One of the greatest Christian feasts …which has its origin in Judaism…
The word Pentecost πεντηκοστή [pentèkostè] comes from ancient Greek: fiftieth (day after Easter).
The origin of Pentecost, like Easter, is to be found in a Jewish feast, an agricultural feast which was converted into a religious one. It was called shavou’ot or the feast of weeks because it took place 7 weeks after Passover. It was also called the feast of the first offerings, being the celebration of the time of sowing new seeds. .
Later Pentecost took on a religious significance. It recalled the historical event of the gift of the Torah on
Mount Sinai. Therefore Shavou’ot (Jewish Pentecost) is the conclusion, the ending of Pesah. In fact, it was in order to give the Torah that God led Israel out of
Egypt: true freedom consists in accepting to follow the law of God.
After the resurrection of Christ, Pentecost took on a Christian meaning. The Acts of the Apostles (2,1-13) recounts what happened in the Cenacle in
Jerusalem in the year 30 or 33 of our era, the day of the Jewish festival, 50 days after the resurrection of Christ. “On the day of Pentecost, all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from Heaven, like the sound of a mighty wind. It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everybody and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak”.
So Pentecost is the feast of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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