Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

    Thank you for the quick responses.  This is fascinating.  I eagerly
    anticipate hearing from members of other churches.
    

    1.  Type of church/name of sect.

Religious Society of Friends (Quaker)

	No single day is more holy than another, therefore traditional
Friends do not officially celebrate holidays.  At the same time, there's
no strict enforcement of this doctrine and many Quaker Meetings do decorate
a Christmas tree, etc..

    2.  Day when you observe Sabbath.  Does it begin at midnight, sunset,
        or other?  Any restrictions on activities?

Friends call Sunday "First day," however, no official Sabbath is observed.
    
    3.  For each holiday:  a. name, b. short statement giving significance,
        c. season or month when it is usually observed.

Not applicable
    
    4.  If you have them, the actual dates for these holidays from 1992-1999.

Not applicable

Peace,
Richard

    1.  Type of church/name of sect.

The United Methodist Church (Correct me if I'm wrong, Nancy Smith)

    2.  Day when you observe Sabbath.  Does it begin at midnight, sunset,
        or other?  Any restrictions on activities?

Sunday is most commonly recognized as the Christian Sabbath.  No restrictions.

    3.  For each holiday:  a. name, b. short statement giving significance,
        c. season or month when it is usually observed.

United Methodism generally follows the liturgical calender.  Easter and
Christmas are the two most significant observances.  Easter represents the
resurrection of Christ, and Christmas, the birth of Christ.  Other holidays
and periods frequently observed:  Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent, Palm
Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Pentecost, and the season of Advent.

Some secular celebrations tend to dominate during certain Sundays, particularly
Mother's Day and Super Bowl Sunday. 8-}

Some Sundays may be designated by the General Conference or Annual Conference
for special emphasis or recognition.  These are not holidays, as such, and may
not be repeated annually: Native American Awareness Sunday, Black Heritage
Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, United Methodist Women's Sunday, World
Communion Sunday, and many others.
    
    4.  If you have them, the actual dates for these holidays from 1992-1999.

Not immediately available.

Peace,
Richard

    1.  Type of church/name of sect.

Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

    2.  Day when you observe Sabbath.  Does it begin at midnight, sunset,
        or other?  Any restrictions on activities?

Generally, Sunday.  No restrictions.
    
    3.  For each holiday:  a. name, b. short statement giving significance,
        c. season or month when it is usually observed.

Generally speaking, MCC's are in agreement with both .1 and .4.  Not to
confuse things, but MCC's would likely affirm the truth of .2, as well.

I think you'll find the more interesting answers will come from Seventh
Day Adventists (Rollyn?) and Jehovah's Witnesses (Phil? Robin? Mark? Steve?).

Peace,
Richard

    1.  Type of church/name of sect.

Unitarian Universalist

    2.  Day when you observe Sabbath.  Does it begin at midnight, sunset,
        or other?  Any restrictions on activities?

Any day.  Every day.  And never.

    3.  For each holiday:  a. name, b. short statement giving significance,
        c. season or month when it is usually observed.

Any excuse to get together, eat, and talk.  Celebrations may or may not
include Ground Hog's Day, Buddha's Birthday, Halloween, the Summer solstice,
St. Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Martin Luther King's birthday, United
Nations Day, and many of the holidays observed by both Christian and
non-Christian faith traditions.

Some of these are tongue-in-cheek and light-hearted celebrations, as you
might imagine.  Others are observed with uncompromising solemnity.

Peace,
Richard

The Calendar of the Church Year		(Episcopal Church in the United States)

The Church Year consists of two cycles of feasts and holy days: one is
dependent upon the movable date of the Sunday of the Resurrection or
Easter Day; the other, upon the fixed date of December 25, the Feast of
our Lord's Nativity or Christmas Day.

Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the full moon that falls on
or after March 21.  It cannot occur before March 22 or after April 25.

The sequence of all Sundays of the Church Year depends upon the date of
Easter Day.  But the Sundays of Advent are always the four Sundays before
Christmas Day, whether it occurs on a Sunday or a weekday.  The date of
Easter also determines the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and the
feast of the Ascension on a Thursday forty days after Easter Day.

