FEASTS AND FESTIVALS. A festival or feast 'is a day or series of days specially and publicly set apart for religious ob servances. Whether its occurrence be casual or periodic, whether its ritual be grave or gay, carnal as the orgies of Baal and Astarte, or spiritual as the worship of a Puritan Sabbath, it is to be re garded as a festival or "holy day" as long as it is professedly held in the name of religion. The most savage of tribes celebrate funeral feasts, some of them month by month or at regular longer intervals; the ancient Egyptians had three festivals of the seasons, twelve festivals of the month and twelve festivals of the half month ; the Athenians had their annual NEKbcrca or
the Romans their Feralia and Lemuralia and the Parsees, Chinese and other Orientals had festivals at stated periods.
But not all such festivals were held in honour of the dead. Many were purely seasonal, thanksgiving for good harvest, propi tiation feasts against feared calamities, etc. The ancient Aztecs of Mexico, the Peruvians, the Egyptians, the Celts, the Teutons, Aryans and Semitic peoples all developed, along with the Calen dar System, a well-organized series of feasts and festivals.
Festivals.—Perhaps the annual Attic festival in honour of Erechtheus alluded to in the Iliad (ii. 55o) ought to be re garded as an instance of ancestor-worship; but the seasonal char acter of the
or new-moon feast in Od. xx. 156, and of the OaXcrCa or harvest-festival in Il. ix. 533, is generally acknow ledged. But the earlier Greek calendar was a comparatively simple one; it later developed into so complicated a catalogue of feast and holy-days that holidays came to be in excess of working days (Strabo). Each demos of ancient Greece during the historical period had its own local festivals. For the great national ravflyvp€CS—Olympian, Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian—see the article GAMES, CLASSICAL. See also CALENDAR : Greek Calendar.
For the purpose of holding comitia and administering justice, the days of the Roman year were regarded as being either dies fasti or dies nefasti--the dies fasti being the days on which it was lawful for the praetors to administer justice in the public courts, while on the dies nefasti neither courts of justice nor meetings of comitia were allowed to be held. Some days were fasti during one portion and nefasti during another; these were called dies intercisi. For the purposes of religion a dif ferent division of the year was made ; the days were treated as festi or as pro f esti,--the former being consecrated to acts of public worship, such as sacrifices, banquets and games, while the latter (whether fasti or nefasti) were not specially claimed for religious purposes. The dies festi or feriae publicee were either stativae, conceptivae or imperativae. The stativae were such as were observed regularly, each on a definite day; the conceptivae were observed annually on days fixed by the authorities for the time being; the imperativae were publicly appointed as occasion called for them. In the Augustan age the feriae stativae were very numerous, as may be seen from what we possess of the Fasti of Ovid. See also CALENDAR : Roman Calendar.
Of the Jewish feasts which are usually traced to a pre-Mosaic origin the most important and character istic was the weekly Sabbath, but special importance was also attached from a very early date to the lunar periods. It is prob able that other festivals also, of a seasonal character, were ob served (see Exod. v. 1). In common with most others, the Mosaic system of annual feasts groups itself readily around the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. In Lev. xxiii., where the list is most fully given, they seem to be arranged with a conscious reference to the sacred number seven (compare Numb. xxviii.). Those belonging to the vernal equinox are three in number; a preparatory day, that of the Passover, leads up to the principal festival, that of unleav ened bread, which again is followed by an after-feast, that of Pentecost (see PASSOVER, PENTECOST). Those of the autumnal equinox are four; a preparatory day on the new moon of the sev enth month (the Feast of Trumpets) is followed by a great day of rest, the day of Atonement (which, however, was hardly a festival in the stricter sense of the word), by the Feast of Tabernacles, and by a great concluding day (Lev. xxiii. 36; John vii. 37). There was also a considerable number of post-Mosaic festivals, of which the principal were that of the Dedication (described in 1 Macc. iv. 52-59; comp. John x. 22) and that of Purim, the origin of which is given in the book of Esther (ix. 20 seq.) (see ESTHER).
