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Pentecost
Scholars tell us that Pentecost is a Jewish harvest festival, observed on the fiftieth day after the second of Passover. Many observances recorded in Leviticus are required to be undertaken. In Leviticus Chapter 16, Aaron is required to.... "put on the linen coat, have linen breeches on his body, be girded with the linen girdle and wear the linen turban". These, we are told, are the holy garments. Some part of this appears to have influenced the observance of Whitsun in the Christian Church. In Saxon times it was called Hwita Sunnandaeg and in the festival calendar of the English church it was the day commemorating the gift of the Holy Spirit. The name 'White Sunday' arose in England because it was the day when most new Christians were baptised and then wore white garments to mark their baptism.
You will, I hope, permit me to interpolate the (secular) information that in Scotland the date of Whitsun is fixed; it is the day on which rent and interest are traditionally paid. All this shows an all pervading importance of Whitsun, not only in the Christian Calendar but in the history of Christendom itself. At one time Whitsun was clearly shown on all calendars. Today it is the exception, rather than the rule. Looking back, it was not uncommon to see children coming home from church dressed in white but this appears to be after confirmation rather than baptism, presumably because baptism is (with exceptions) mainly infant baptism - where white clothing is not so noticeable and, in any case, is not confined to any particular day.
Does any of this matter? The whole subject is, as we all know, the subject of (at least potential) controversy, which it is not my intention to enter. What this rather unscholarly piece is concerned with is the way in which a time that was a Christian festival has become just another bank holiday. Should that worry us? In one sense it should be a cause for concern. It reflects the general move away from a society which was broadly Christian to a generally non-observing society which, I suggest, is losing touch with not only its traditions but with the entirety of its roots. What can we do about it? It is not for me to prescribe answers. Watch and pray may be the beginnings of an approach. I suggest we remember that it is by our fruits we shall be known. We need that Spirit which burst out irresistably on that original White Day and which still works unceasingly today, seen and unseen.
Bob Mclean
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