1. Principal Feasts

The Principal Feasts observed in this Church are the following:

Easter Day			All Saints' Day, November 1
Ascension Day			Christmas Day, December 25
The Day of Pentecost		The Epiphany, January 6
Trinity Sunday

These feasts take precedence of any other day or observance.  All Saints'
Day may always be observed on the Sunday following November 1, in addition
to its observance on the fixed date.

2. Sundays

All Sundays of the year are feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In addition to
the dated days listed above, only the following feasts, appointed on fixed
days, take precedence of a Sunday:

The Holy Name, January 1
The Presentation, February 2
The Transfiguration, August 6

The feast of the Dedication of a Church, and the feast of its patron or
title, may be observed on, or be transferred to, a Sunday, except in the
seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter.

All other Feasts of our Lord, and all other Major Feasts appointed on fixed
days in the Calendar, when they occur on a Sunday, are normally transferred
to the first convenient open day within the week.  When desired, however,
the Collect, Preface, and one or more of the Lessons appointed for the Feast
may be substituted for those of the Sunday, but not from the Last Sunday
after Pentecost through the First Sunday after the Epiphany, or from the
Last Sunday after the Epiphany through Trinity Sunday.

With the express permission of the bishop, and for urgent and sufficient
reason, some other special occasion may be observed on a Sunday.

3. Holy Days

The following Holy Days are regularly observed throughout the year.
Unless otherwise ordered in the preceding rules concerning Sundays, they
have precedence over all other days of commmemoration or of special
observance:

Other Feasts of our Lord

The Holy Name, January 1	Saint John the Baptist, June 24
The Presentation, February 2	The Transfiguration, August 6
The Annunciation, March 25	Holy Cross Day, September 14
The Visitation, May 31

Other Major Feasts

All feasts of Apostles		Saint Mary the Virgin, August 15
All feasts of Evangelists	Saint Michael and All Angels, September 29
Saint Stephen, December 26	Saint James of Jerusalem, October 23
The Holy Innocents, Dec. 28	Independence Day, July 4
Saint Joseph, March 19		Thanksgiving Day
Saint Mary Magdalene, July 22

Fasts

Ash Wednesday			Good Friday

Feasts appointed on fixed days in the Calendar are not observed on the
days of Holy Week or of Easter Week.  Major Feasts falling in these weeks
are transferred to the week following the Second Sunday of Easter, in the
order of their occurence.

Feasts appointed on fixed days in the Calendar do not take precedence of
Ash Wednesday.

Feasts of our Lord and other Major Feasts appointed on fixed days, which
fall upon or are transferred to a weekday, may be observed on any open day
within the week.  This provision does not apply to Christmas Day, the
Epiphany, and All Saints' Day.

4. Days of Special Devotion

The following days are observed by special acts of discipline and
self-denial:

Ash Wednesday and the other weekdays of Lent and of Holy Week, except the
Feast of the Annunciation.

Good Friday and all Fridays of the year, in commemoration of the Lord's
crucifixion, except for Fridays in the Christmas and Easter seasons, and
any Feasts of our Lord which occur on a Friday.

5. Days of Optional Observance

Subject to the rules of precedence governing Principal Feasts, Sundays,
and Holy Days, the following may be observed with the Collects, Psalms,
and Lessons duly authorized by this Church:

Commemorations listed in the Calendar
Other Commemorations, using the Common of Saints
The Ember Days, traditionally observed on the Wednesdays, Fridays, and
Saturdays after the First Sunday in Lent, the Day of Pentecost, Holy
Cross Day (September 14), and December 13.
The Rogation Days, traditionally observed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
before Ascension Day.
Various Occasions

Provided, that there is no celebration of the Eucharist for any such
occasion on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday;
and provided further, that none of the Propers appointed for Various
Occasions is used as a substitute for, or as an addition to, the Proper
appointed for the Principal Feasts.