While making it abundantly manifest that Christ and his disciples observed the appointed Jewish feasts, the New Testament nowhere records the formal institution of any distinctively Christian festival. But we have unambiguous evidence of the actual observance, from a very early period, of the first day of the week as a holy day (John xx. 19, 26; 1 Cor. xvi. 2; Acts xx. 7; Rev. i. 1o). The I6th canon of the council of Laodicea almost certainly means that solemn public service was to be held on Saturday as well as on Sunday. In other quarters, however, the tendency to regard both days as equally sacred met with considerable resistance. The 36th canon of the council of Illiberis, for example, deciding that Saturday should be observed as a fast-day, was doubtless intended to enforce the distinction between Saturday and Sunday. At Milan in Ambrose's time Saturday was observed as a festival ; but Pope Innocent is found writing to the bishop of Eugubium to urge that it should be kept as a fast. Ultimately the Christian church came to recognize but one weekly festival.
Even Origen (in the 8th book Against Celsus) enumerates as Christian festivals the Sunday, the irapacnceur1, the Passover with the feast of the Resurrection, and Pentecost ; under which latter term, however, he includes the whole period between Easter and Whitsuntide (see the article EASTER). Christmas day and Epiphany were among the later introductions, the feast of the Epiphany being somewhat the earlier of the two. Both are alluded to indeed by Clemens Alexandrinus (i. 340), but only in a way which indicates that even in his time the precise date of Christ's birth was unknown, that its anniversary was not usually observed, and that the day of his baptism was kept as a festival only by the followers of Basilides (see EPIPHANY, FEAST or).
When we come down to the 4th century we find that, among the 5o days between Easter and Pentecost, Ascension Day has come into new prominence. Augustine, for example, enumerates as anniversaries celebrated by the whole church those of Christ's passion, resurrection and ascension, along with that of the out pouring of the Holy Ghost, while he is silent with regard to Christmas and Epiphany.
In the present calendar of the Roman Cath olic Church the number of feast days is very large. Each is cele brated by an appropriate office, which, according to its character, is either duplex, semi-duplex or simplex. A duplex again may be either of the first class or of the second, or a major or a minor. The distinctions of ritual for each of these are given with great minuteness in the general rubrics of the breviary; they turn chiefly on the number of Psalms to be sung and of lessons to be read, on the manner in which the antiphons are to be given and on simi lar details. The duplicia of the first class are the Nativity, the Epiphany, Easter with the three preceding and two following days, the Ascension, Whitsunday and the two following days, Corpus Christi, the Nativity of John Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, the Assumption of the Virgin, All Saints, and, for each church, the feast proper to its patron or title and the feast of its dedication.
The duplicia of the second class are the Circumcision, the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, of the Holy Trinity, and of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, the feasts of the Purification, Annuncia tion, Visitation, Nativity and Conception of the Virgin, the Natalitia of the Twelve Apostles, the feasts of the Evangelists, of St. Stephen, of the Holy Innocents, of St. Joseph and of the Patrocinium of Joseph, of St. Lawrence, of the Invention of the Cross and of the Dedication of St. Michael. The Dominicae majores of the first class are the first Sunday in Advent, the first in Lent, Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Dominica in Albis, Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday; the Dominicae majores of the second class are the second, third and fourth in Advent, Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays, and the second, third and fourth Sundays in Lent.
The calendar of the Greek Church is even fuller than that of the Latin, especially as regards the ioprai r v ayu 2w. Thus on the last Sunday in Advent the feast of All Saints of the Old Covenant is celebrated ; while Adam and Eve, Job, Elijah, Isaiah, etc., have separate days. The distinctions of ritual are analogous to those in the Western Church. In the Coptic Church there are seven great festivals, Christmas, Epiphany, the Annunciation, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Ascension and Whitsunday, on all of which the Copts "wear new clothes (or the best they have), feast and give alms" (Lane). They also observe, as minor festivals, Maundy Thursday, Holy Saturday, the feast of the Apostles (filth July), and that of the Discovery of the Cross.
