What and when is Ascension Day?

According to the New Testament of the Bible, forty days after his resurrection, Jesus rose into heaven, an event known as the Ascension (Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2). The Feast of the Ascension, or Ascension Day, commemorates that event, a commemoration that dates back at least to the fifth century after Christ.

When is Ascension Day?

In the traditional church calendar, the Feast of the Ascension is observed on the Thursday occurring forty days after Easter. Easter must be counted in those forty days, so that the feast would not occur on Friday, since on every Friday the crucifixion of Jesus is commemorated. (That is the reason traditionally Catholics - as well as John Wesley, the founder of Methodism - fasted on Fridays.)

Easter, of course, moves around on the calendar, not earlier than March 22 or later than April 25, and so dates such as Ascension Day and Pentecost also move. You can find out why the date of Easter changes here.

Why is Ascension Day important?

Ascension Day is important in the calendar and history of the church, because it commemorates the last event in the incarnation, the physical presence of the Christ on earth. Ten days later, fifty days after Easter (again, counting the day of Easter) on Pentecost (Greek for "fiftieth day"), the coming of the Holy Spirit is commemorated on a day which some call the birthday of the church. Under the Holy Spirit, the church becomes the "body of Christ" on earth, in a new period in Christian history.

Ascension Day? But, I'm a Protestant...

Many Protestant reformers enthusiastically cut out holidays and practices that were not literally mandated in the Bible, including Christmas, the celebration of which was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681.

In recent years, however, many Protestants have reconsidered the church calendar and some of the commemorations that they had lost. They have discovered the calendar is a great teaching tool, recalling the major events in the life of Jesus. It also has a great deal of psychological and spiritual validity, with its alternation of feast and fast, celebration and penance.

Ascension Day? But, I'm a scientist...

Modern science leaves no room for bodies taking off with no visible means of propulsion (or navigation). So, the only way to reconcile the image of the Ascension with science is to see that image as not literal but as symbolic of some spiritual truth.

At that point, fundamentalists will say if we do not take the Ascension literally, then why bother?

Ascension Day according to the Catholic Encyclopedia

As I write my articles on aspects of Christianity (index here), I often to turn to what may seem like an unlikely resource, the Catholic Encyclopedia (available online here). Not only does it have a wealth of information but also it provides in no uncertain terms traditional interpretations of Christianity as provided by the Catholic establishment between 1907 and 1914.

The article on the Ascension (here) begins with this definition, "The elevation of Christ into heaven by His own power in presence of His disciples the fortieth day after His Resurrection." But, surprisingly, the article includes this, "To say that He was taken up or that He ascended does not necessarily imply that they [biblical authors] locate heaven directly above the earth."

The article on the Feast of the Ascension (here) notes "the day is meant to celebrate the completion of the work of our salvation, the pledge of our glorification with Christ, and His entry into heaven with our human nature glorified."

One possible lesson of Ascension Day

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, priest and paleontologist, who wrestled with the seeming discrepancies between the Bible and science (more), famously said that "Everything that rises must converge" (on Christ), a statement made more famous because Flannery O'Connor (more) used it as the title of a short story and the Handsome Family (more) as the title for a song.

And Rodney King (more) asked, "Can we all get along?" Can we all come together, scientist and fundamentalist, Protestant and Catholic, possibly even Christian and non-Christian, converge, and in converging, rise above those things that separate us as we affirm those things, "our human nature glorified," that make it possible for us to converge? (Notice that my lesson is made up only of questions.)

Traditions of Ascension Day

Perhaps because it traditionally falls on Thursday, Ascension Day does not today have the importance that it once had. We don't have traditional Ascension Day dinners or gifts, not even an Ascension Day sale.

But, a number of unusual traditions have developed around Ascension Day. In England, parishes observed the "beating of the bounds" (more) on Ascension Day. Accounts suggest that it was rather rowdy, with people literally beating the boundaries of the parish, so that (in a day before Google Maps and GPS), people would remember the parish boundaries.

On Ascension Day 1000 the Venetian fleet left on a successful campaign. Over the years, in commemoration of this event, various traditions developed, including throwing a golden ring into the sea as a sacrifice. Later, that became interpreted as marrying the waters, a tradition that the Mayor of Venice continues on the Sunday after Ascension Day (more).

Music for Ascension Day

From 1932 to 1933, French composer Olivier Messiaen (whom I wrote about here) worked on a piece for orchestra titled "L'Ascension" ("The Ascension"), which he called "four meditations for orchestra."

The four meditations or movements are - "Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père" ("The majesty of Christ demanding its glory of the Father"); "Alleluias sereins d'une âme qui désire le ciel" ("Serene alleluias of a soul that longs for heaven"); "Alleluia sur la trompette, alleluia sur la cymbale"("Alleluia on the trumpet, alleluia on the cymbal"); "Prière du Christ montant vers son Père" ("Prayer of Christ ascending towards his Father").

You can listen to these four movements on YouTube by clicking on these links:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

During 1933 and 1934, Messiaen created a version of "L'Ascension" for organ. The first, second, and fourth movements are arrangements of the movements from the orchestral version, but he composed a new third movement, "Transports de joie d'une âme devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne" ("Ecstasies of a soul before the glory of Christ, which is its own glory").

You can listen to these four movements on YouTube by clicking on these links:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

You can find an index to all my articles on Christian topics here.