The Titles of the Seasons
Sundays and Major Holy Days
observed in this Church throughout the Year

Advent Season

The First Sunday of Advent
The Second Sunday of Advent
The Third Sunday of Advent
The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Christmas Season

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Christmas Day, December 25
The First Sunday after Christmas Day
The Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, January 1
The Second Sunday after Christmas Day

Epiphany Season

The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, January 6
The First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Second Sunday through the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Lenten Season

The First Day of Lent, or Ash Wednesday
The First Sunday in Lent
The Second Sunday in Lent
The Third Sunday in Lent
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Holy Week

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
Monday in Holy Week
Tuesday in Holy Week
Wednesday in Holy Week
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Holy Saturday

Easter Season

Easter Eve
The Sunday of the Resurrection, or Easter Day
Monday in Easter Week
Tuesday in Easter Week
Wednesday in Easter Week
Thursday in Easter Week
Friday in Easter Week
Saturday in Easter Week
The Second Sunday of Easter
The Third Sunday of Easter
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Ascension Day
The Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day
The Day of Pentecost: Whitsunday

The Season After Pentecost

The First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday
The Second Sunday through the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
The Last Sunday after Pentecost [Christ the King]

Holy Days

Saint Andrew the Apostle, November 30
Saint Thomas the Apostle, December 21
Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, December 26
Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, December 27
The Holy Innocents, December 28
The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle, January 18
The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle, January 25
The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, [Candlemas]
	also called the Purification of Saint Mary the Virgin, February 2
Saint Matthias the Apostle, February 24
Saint Joseph, March 19
The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ
	to the Blessed Virgin Mary, March 25
Saint Mark the Evangelist, April 25
Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles, May 1
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, May 31
Saint Barnabas the Apostle, June 11
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, June 24
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles, June 29
Saint Mary Magdalene, July 22
Saint James the Apostle, July 25
The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, August 6
Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, August 15
Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, August 24
Holy Cross Day, September 14
Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, September 21
Saint Michael and All Angels, September 29  [Michaelmas]
Saint Luke the Evangelist, october 18
Saint James of Jerusalem, Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
  and Martyr, October 23
Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles, October 28
All Saints' Day, November 1

National Days

Independence Day, July 4
Thanksgiving Day

In the Western Churches, Easter falls as follows:

1990	April 15	1995	April 16	2000	April 23
1991	March 31	1996	April 7		2001	April 15
1992	April 19	1997	March 30	2002	March 31
1993	April 11	1998	April 12	2003	April 20
1994	April 3		1999	April 4		2004	April 11

The Eastern Churches use a slightly different formula.

Richard and I have been discussing the calculation of the date of Easter
off-line.  What I posted in .1 (First Sunday after the full moon _on_or_after_
March 21) is an extreme simplification.

Easter is not based on the actual Spring equinox.

The formula used is an ancient ecclesiastical calculation in which the full
moon is the 14th day of a canonical (not astronomical) lunar month and in
which the canonical (not astronomical) equinox is always on March 21st.

To compute the date of Easter, you compute a number called "The Golden Number".
It is computed by adding "1" to the year, and then dividing by "19" and taking
the remainder, or 19 if there is no remainder.

These Golden Numbers are assigned to dates between 21 March and 18 April and
represent the date of the Paschal Full Moon.  Easter falls on the Sunday
thereafter (at least 1 and at most 7 days later), allowing Easter to fall
any time from 22 March through 25 April 

Until 2199, the 19 Golden Numbers are assigned as follows to dates in
April (if less than 19) or in March (if greater than 20).

Golden Number	 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Date		14  3 23 11 31 18  8 28 16  5 25 13  2 20 10 30 17  7 27

Next year is 1993 so the Golden number is (1994 mod 19) = 18 so the date of
the Full Moon is 7 April and the following Sunday is the 11th of April.

The sequence we are currently using will not recur until at least 8800 A.D.

