Liturgical calendar of the Church of Emerstari

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The current liturgical holidays were set in 2026 by Karl Jakob Dalmann, Secretary of the Church.

The liturgical calendar of the Church of Emerstari (Emerstarian: Emerskekyrkesliturgisketidrekning) is a Lutheran liturgical calendar which lists the annual festivals and other observances and events that are celebrated by the Church; the calendar operates on two different cycles. These are the Temporal and the Sanctoral Cycles. The Temporal Cycle is based around the festivals of Christmas and Easter: all Sundays and festivals within are related to them. Though as Easter varies in date each year, based on the vernal equinox and the phases of the moon, it is a moveable feast. Dates affected by the placement of Easter include ASh Wednesday, the start of Lent, Penticost, and the Holy Trinity. Advent comes exactly four Sundays prior to the start of Christmas (if Christmas falls on a Sunday, that day does not count). The first Sunday of Advent is also the first day of the liturgical year. The Sanctoral Cycle is the fixed daily commemorations of individuals and events not related to the Temporal Cycle of Sundays, feasts, and festivals; this cycle is sometimes thought of as being the "Calendar of Saints."

Structure

Festivals

Festivals take precendence over all other days, including Sundays: festivals include the Nativity of our Lord, the Ephipany of our Lord, the Baptism of our Lord, the Transfiguration of our Lord, the Annunciation of our Lord, Palm Sunday, Easter, the Ascension of our Lord, Pentecost, Holy Trinity, All Saints, and Christ the King. Most of these festivals are tied to the moveable feast of Easter. Christmas is twelve days in length (25 December – 5 January) and Easter is fifty days in length (Easter Sunday – Pentecost).

Days of Special Devotion, while not festivals, are considered to be equal; days such as Ash Wednesday, all the days of Holy Week, and Good Friday are included. These days, like festivals, take precedence over any other date on the calendar.

Lesser festivals

Lesser festivals days associated with the life of Christ or the Apostles and dserve attention in their own right; they do not receive priority over festivals and technically do not have precedence over ordinary Sundays, but the CHurch does permit the celebrtion of these where the liturgical color of the day would be green or on Sundays in Christmas.

Commemorations

Commemorations are for individuals or events which have been noteworthy in the life of the Church. These days do not take precedence over any other festival day, and if there is a conflict between a commemoration and a day of any other rank, the commemoration is generally transferred to the next open weekday.

Liturgical colors

The service book of the Church designates specific colors for the events of its liturgical calendar; this color is sometimes known as the color of the day. The Church generally follows the color scheme of other Protestant branches. The color of the day dictates the color of the vestments for all ministers and the color of paraments. White is the color designated for Festivals of Christ, including Christmas, Ephiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, Transfiguration, Easter (except for Pentecost), Holy Trinity, and Christ the King. White is also the color appointed for funerals regardless of whatever the color of the day might be as well as for commemorations of anyone who was not martyred. Purple is the color for the season of Lent, and blue is the color of Advent. Red is used for commemorations of martyrs and is used on Pentecost, scarlet is used for Holy Week, black on Ash Wednesday, and gold on Holy Saturday. Good Friday, when all paraments are removed from the Church, is the only day which does not have a color.

Calendar

January

February