGO
The long Pentecost weekend could result in full airports, busy trains and fully booked hotels.
Many people in Germany use the days off to travel.
But only a few know the actual meaning of the holiday.
After Christmas and Easter, Pentecost is the third major festival in the Christian church year.
The name derives from the Greek
»Pentekoste«
, which means »the fiftieth day«.
Because the festival is celebrated 50 days after Easter, the resurrection of Jesus.
Pentecost has its origins in the Jewish harvest festival
of Shavuot
.
According to the biblical Acts of the Apostles, the disciples of Jesus had gathered in Jerusalem for that harvest festival when the “miracle of Pentecost” happened: “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as if a violent storm were blowing up, and it filled the whole house where they (the younger) were.
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which spread out;
one alighted on each of them.
All were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in strange tongues as the Spirit prompted them.”
Pentecost is considered the birth of the church
So the disciples were suddenly able to speak and understand other languages.
According to biblical tradition, the Holy Spirit, roughly simplified an invisible divine power, brought this about in the disciples.
So they recognized their mission to carry the message of Jesus Christ into the world in all languages and to spread the Christian faith.
Pentecost is considered the birth of the church.
Nevertheless, many Germans associate Pentecost with a long weekend in spring.
This may also be due to the fact that the Pentecostal customs are less pronounced and widespread than, for example, the Christmas or Easter traditions.
In some places, Pentecost trees are still planted, churches are decorated with birch greens, or small wooden doves are lowered from the church ceiling.
A well-known symbol of Pentecost is the white dove, which is supposed to represent the Holy Spirit.
bam/dpa