The next row in the table is formed by adding 1 to each entry, but if the
entry was 31, reset to 1, and for Golden Numbers 1-11, if the entry was 18,
repeat 18 one more time and then reset to 21 but for Golden Numbers 12-19
if the number is 17 repeat it once before going to 18 and then 21.

In the Date Row above, the 18 and 17 are both the second occurrances.

The Rows (beginning back two rows) apply to years 1600, 1700/1800,
1900/2000/2100 (current row), 2200/2400, 2300/2500, 2600/2700/2800,
2900/3000, 3100/3200/3300, 3400/3600, 3500/3700, 3800/3900/4000,
4100, 4200/4300/4400, 4500/4600, 4700/4800/4900, 5000/5200, 5100/5300,
5400/5500/5600, 5700/5800, 5900/6000/6100, 6200/6400, 6300/6500,
6600/6800, 6700/6900, 7000/7100/7200, 7300/7400, 7500/7600/7700,
7800/8000, 7900/8100, 8200/8300/8400.

That's one complete cycle of the table -- but without the actual
formulas I don't know if this is a complete period, how the strange
pattern of years to rows continues, or whether the 17/18 thing shifts...

And all of this is for the Western Church.  Constantinople uses a
slightly different formula causing the date to be different.

/john

No offense, John .8, and I know it's a small point, but I don't understand
how an equinox can be something that isn't a matter of the Earth's rotation
or an astronomical matter, if you prefer.

The equinox, of course, is the point at which the Earth is at the exact midpoint
between the two extremes (the solstices) in the tilt of its axis.  The Spring
equinox coincides with the official beginning of Spring.

You've got my curiousity up now.  I'm gonna hafta do some research!

Peace,
Richard

You're right.  Which is why .1 says:

	Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the full moon that
	falls on or after March 21.

and .8 says:

	Easter is not based on the actual Spring equinox.

It isn't the Equinox (which can be on or about 21 March) that determines
the date of Easter -- it's the 21st of March.

/john

>The formula used is an ancient ecclesiastical calculation in which the full
>moon is the 14th day of a canonical (not astronomical) lunar month and in
>which the canonical (not astronomical) equinox is always on March 21st.

This is the part I was addressing, John .10.  You see, I've never encountered
the phenomenon of a "canonical" lunar month or equinox before.  Lunar months
and equinoxes hold astronomical connotations for me.  I'm not saying what
you're saying is untrue.  I'm simply curious to get more details and perhaps
just a little reluctant to discard too soon a formula which I heretofore
believed to be accurate.

I am a person who will admit it when I'm wrong.  So, let me check it out and
I'll get back to you.

Peace,
Richard

The formula was agreed upon after much controversy sometime in the 8th century.

While you're checking it out, please see if you can get both the complete
formula for the Western Church as well as that for the Eastern Church.

The eastern date for Easter will sometimes coincide with the western one,
but it can also be one, four, or five weeks later.

/john

& to think they did all that without the aid of computers! .-)

Jim

    Does anyone have information regarding the observance of holidays
    and the Sabbath as held by Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day
    Adventists?
    
    Peace,
    Richard

$ ! EASTER.COM
$ !
$ ! Finds the date of Easter -- valid from 1900 to 2199.
$ !
$ if p1 .eqs. "" .or. p1 .lt. 1900 .or. p1 .gt. 2199
$ then
$   write sys$output "Usage is @EASTER year"
$   write sys$output "Year must be from 1900 to 2199"
$   exit
$ endif
$ gold=p1-(p1/19*19)+1
$ moon=f$elem(gold,",","0,14,3,23,11,31,18,8,28,16,5,25,13,2,22,10,30,17,7,27")
$ moondate=moon+"-"+f$element(moon.lt.20,",","Mar,Apr")+"-"+p1
$ i=f$loca(f$extr(0,2,f$cvti(moondate,,"weekday")),"SaFrThWeTuMoSu")/2+1
$ write sys$output f$cvtime("''moondate'+''i'-0","absolute","date")
$ exit

No offense to John on this, but I just have to share it because it's
funny:

The conversation with my spouse on the way home yesterday -

Me:  "I've got to look up how the date of Easter is determined in the
encyclopedia tonight"

Her: "I thought you already knew."

