What is Pentecost?: DW News update
People new to Germany are often surprised by the number of public holidays in the spring. Pentecost is one of them, but its significance is
People new to Germany are often surprised by the number of public holidays in the spring. Pentecost is one of them, but its significance is not well-known. In Germany, spring is dotted with public holidays that have their origins in Christian tradition: Good Friday and Easter, which celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; Ascension, commemorating Christ's ascent into heaven; and Pentecost, considered the birthday of the Christian Church. Also known as Whitsun or Trinity Sunday by some religious traditions, it marks when the Holy Spirit is believed to have descended upon the Apostles of Jesus, Mary and other followers of Christ, 50 days after Easter — hence the name, which comes from a Hellenistic Greek word meaning "50th." Though the holiday is important for Christians, it has its roots in Judaism. A stained-glass window in Seville Cathedral showing Mary and the Apostles being visited by the Holy Spirit Image: HGVorndran/Zoonar/picture alliance The above-mentioned followers of Christ had gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot in Hebrew), a harvest festival held seven weeks and one day after the first day of Passover, also celebrated as the day that the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses. Miracle of understanding "The disciples were a bit lost after the death and resurrection of Jesus and then after the Ascension," said Reverend Aljona Hofmann, a pastor at Berlin's Protestant Gethsemane Church.
"They didn't know what to do next. They'd had such a good time with Jesus, who was no longer within reach, and they had withdrawn to a house in Jerusalem. And then the Holy Spirit came upon them, this power of God that […] simply came over them and they felt a kind of vitality, a kind of strength that they had lost." That strength inspired them to talk to others about what they had experienced. "It was actually a miracle of understanding," Hofmann told DW. "They all spoke their own language, yet they could still understand each other." According to the biblical account, the disciples who had witnessed the miraculous event went out to the streets and started attracting a large crowd. They inspired about 3,000 people to also become baptized followers of Christ — the first steps toward an organized church. Making the abstract tangible As the birth of the church, Pentecost is celebrated in all Christian faiths, Eastern and Western. In more than 30 countries, it's observed as a public holiday, one that non-believers simply enjoy as a day off in springtime. The color associated with Pentecost is red, thought to symbolize the joy and fire of the Holy Spirit. In Italy, that's taken a step further and associated with roses, whose petals are often scattered from the ceilings of Catholic churches.
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