Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent in the Christian calendar. It can fall on any date from 11 December to 17 December. The term Gaudete is broadly translated from Latin as Rejoice, a word that appears in the entrance antiphon (introit) of masses held on this day: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near. (Catholic Mass years A, B and C).
On Gaudete Sunday the rose coloured Advent candle is lit at Mass, and the celebrant might wear rose coloured vestments. During the otherwise penitential season of Advent the readings on the third Sunday emphasise the joyous anticipation of the Lord's coming.
On it, as on Laetare Sunday, the organ and flowers, forbidden during the rest of the season, were, permitted to be used; rose-coloured vestments were allowed instead of purple (or fl, as formerly); the decon and subdeacon reassumed the dalmatic and tunicle at the chief Mass, and cardinals wore rose- colour instead of purple.
Of the "stations" kept in Rome the four Sundays of Advent, that at the Vatican basilica is assigned to Gaudete, as being the most important and imposing of the four.
GaudeteSunday is further marked by a new Invitatory, the Church no longer inviting the faithful to adore merely "The Lord who is to come", but calling upon them to worship and hail with joy "The Lord who is now nigh and close at hand".
Sunday is traditionally the first day of the Judaeo-Christian seven-day week, between Saturday and Monday, and the second day of the weekend in some cultures.
In Justin's time, Christians usually called Sunday the Lord's Day (because they observed it as a weekly memorial of Jesus Christ's resurrection) or "the Eighth Day" (because of the Christian belief that Christ's resurrection on the day following the seventh-day Sabbath is a portal to timeless eternity that transcends the seven-day weekly cycle).
In Ireland, Gaelic football and hurling matches are predominantly played on Sundays, with the second and fourth Sundays in September always playing host to the All-Ireland hurling and football championship finals, respectively.
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