In common with most of the churches of the Reformation, the Church of England retained a certain number of feasts besides all Sundays in the year. They are, besides Monday and Tuesday both in Easter-week and Whitsun-week, as follows : the Circumci sion, the Epiphany, the Conversion of St. Paul, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, St. Matthias the Apostle, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, St. Mark the Evangelist, St. Philip and St. James (Apostles), the Ascension, St. Barnabas, the Nativity of St. John Baptist, St. Peter the Apostle, St. James the Apostle, St. Bartholomew, St. Matthew, St. Michael and all Angels, St. Luke the Evangelist, St. Simon and St. Jude, All Saints, St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Christmas, St. Stephen, St. John the Evan gelist, the Holy Innocents.
Several attempts have been made at various times in western Europe to reorganize the festival system on some other scheme than the Christian. Thus at the time of the French Revolution, during the period of Robespierre's ascendancy, it was proposed to substitute a tenth day (Decadi) for the weekly rest, and to intro duce the following new festivals: that of the Supreme Being and of Nature, of the Human Race, of the French people, of the Benefactors of Mankind, of Freedom and Equality, of the Mar tyrs of Freedom, of the Republic, of the Freedom of the World, of Patriotism, of Hatred of Tyrants and Traitors, of Truth, of Justice, of Modesty, of Fame and Immortality, of Friendship, of Temperance, of Heroism, of Fidelity, of Unselfishness, of Stoi cism, of Love, of Conjugal Fidelity, of Filial Affection, of Child hood, of Youth, of Manhood, of Old Age, of Misfortune, of Agri culture, of Industry, of our Forefathers, of Posterity and Felicity. The proposal, however, was never fully carried out, and soon fell into oblivion.
These are chiefly two—the `Eed es-Sagheer (or minor festival) and the `Eed el-Kebeer (or great festival), sometimes called Ted el-Kurban. The former, which lasts for three days, immediately follows the month Ramadan, and is generally the more joyful of the two; the latter begins on the tenth of Zu-l-Heggeh (the last month of the Mohammedan year), and lasts for three or f our days. Besides these festivals they usually keep holy the first ten days of Moharram (the first month of the year), especially the tenth day, called Yom Ashoora; the birthday of the prophet, on the twelfth day of the third month ; the birthday of El-Hoseyn, in the fourth month ; the anni versary of the prophet's miraculous ascension into heaven, in the seventh month ; and one or two other anniversaries. Friday, called the day of El-Gumah (the assembly), is a day of public worship; but it is not usual to abstain from public business on that day except during the time of prayer.
In modern India the lead ing popular festivals are the Holi, which is held in March or April and lasts for five days, and the Dasahara, which occurs in October. Although in its origin Buddhism was a deliberate reaction against all ceremonial, it does not now refuse to observe festivals. By Buddhists in China, for example, three days in the year are espe cially observed in honour of the Buddha,—the eighth day of the second month, when he left his home ; the eighth day of the fourth month, the anniversary of his birthday; and the eighth of the twelfth, when he attained to perfection and entered Nirvana. In Siam the eighth and fifteenth days of every month are considered holy, and are observed as days for rest and worship. At Trut, the festival of the close of the year, visiting and play-going are uni versal. The new year (January) is celebrated for three days; in February is another holiday; in April is a sort of Lent, ushering in the rainy season ; on the last day of June presents are made of cakes of the new rice ; in August is the festival of the angel of the river, "whose forgiveness is then asked for every act by which the waters of the Meinam have been rendered impure." See Bowring's Siam and Carne's Travels in Indo-China and the Chinese Empire. Copious details of the elaborate festival-system of the Chinese may be found in Doolittle's Social Life of the Chinese.
