Pentecost, << PEHN tuh kawst, >> is the feast that marks the end of the 50-day Christian observance of Easter. The term comes from the Greek word for fiftieth. Pentecost originally celebrated both the Ascension of Jesus Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit. In the 300’s, the Ascension of Jesus came to be a separate observance. However, Pentecost remained a celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church, in fulfillment of Jesus’s promise “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).
During early church history, the term Pentecost also referred to the period of 50 days following Easter. This period was the time of the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. In the 1900’s, this emphasis was recovered in a number of churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, most Lutheran churches, and the churches of the Anglican Communion. In these churches, the season of Easter is observed throughout the seven weeks until Pentecost.
In ancient Israel, Pentecost was the celebration of the wheat harvest held 50 days after the festival of Passover. Since Biblical times, the celebration also has commemorated the day the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. In Judaism, this event is observed on the holiday of Shavuot, which falls in May or June.
