Random Thoughts

[1995hoo]

Its date is determined according to Easter, which always falls in March or April, and in these months, there are already lots of feats leading to Easter, but none similar in August, September or October. So, Gemerton is an August/September holiday for everyone.

Easter sometimes falls in May, according to the Orthodox calendar.

What sort of "feats" lead up to Easter, BTW? Someone rising from the dead seems like quite the feat on its own.

[Poiponen13]

Its date is determined according to Easter, which always falls in March or April, and in these months, there are already lots of feats leading to Easter, but none similar in August, September or October. So, Gemerton is an August/September holiday for everyone.

Easter sometimes falls in May, according to the Orthodox calendar.

What sort of "feats" lead up to Easter, BTW? Someone rising from the dead seems like quite the feat on its own.

Typo. I meant "feasts".

[kphoger]

Happy Gemerton's Day!

Except in the Southern Hemisphere, where it happens in March.

What does that mean? Is always happens in September or August.

It means that Gemerton's Day occurs in March for locations south of the Equator.

It can't.

It can.

In the Southern Hemisphere, due to South America's long history of liberalism and anti-clericalism, as well as a general decline in religious affiliation, Easter will be severed from its Christian roots in favor of being a generic spring-season holiday.  The date of Easter in the Southern Hemisphere will therefore be moved to the first Sunday on or after September 25.  Next year, therefore, Gemerton's Day in the Southern Hemisphere will be on March 5.

So, Gemerton is an August/September holiday for everyone.

This is not true for the Southern Hemisphere, as already explained.

Gemerton is a fall holiday, for everyone.

Not always technically not true, because it doesn't always occur after the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and it never does in the Southern Hemisphere.  But yes, it nevertheless functions as the unofficial start to the fall season.

there are already lots of feats leading to Easter

What sort of "feats" lead up to Easter, BTW?

Typo. I meant "feasts".

As explained above, the date of Easter will be divorced in the Southern Hemisphere from the Christian liturgical calendar, so that point is irrelevant.

[hotdogPi]

These three holidays are more important:

AARoads Forum 15th Anniversary Day (January 15, 2024)
Solar Eclipse Day (April 8, 2024)
Taylor Swift Is Old Enough To Be President Day (December 13, 2024)

[1995hoo]

.... Easter will be severed from its Christian roots ....

That's more or less already happened in the USA anyway.

[GaryV]

What does that mean?

It means that Gemerton's Day occurs in March for locations south of the Equator.

It can't. In the same vein, Easter would happen in September in Southern Hemisphere. It does fall in spring rather than fall in Southern Hemisphere, but the thing is that September is a spring month and March a fall month there.

If you can make stuff up, why can't I? Gemerton is a fall holiday, for everyone.

Its date is determined according to Easter, which always falls in March or April, and in these months, there are already lots of feats leading to Easter, but none similar in August, September or October. So, Gemerton is an August/September holiday for everyone.

Maybe in your made-up world. But not in my world.

What are these feats leading to Easter? I know the pancake flipping run somewhere in Kansas, and maybe the cheese wheel roll in England?

[kkt]

Happy Gemerton's Day!

Except in the Southern Hemisphere, where it happens in March.

What does that mean? Is always happens in September or August.

It means that Gemerton's Day occurs in March for locations south of the Equator.

It can't.

It can.

In the Southern Hemisphere, due to South America's long history of liberalism and anti-clericalism, as well as a general decline in religious affiliation, Easter will be severed from its Christian roots in favor of being a generic spring-season holiday.  The date of Easter in the Southern Hemisphere will therefore be moved to the first Sunday on or after September 25.  Next year, therefore, Gemerton's Day in the Southern Hemisphere will be on March 5.

So, Gemerton is an August/September holiday for everyone.

This is not true for the Southern Hemisphere, as already explained.

Gemerton is a fall holiday, for everyone.

Not always technically not true, because it doesn't always occur after the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and it never does in the Southern Hemisphere.  But yes, it nevertheless functions as the unofficial start to the fall season.

there are already lots of feats leading to Easter

What sort of "feats" lead up to Easter, BTW?

Typo. I meant "feasts".

As explained above, the date of Easter will be divorced in the Southern Hemisphere from the Christian liturgical calendar, so that point is irrelevant.

If they want to have a spring holiday, great, more power to them.  But how about finding their own name for it?  Especially if they want it to be a non-religious holiday.

[hotdogPi]

Wester.

