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Pentecost

(Encyclopedia)Pentecost pn´tkôst [key] [Gr.,=fiftieth], important Jewish and Christian feast. The Jewish feast of Pentecost, in Hebrew Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, arose...

Trinity Sunday

(Encyclopedia)Trinity Sunday, first Sunday after Pentecost, observed as a feast of the Trinity. It was an innovation in medieval England and spread through the Western Church in the 14th cent. The Sundays until Adv...

Whitsunday

(Encyclopedia)Whitsunday: see Pentecost.

Easter

(Encyclopedia)Easter [A.S. Eastre, name of a spring goddess], chief Christian feast, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. In the West, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the full...

Roelas, Juan de las

(Encyclopedia)Roelas or Ruelas, Juan de las hwän d läs r´läs, roo´läs [key], c.1558–1625, Spanish painter of the school of Seville. He is sometimes called the Spanish Tintoretto; there are stylist...

Shavuot

(Encyclopedia)Shavuot shvoo´t [key] [Heb.,=weeks], Jewish feast celebrated on the 6th of the month of Sivan (usually some time in May) in Israel and on the sixth and seventh days in the Diaspora. Originally ...

vigil

(Encyclopedia)vigil vj´l [key] [Lat.,=watch], in Christian calendars, eve of a feast, a day of penitential preparation. In ancient times worshipers gathered for vespers before a great feast and then waited out...

bank holidays

(Encyclopedia)bank holidays, days when the law requires that banks be closed. In the United States the list varies from state to state but generally includes, besides the major holidays, many days that are observed...

Ambae

(Encyclopedia)Ambae, volcanic island, c.154 sq mi (400 sq km), Penama prov., N Vanuatu, SW Pacific, 30 mi (48 km) E of Espíritu Santo; also known historically as Aoba, Omba, and Lepers Island. The island, which is...

glossolalia

(Encyclopedia)glossolalia glsl´l [key] [Gr.,=speaking in tongues], ecstatic utterances usually of unintelligible sounds made by individuals in a state of religious excitement. Religious revivals are of...

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