What is feastday?

Answer 1

A feast day, or holy day, is one on which the Catholic Church commemorates the anniversary of an event important in the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ or of one of the saints. The Catholic Church has always observed these days with special liturgical services, and the relaxation of any requirements for fasting that may be in force on that day. On some feast days the Church requires her members to observe the day by attending Holy Mass. In countries in which the Catholic Church was the established religion, the law required employers to give their workers the day off on holy days or holidays, and even in modern secular societies the word holiday survives as a term for a reguarly scheduled day off from work for all to enjoy. Catholic liturgical services such as Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours are often somewhat more elaborate than usual on feast days, and there are often special hymns, readings, and prayers reserved for the celebration of certain of these. On some of the major feast days of the Catholic Church, sanctuaries and altars are customarily customarily decorated in certain ways, for example, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Catholic churches may be adorned with poinsettias, Christmas trees, and navitity scenes, while on the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter), they are often decorated with banks of Easter lilies. Some of the feast days currently celebrated in the Catholic dioceses of the United States of America include: January 1 - solemnity of Mary, Mother of God March 19 - feast of Saint Joseph March 25 - feast of the Annunciation of the Lord * - solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter) Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter - the solemnity of the Ascension ** - feast of Pentecost ** - Trinity Sunday ** - feast of Corpus Christi ** - feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus June 24 - feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist June 29 - feast of Saints Peter and Paul August 15 - solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary November 1 - solemnity of All Saints *** - feast of Christ the King

December 8 - solemnity of the Immaculate Conception December 25 - solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. _____________________________________________ * - the date of Easter is variable and falls each year between March 21 and April 25. ** - variable, and depends on the date of Easter *** - variable, falls on the last Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent, between November 20 and 26.