What's My Neighbor Celebrating Now? Quiz

Answer: Good Friday

My neighbor tells me that fasting is never observed during the Christmas or Easter seasons. Since Good Friday was presumably the day Christ was crucified, I suppose it makes sense that he wouldn't want to feast on such a day.

Answer: Fat Tuesday

My neighbor tells me the French for Fat Tuesday is Mardi Gras. Now that I've heard of. Apparently, because it's the last day of feasting before Lent, a lot of churches celebrate with an indulgent pancake supper. I jokingly asked him if he thought Christ was a pancake lover. He said he thinks the tradition arose because people used to fast from milk and eggs during Lent, and they needed to use them all up before Lent started - so - pancakes. It kind of makes sense.

This day is also called Shrove Tuesday, as it was traditional for the devout to spend the day in contemplation of the upcoming season of self-denial. Not nearly as much fun as using up all the rich food before Lent arrives!

Answer: Epiphany

I asked him about it when he got home. He said it's Epiphany, and every year his church holds a pageant, and he gets to play the part of one of the magi that visits the Christ child. He and the other magi, along with the congregation, sing "We Three Kings of the Orient Are." Epiphany falls on January 6, though his church observes it on the nearest Sunday. My neighbor says it's about Christ "manifesting himself to the gentiles."

Answer: Advent

My neighbor calls it an advent wreath. He marks each of the four weeks of advent by lighting a candle and reading Bible verses and saying a prayer. He considers advent to be a time of anticipation and preparation for Christmas. My neighbor's wreath doesn't have a fifth Christ candle, but he says some do, and it's lit on Christmas.

Answer: Maundy Thursday

He told me that Maundy Thursday commemorates Christ's last supper with his disciples. Because at this time Christ washed the feet of his disciples, many liturgical Christians observe the event with a ritual foot washing during the Maundy Thursday service. My neighbor says foot washing is a symbolic gesture that expresses a willingness to serve others. He says that some denominations, such as the Adventists, routinely engage in foot washing, but his church only does it once a year, on Maundy Thursday.

Answer: Easter

I used to think Christmas was the most important day to Christians, but my neighbor says its Easter, because Easter commemorates Christ's resurrection from the dead. During his church service, the congregation apparently says "He is risen! He is risen, indeed!" quite a lot.

They have two extra services on that day, to accommodate all of the "C&E Christians." That's what he calls Christians who only come to church to worship for the Christmas and Easter holidays.

Answer: Ash Wednesday

My neighbor told me that on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, worshippers in his church go up to the altar and kneel and are marked with the sign of the cross using ash. It stays on until it wears off, though by now it just looks like a black smudge, and I can barely make out the shape.

Answer: Christmas

My neighbor says his church does have a single service on Christmas morning, but it's not well attended. Most worshippers go to the packed Christmas Eve services instead. He prefers the candlelight service that is held late in the evening.

Answer: Reformation Day

He says he's not a Lutheran, but he still celebrates Reformation Day. Apparently a number of Protestant churches observe it. I asked him if he thinks Halloween is evil and if the churches made up Reformation Day to detract from it. He laughed and said that October 31, 1517 really was the actual day Martin Luther wrote to the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg to protest the sale of indulgences. Luther enclosed a copy of his now famous 95 Theses, and that, and not Halloween, is why Reformation Day is observed on October 31.

Answer: Lent

My neighbor tells me that every year he gives up something different for Lent, the period stretching from Ash Wednesday until Easter. He regards it as a sort of mini-fast, and says that every time he longs for those things, it makes him think of Jesus' far greater sacrifice. I've noticed that sometimes Lent begins in February, sometimes in March, depending on the year.