[Scott5114]

Speaking of obscure holidays, I just tried to explain my understanding of Nevada Day to someone and it frankly felt like I was writing about a holiday in Alanland. For one thing, one of the traditions involves booing a parade of politicians...

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Well, I conmemorate the "Astronomical Easter Sunday" in the event Easter doesn't actually fall on the Sunday following the first Full Moon after the March equinox, as happened in 2019 when Easter was four weeks too late . I even have added the Pearson Sunday to the one before it (thus the astronomical equivalent to Palm Sunday), which also means the event it commemorates didn't actually take place in one as it was that same year (and also it was impossible for me to have called that day "Pearson Sunday". I was the "Should-have-been-Palm Sunday").

[kphoger]

Well, I conmemorate the "Astronomical Easter Sunday" in the event Easter doesn't actually fall on the Sunday following the first Full Moon after the March equinox, as happened in 2019 when Easter was four weeks too late . I even have added the Pearson Sunday to the one before it (thus the astronomical equivalent to Palm Sunday), which also means the event it commemorates didn't actually take place in one as it was that same year (and also it was impossible for me to have called that day "Pearson Sunday". I was the "Should-have-been-Palm Sunday").

You're applying strict astronomical criteria to something that was always a compromise between ecclesiastical and astronomical calendars to begin with?

[US 89]

.... Easter will be severed from its Christian roots ....

That's more or less already happened in the USA anyway.

Not in the South it hasn't. At least not as much as it has in most other regions. This was quite the shock to me after I first moved to Atlanta - Easter is a way bigger deal in these parts than it ever was growing up in Utah.

[Rothman]

.... Easter will be severed from its Christian roots ....

That's more or less already happened in the USA anyway.

Not in the South it hasn't. At least not as much as it has in most other regions. This was quite the shock to me after I first moved to Atlanta - Easter is a way bigger deal in these parts than it ever was growing up in Utah.

Easter coincides with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' General Conference half the time (first weekend in April) and the Church makes a big deal of it in the conference, but Mormons aren't into putting up banners and crosses and the like in front of their churches like other Christian religions...or message boards, for that matter.  I'd imagine the cultural/religious difference in that regard dampens the overt signs of Easter celebration in Utah.

That said, the best Easters are in Russia.  It's their big religious holiday -- bigger than Christmas (whichever day you choose to celebrate that...or just choose both...).  When I lived in Volgograd, things just seemed depressed for most of the year, but on Easter, the city turned into a big party.  People didn't flood the streets, but everyone opens their doors to visitors.  It's a great, friendly time in contrast to any other day of the year.

[kphoger]

That said, the best Easters are in Russia.  It's their big religious holiday -- bigger than Christmas (whichever day you choose to celebrate that...or just choose both...).  When I lived in Volgograd, things just seemed depressed for most of the year, but on Easter, the city turned into a big party.  People didn't flood the streets, but everyone opens their doors to visitors.  It's a great, friendly time in contrast to any other day of the year.

The traditional view in Orthodox Christianity is that both Easter and Pentecost are higher feast days than Christmas.

[Rothman]

That said, the best Easters are in Russia.  It's their big religious holiday -- bigger than Christmas (whichever day you choose to celebrate that...or just choose both...).  When I lived in Volgograd, things just seemed depressed for most of the year, but on Easter, the city turned into a big party.  People didn't flood the streets, but everyone opens their doors to visitors.  It's a great, friendly time in contrast to any other day of the year.

The traditional view in Orthodox Christianity is that both Easter and Pentecost are higher feast days than Christmas.

Pentecost wasn't as big of a deal as Easter in Volgograd.

[webny99]

.... Easter will be severed from its Christian roots ....

That's more or less already happened in the USA anyway.

Not in the South it hasn't. At least not as much as it has in most other regions. This was quite the shock to me after I first moved to Atlanta - Easter is a way bigger deal in these parts than it ever was growing up in Utah.

Also true of the South in general in contrast to the rest of the country, not just around Easter.

[vdeane]

When I lived in Volgograd, things just seemed depressed

That's the impression I get of pretty much every former Soviet city when I look at them on street view.

[US 89]

.... Easter will be severed from its Christian roots ....

That's more or less already happened in the USA anyway.

Not in the South it hasn't. At least not as much as it has in most other regions. This was quite the shock to me after I first moved to Atlanta - Easter is a way bigger deal in these parts than it ever was growing up in Utah.

