Pentecost Sunday in France 2024

Pentecost Sunday is celebrated as one of the days dedicated to commemorating the Day of Pentecost. Celebrations consist of three days, which are one by one ascribed to God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

What is the Day of Pentecost?

Celebrations of the Day of Pentecost are how the church commemorates the famous event in the Bible. Jesus told his disciples to wait to be clothed by power from on high, which would enable them to preach the Gospel. The day closes the 90 days, consisting of church celebrations which fall during the Spring season. The beginning of the season falls on Ash Wednesday. The exact date of celebrations of the Pentecost Day varies because it is dependent on the moveable Easter. Where it falls, the word "Pentecost" indicates. The name comes from the Greek word pentếkosta, which means “the fiftieth day.”

What happened during the Pentecost?

The occurrences of the biblical Pentecost are described in the Bible, precisely in the Book of Acts, chapter 2. Apostles were gathered together in one place and experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They begin to speak with the languages, they knew not before, and those languages were the tongues of the existing lands, they were destined to go to proclaim the Gospel. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit came according to the prophecy of Joel. Part of it reads:

"I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Joel 1:28-32

Church celebrations

Many people attend church services. Some go on a pilgrimage. It is organized by The Association "Notre-Dame de Chrétienté" ("Our Lady of Christendom"). It starts from the Cathedral of Notre Dame to the famous Cathedral of Chartres. The pilgrims, whose number is usually around 12,000, walk through the city of Paris. Pilgrims walk for tree days and cover 60 kilometres. They are organized in groups up to 60 people, called "capters". The pilgrimage is quite massive as it consists of 250 chapters. The pilgrims aree reported complaining about the road they have to go trough, describing it as difficult and demanding. The people are assisted by the priests, who hear their confessions on regular basics. Each day also a mass is being celebrated, according to the Roman Missal of pope John XXIII. The liturgy is traditional latin one (nowadays masses are being also celebrated in another manner- they are said mostly in languages well known to the people, which participate in the event). People say rosaries and hear what the clergy have to say to them. The pilgrimage described takes place in the Middle Ages. Catholics coming to Paris in order to participate in it, stay at various places, guesthouse of the Benedictine Sisters of Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre neighbourhood of Paris. Montmartre is a well-known quarter of Paris, famous for its architecture.

Holidays and regular life in France

Although grown-ups works, children have a day off from school. The day is partially off. Lots of workers are simply given the day off work, regardless of the fact, that the Day of Pentecost is not an official holiday. Shops work shorter or are open later than usual. Busses and trains run on special schedules with modified hours of departure. People take trips and some even longer holidays. It is associated with the so-called "making a bridge" (la Pont). They "build up a bridge" from one end of the long weekend to the beginning of the other and go on a holiday through it. May is good to build such bridges because it has four public holidays, which are Labour Day on the 1 of May, Victory Day on the 8th of May and moveable Ascension Day and the Day of Pentecost.