Me:  "Yeah, but I'm being challenged on it."

Her:  "You mean there's another 'know-it-all' down there besides you?"

8-}

Peace,
Richard

    Thanks for .15, John!  That was most kind of you.
    
    Pax vobiscum,
    Richard

The following is the text of a note I entered earlier in this string and
then deleted:
===========================================================================
    Easter is determined by this formula:
    
    The first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.
    This is why Easter can occur in late March or a Sunday in April.
    (This information is also contained in the text of .1)
        
    Peace,
    Richard

PS  The Pastor of the local Unitarian church has a tradition of hosting
    the church staff to a dinner every December 6th, the Feast of St.
    Nicholas.

===========================================================================
It was pointed out to me offline that the Easter formula I presented here
was not accurate.  Since then, I've looked up Easter in The New Columbia
Encyclopedia, published by Columbia University Press.  Under 'Easter' it
said that

** Easter falls on the first Sunday following the full moon after the
vernal equinox **

and then it said "(SEE CALENDAR)".

At this point, I have to admit a smidge of hemispherecentricity on my part.
I said "Spring Equinox," when it is only Spring in the Northern hemisphere.
It is Autumn in the Southern hemisphere.

I shall elaborate on what the encyclopedia said under 'calendar' in a
separate note.

Peace,
Richard

Your encyclopaedia is definitely wrong, not only because it says "after"
instead of "on or after".

I was hoping that you would be back by now with the ecclesiastical formula that
computes the dates in March and April to which to apply the Golden Number.

Easter is based on the ecclesiastical calculation, not on the actual movement
of the planets.

/john

.19  Well, whaddya expect?  The editors are probably all humanists. ;-}

More to come.

Richard

"Vernal" doesn't get rid of the hemispheric bias, since it means "Spring."

But the formula the Church uses, which uses 21 March instead of the actual
equinox, does take care of the hemispheric bias.

The title of my previous reply may have been a bit unclear as to what it
relates to -- it refers to the "after" vs. "on or after" business.

In the following years since 1800, the ecclesiastical calculation places the
Paschal Full moon "on" 21 March, not necessarily "after" the equinox, which
can occur on 20 March, 21 March, or 22 March.

	1818, 1837, 1856, 1875, 1894

In these years, Easter was observed on the next Sunday following 21 March.

/john

From The New Columbia Encyclopedia under the topic Calendar, sub-topic
The Christian Ecclesiastical Calendar:

"The resurrection of Jesus has always been traditionally reckoned as
having taken place on a Sunday (first day of the week); hence the annual
feast celebrating the event, Easter, should fall on a Sunday.  The
Bible places the Passion with relation to the Passover.  Since the
Jewish Passover is on the evening of 14th (Eve of the 15th) Nisan (see
below), it may fall on any day of the week; hence Easter must fall on
a Sunday near the 14th Nisan.  In ancient times some Eastern Christians
celebrated Easter on the 14th Nisan itself; there were called
Quartodecimans [Lat.,= fourteenth].

** In 325 the First Council of Nicaea determined that Easter should fall
on the Sunday following the full moon next after the vernal equinox, **
the full moon being theoretically the 14th day, and Nisan beginning with
a new moon in March.  ** The vernal equinox was considered by the church
to fall on March 21 **.  The paschal, or Easter, moon is the moon the
14th day of which falls next after (not on) March 21.

Today Easter is calculated mathematically according to a system not taking
all factors of the lunar period into consideration, hence it nearly always
varies somewhat from what it should be according to true astronomical
calculation."

This seems to substantiate what John Covert has asserted; especially the
last paragraph.

More to come.

Peace,
Richard

Note 492.21

>"Vernal" doesn't get rid of the hemispheric bias, since it means "Spring."

Whoops!  Oh, well, there I go again.

