This year 2022 is very special for the Queen of England.
Extremely rare in British royal history, Elizabeth II is the first monarch to celebrate a “Platinum Jubilee”, 70 years after her accession to the throne in 1952. So where does the “jubilee” come from?
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The word "jubilee" comes from the Hebrew "yôvēl" which refers to a ram's horn used as a trumpet.
Every fifty years, the sound of this instrument announced the year of the "jubilee" during which the faithful were invited to return to their land and where the slaves were to be freed.
The term then transited, according to the CNRTL, through the Latin “jubilaeus” from “jubilare” (“to rejoice”) introduced into the Vulgate of Jérôme de Stridon.
The "jubilee" refers in the Catholic religion to a collective absolution of sins and the distribution of goods to the poorest, which symbolizes the work of Christ.
Indeed, a “jubilee” is since the year 1300 a period of forgiveness and temporal penance proclaimed by the pope every fifty years (the years of jubilee are thus called “holy years”).
It is this periodic aspect that allows biblical history to use "jubilees" as a means of dating different events.
From the religious calendar to the civil calendar
In everyday language, the word "jubilee" refers, according to the Larousse, to the party that celebrates the anniversary of an entry into office or a significant event in the life of a person (for example marriage).
This expression was so successful that it is found in very different areas.
In the church world today the term "jubilee" is used to refer to the anniversary of the ordination of a deacon or priest.
In the sporting sphere, a "jubilee" is a celebration that honors a player who has served a team for a long time (Jean-Pierre Papin for example in 1999).
Finally, in the world of work, a “jubilee bonus” of three months' salary is paid after 25 years of seniority.
An important term in the English language
As Old Testament scholar Christopher Wright and author of "Jubilee, year of..." explains, the word "jubilee" is particularly used in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Thus the "jubilee" has different variations depending on the nature of the anniversary to be celebrated.
For 25 years, we celebrate the "silver jubilee" (Silver jubilee), the "golden jubilee" (Golden jubilee) for the 50 years, the "diamond jubilee" (Diamond Jubilee) for the 60 years and finally the “platinum jubilee” (Platinum jubilee) for the seventieth anniversary.