Easter coincides with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' General Conference half the time (first weekend in April) and the Church makes a big deal of it in the conference, but Mormons aren't into putting up banners and crosses and the like in front of their churches like other Christian religions...or message boards, for that matter.  I'd imagine the cultural/religious difference in that regard dampens the overt signs of Easter celebration in Utah.

Fair. And as someone who isn't Mormon, all I see is conference weekend and all the traffic it generates in the north half of downtown SLC. Any talk I've ever heard afterwards tends to be simply about how nice Elder John M. Smith and President Q. George Barlow's talks were. The fact that the whole experience repeats in October kills any association I might get between the April conference and Easter.

But beyond that, in the west Easter seems to be just another Sunday on the calendar, though with some uniquely religious significance. Kind of like Pentecost but a bit bigger. People of any Christian denomination who don't usually make the effort to go to church might find themselves at one on Easter morning, but that's really it. In lots of the South, it's a really important holiday where large extended families will reunite and hang out to a much greater extent than just going to church Sunday morning. It's nearly on par with Thanksgiving. When I went to college in Atlanta, basically everyone whose parents lived within a 6-8 hour radius would go home for Easter weekend. Campus was real dead on those weekends. That kind of importance was not something I ever saw growing up.

[Rothman]

.... Easter will be severed from its Christian roots ....

That's more or less already happened in the USA anyway.

Not in the South it hasn't. At least not as much as it has in most other regions. This was quite the shock to me after I first moved to Atlanta - Easter is a way bigger deal in these parts than it ever was growing up in Utah.

Easter coincides with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' General Conference half the time (first weekend in April) and the Church makes a big deal of it in the conference, but Mormons aren't into putting up banners and crosses and the like in front of their churches like other Christian religions...or message boards, for that matter.  I'd imagine the cultural/religious difference in that regard dampens the overt signs of Easter celebration in Utah.

Fair. And as someone who isn't Mormon, all I see is conference weekend and all the traffic it generates in the north half of downtown SLC. Any talk I've ever heard afterwards tends to be simply about how nice Elder John M. Smith and President Q. George Barlow's talks were. The fact that the whole experience repeats in October kills any association I might get between the April conference and Easter.

But beyond that, in the west Easter seems to be just another Sunday on the calendar, though with some uniquely religious significance. Kind of like Pentecost but a bit bigger. People of any Christian denomination who don't usually make the effort to go to church might find themselves at one on Easter morning, but that's really it. In lots of the South, it's a really important holiday where large extended families will reunite and hang out to a much greater extent than just going to church Sunday morning. It's nearly on par with Thanksgiving. When I went to college in Atlanta, basically everyone whose parents lived within a 6-8 hour radius would go home for Easter weekend. Campus was real dead on those weekends. That kind of importance was not something I ever saw growing up.

Although membership or affiliation in the U.S. is declining (especially "active" membership), Mormons still make up 55% of the population in Utah (Even in famously Catholic MA, only 34% of people their affiliate as such).  Church attendance is a big deal -- Devout Mormons attend every Sunday.  Therefore, Easter is just another Sunday in that regard, but with services tailored to the holiday (talks and musical numbers and the like).

That said, sure, there wasn't a compulsion to return home from school just for Easter if one was far away from home, but I'd bet if family was nearby, students would spend that weekend with family.

[Poiponen13]

We should separate the recent Easter discussion to new thread called "The Easter thread" to make room with other random thoughts not related to Easter at all.

[GaryV]

I just had a random thought associated with Ascension Day. Can I post that here?

[Poiponen13]

I just had a random thought associated with Ascension Day. Can I post that here?

You can.

[Flint1979]

I just realized that Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter were born on the same day and the same day as one of my aunts (June 21, 1947).

[kphoger]

We should separate the recent Easter discussion to new thread called "The Easter thread" to make room with other random thoughts not related to Easter at all.

We should separate all of the posts in the forum by Poiponen13-du-Ha!-Ha! into his own thread.  Oh, wait, we can't.

I just had a random thought associated with Ascension Day. Can I post that here?

I'm not sure if the term is used in actual German-speaking areas, but I grew up hearing Ascension Day occasionally referred to as Himmelfahrtfest.  Which sounds like something that it isn't.  On the other hand, my parents' congregation does do an Ascension Day dinner with beer, brats, and sauerkraut.  So maybe the German name is apt, after all...

[GaryV]

I posted somewhat in jest about Ascension Day, because it is time-linked to Easter.

When my wife was on choir tour in Europe in college, they went to one place that was all closed up because it was Ascension Day. I don't remember if that was in Germany, but it might have been.