Another fool for the sake of Christ,
Richard

From The New Columbia Encyclopedia under the topic Calendar, sub-topic
The Christian Ecclesiastical Calendar:

(continued)

"Several different systems have been used for determining Easter; today
Eastern churches use a different one from the West...

For a conventional means of computing Easter, see the Anglican Book of
Common Prayer."

And so, as far as I can see, the church somewhere along the line decided
to make the vernal equinox March 21, whether or not it was the date of
the actual vernal equinox event.  Further refinements (alterations,
adjustments, modifications) in time were adopted.

The funny part about all this is that most people, including Christians,
really don't care how Easter is determined.  They way most people find out
when Easter Sunday occurs is by looking on a calendar. :-)

Peace,
Richard

   re:  .0  Laura

   Jehovah's Witnesses observe the Memorial of the death of Jesus Christ 
   (also called the Lord's Supper or the Lord's Evening Meal).  This is
   the only event that Jesus commanded his disciples to memorialize.  See
   Luke 22:19; also 1 Cor. 11:26.  The Memorial is observed after sundown
   on Nisan 14, as figured on the Jewish calendar that was commonly used 
   in the first century.  The beginning of the month of Nisan is the sun-
   set after the new moon nearest the spring equinox.  Also, the the date
   is calculated on when that new moon becomes visible in Jerusalem, not
   the astronomical new moon which may come 18 to 30 hours earlier.  This
   is how the Jewish Passover was figured in Jesus' time on earth, which
   is when he instituted the Lord's Evening Meal (Matt. 26:2, 17-20; Mark
   14:12-16; Luke 22:7-15; John 13:1, 2).

   The Memorial emphasizes the significance of Jesus' death in the out-
   working of Jehovah's purpose.  Jesus' death vindicated Jehovah's name,
   proving that Adam's sin was not a result of a defect in the way he was
   created.  Jesus showed that a perfect man could maintain perfect godly
   devotion, even under extreme pressure.  His perfect human sacrifice
   provided the ransom needed to redeem Adam's offspring from sin and death
   (see Matt. 20:28; 1 Cor 15:22, 45; Rom. 5:12).  The Memorial also brings
   out the significance of Jesus' death in relation to the new covenant and
   the ones that will be heirs with him of the heavenly Kingdom.

   To Jehovah's Witnesses, the Memorial is the most important and signifi-
   cant event of the year.

   Jehovah's Witnesses also feel that it is appropriate to celebrate their
   wedding anniversaries, since marraige is God's arrangement.

   Observance of Sabbath is part of Mosaic Law and is not binding upon
   Christians (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:9-11; 5:4; Eph. 2:13-16).

   That's about it, Laura, unless Mark S., Phil Y., Robin R., or any other
   one of Jehovah's Witnesses want to add anything that I may have inad-
   vertantly overlooked.


   Steve

	Just to add on from what Steve as said, I also understand that
	Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate the birth of their children but 
	not the child's subsequent birthdays.

	Phil.

    Thanks, Phil.  I inadvertantly overlooked that.  No kids, you know.
    
    :-)
    
    Steve

	Thanks for all the info.

	RE:  .25
    
    	Some further questions on practices of Jehovah's Witnesses:

	Can you give the dates for 1992-1999 when you will celebrate the
    Lord's Supper?  Does this begin at sunset or midnight?  If it begins at
    sunset, is this on the date preceding the official holiday date, as is
    done in Judaism (based on the common calendar)?

	Do you work on this holiday?  Are there any restrictions on your
    activities, such as not travelling?
    
        What do you do during this holiday?  Church?  Family dinner?  etc.

    >Jehovah's Witnesses also feel that it is appropriate to celebrate
    >their wedding anniversaries, since marraige is God's arrangement.	

	Do you celebrate anniversaries as a religious holiday?  How do you
    do this?  

    >Observance of Sabbath is part of Mosaic Law and is not binding upon
    >Christians (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:9-11; 5:4; Eph. 2:13-16).
    
	Does this mean that you do not have a religious Sunday like other
    Christians?  No church that day, at least not specially from other
    days?  Do you work on Sundays?

