More About Ascension Day
Ascension Day is officially celebrated on a Thursday on the 40th day of Easter (or 39 days after Easter Sunday). In countries where it is a public holiday, Ascension Day is a free day for many workers. Many people take a long weekend off because the day falls on a Thursday. The Friday in between is usually quiet, particularly in shops and offices. Despite Christianity being a minority religion in Indonesia, Ascension Day is a public holiday and special services take place at churches throughout the country.
Ascension Day is sometimes called Father’s Day in Germany because many Protestant men have herrenpartien “outings” on this day. In Sweden, many people go out to the woods at 3 am or 4 am to hear the birds at sunrise. It is good luck if a cuckoo is heard from the east or west. These jaunts are called gökotta, or “early cuckoo morning”.
In England, Ascension Day is associated with various water festivals ranging from Well Dressing in Derbyshire to the Planting of the “Penny Hedge” at Whitby, a small town in Yorkshire. Other customs may include “beating the bounds”. In the old days, it involved beating boys with willow branches as they were driven along parish boundaries, not only to purify them of evil but to teach them the limits of their parish. In modern times, it involves people in the locality walking around their farm, manorial, church or civil boundaries pausing as they pass certain trees, walls and hedges that denote the extent of the boundary to exclaim, pray and ritually 'beat' particular landmarks with sticks.
Ascension Day is sometimes called Father’s Day in Germany because many Protestant men have herrenpartien “outings” on this day. In Sweden, many people go out to the woods at 3 am or 4 am to hear the birds at sunrise. It is good luck if a cuckoo is heard from the east or west. These jaunts are called gökotta, or “early cuckoo morning”.
In England, Ascension Day is associated with various water festivals ranging from Well Dressing in Derbyshire to the Planting of the “Penny Hedge” at Whitby, a small town in Yorkshire. Other customs may include “beating the bounds”. In the old days, it involved beating boys with willow branches as they were driven along parish boundaries, not only to purify them of evil but to teach them the limits of their parish. In modern times, it involves people in the locality walking around their farm, manorial, church or civil boundaries pausing as they pass certain trees, walls and hedges that denote the extent of the boundary to exclaim, pray and ritually 'beat' particular landmarks with sticks.
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