	Do you celebrate any other holidays, such as Easter or Christmas,
    or ?  Do you have any fast days?

    Thanks,
    L    
    

.28  Laura

>	Can you give the dates for 1992-1999 when you will celebrate the
>   Lord's Supper?  Does this begin at sunset or midnight?  If it begins at
>   sunset, is this on the date preceding the official holiday date, as is
>   done in Judaism (based on the common calendar)?

The Jewish day begins at sundown and goes to sundown the following day.  For
instance, this year, Nisan 14 began at sundown on April 17.  I'll have to 
look up future years' dates for you.  Also, Jehovah's Witnesses don't cele-
brate "holidays", as do other people.  They're just "days off" to us.  In
my job here at Digital, for example, I am required to work on the days that
the company lists as holidays.  If I had the day off, "holiday" or not, it
wouldn't change my normal activity.  If it was my normal time to go out in
the field ministry, I'd do that.  If it was the usual time for a Christian
meeting, I'd attend it.  If it was the time I had scheduled to wash the car,
I'd do that.  If it was time to re-roof the house, I'd get estimates.  :-) 
"Holidays" are like any other day to us.


>	Do you work on this holiday?  

Yes, if it is a normal workday.  However, if working hours fall within
the time of the Memorial (in the evening after sundown), a Witness would 
arrange his/her schedule to enable him/her to attend.


>                                     Are there any restrictions on your
>   activities, such as not travelling?

No.

   
>       What do you do during this holiday?  Church?  Family dinner?  etc.

The congregation and interested parties attend their Kingdom Hall for the
observance.  Why don't you make it a point to do so next year?  I'm sure
if you asked one of Jehovah's Witnesses in your area, he/she would be glad
to make sure you got to the right place at the right time.


>   >Jehovah's Witnesses also feel that it is appropriate to celebrate
>   >their wedding anniversaries, since marraige is God's arrangement.	

>	Do you celebrate anniversaries as a religious holiday?  How do you
>   do this?  

We observe our wedding anniversaries like anyone else does, I suppose.
Get your spouse a gift, card, and/or flowers.  Go out to dinner.  You
know; the regular stuff.  :-)


>   >Observance of Sabbath is part of Mosaic Law and is not binding upon
>   >Christians (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:9-11; 5:4; Eph. 2:13-16).
    
>	Does this mean that you do not have a religious Sunday like other
>   Christians?  No church that day, at least not specially from other
>   days?  Do you work on Sundays?

All congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses have meetings on Sunday, as well
as various other days of the week.  We take meeting attendance seriously
(see Heb. 10:25), and don't let our secular work interfere with it.  I've
known Witnesses to find different employment, rather than let that happen.
In fact, I took an opening on third shift, because second shift interfered
with my meeting attendance.  And, yes, we work on Sundays if that's what
our job requires.  Regardless, though, we put Kingdom interests first (see
Matt. 6:33).  As Jehovah's Witnesses, we have dedicated our lives to Him,
the Sovreign Lord of the Universe, and that also makes us subject to His
Son, our King and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  And that's 7 days a week, 24
hours a day, all year, every year.


>	Do you celebrate any other holidays, such as Easter or Christmas,
>   or ?  

No.  Christmas and Easter don't have their origins in Christianity, but from
Roman and/or pagan celebrations.  The only two places in Scripture that mention
birthday celebrations show that they were practiced by people not worshiping
the one true God, Jehovah (Gen. 40:20-22; Matt. 14:6-10).  In fact, the Hebrews
and first century Christians viewed birthday celebrations as idolatrous worship.


>        Do you have any fast days?

Well, when we keep ourselves busy, they seem to go a little faster.  ;^)
Seriously, though, no we don't.


Steve
    

    Thanks for all the info.
    
    I am particularly interested in the impact on your work schedule.
    
    On which holidays do the various churches not work?  (Of course,
    continuously-staffed work such as police or hospital nursing is an
    exception.)
    
    That is, when do you take a day off from work for religious reasons?
    
    L
    

Laura .30,

>    That is, when do you take a day off from work for religious reasons?

My church doesn't require it, but I have taken Good Friday off to participate
in the Way of the Cross/Way of Justice observance held annually in Colorado
Springs.

I simply arrange it as I would for a vacation day.

Peace,
Richard

    Thanks, John, for .32 & .15.
    
    Richard
    

$ ! EASTER.COM
$ !
$ ! Finds the date of Easter (Western Church) -- Julian or Gregorian calendar
$ !
$ if p1 .eqs. "" .or. p1 .lt. 1
$ then
$   write sys$output "Usage is @EASTER year"
$   exit
$ endif
$ year=p1
$ if year .le. 1582 then goto julian
$!Easter calculation for Gregorian calendar
$!Divide	by	Quotient	Remainder
$!the year	19	   -                a
$!the year	100	   b	            c
$!    b		4	   d		    e
$!   b+8	25	   f		    -
$!  b-f+1	3	   g		    -
$!19a+b-d-g+15	30	   -		    h
$!    c		4	   i		    k
$!32+2e+2i-h-k	7	   -		    L
$!a+11h+22L	451	   m		    -
$!h+L-7m+114	31	   n		    p
$!
$!n = number of month (3 = March; 4 = April)
$!p+1 = day of the month of Easter Sunday
$!
$ year=0'p1'
$ a=year-year/19*19
$ b=year/100
$ c=year-b*100
$ d=b/4
$ e=b-d*4
$ f=(b+8)/25
$ g=(b-f+1)/3
$ g2=19*a+b-d-g+15
$ h=g2-g2/30*30
$ i=c/4
$ k=c-i*4
$ k2=32+2*e+2*i-h-k
$ L=k2-k2/7*7
$ m=(a+11*h+22*L)/451
$ m2=h+L-7*m+114
$ n=m2/31
$ p=m2-n*31
$ write sys$output p+1,f$element(n-3,"/"," March, / April, "),year
$ if year .gt. 1923 then exit
$ type sys$input

Prior to 1923, the Julian calendar was still in use in some countries.
The date above is according to the Gregorian calendar, which was first
adopted by Spain and her colonies (including Florida) the day following
Oct 4th, 1582, which was reckoned as Oct 15th.  Gradually, other nations
adopted the Gregorian calendar: the Catholic German states in 1583; the
Protestant German states in 1699; England and her colonies in September
1752; Sweden in 1753; Alaska upon purchase in 1867; Japan in 1873; China
in 1912; the Soviet Union in 1918; and Greece in 1923.  In Switzerland,
both calendars were in use from 1583 until the country was fully converted
in 1812.

The date below is the date for Easter according to the older Julian
calendar.

$julian:
$ if year .lt. 600
$ then type sys$input

The exact year of the first Easter is unknown, but is believed to have
been between 28 and 33 A.D.  The calculation used below, that of the Western
Church, decided at the council of Nicaea in 325, is based on the day starting
at midnight, whereas in Eastern tradition, the day starts the evening before.

England did not adopt the Western date for Easter until some time in the sixth
century, so this calculation is not correct until the Church in England was
Latinized.

$ endif
$!
$!Julian calendar calculation
$!
$!Divide	by	Quotient	Remainder
$!the year	4	   -		    a
$!the year	7	   -		    b
$!the year	19	   -		    c
$!19c+15	30	   -		    d
$!2a+4b-d+34	7	   -		    e
$!d+e+114	31	   f		    g
$!
$!f = number of the month (3 = March; 4 = April)
$!g+1 = day of the month of Easter Sunday
$!
$ a=year-year/4*4
$ b=year-year/7*7
$ c=year-year/19*19
$ c2=19*c+15
$ d=c2-c2/30*30
$ d2=2*a+4*b-d+34
$ e=d2-d2/7*7
$ e2=d+e+114
$ f=e2/31
$ g=e2-f*31
$ write sys$output g+1,f$element(f-3,"/"," March, / April, "),year