Rogation days are the three days (Rogation Monday, Rogation Tuesday and Rogation Wednesday) immediately before Ascension Thursday in the Christian liturgical calendar. The term, most frequently encountered in Roman Catholic and Anglican circles, is rarely used today. General understanding of the Christian doctrine of Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to heaven in the presence of his apostles, following his resurrection. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ...

The word "Rogation" comes from the Latin verb rogare, meaning "to ask," and was applied to this time of the liturgical year because the Gospel reading for the previous Sunday included the passage "Ask and ye shall receive" (John 16:24). The Sunday itself was often called Rogation Sunday as a result, and marked the start of a three-week period (ending on Trinity Sunday), when Roman Catholic and Anglican clergy did not solemnize marriages (two other such periods of marital prohibition also formerly existed, one beginning on the first Sunday in Advent and continuing through the Octave of Epiphany, or 13 January, and the other running from Septuagesima until the Octave of Easter, the Sunday after Easter). Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in some Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Advent (from the Latin Adventus, implicitly coupled with Redemptoris, the coming of the Saviour) is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known as the season of Christmas. ... This article is about the Christian feast. ... January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Septuagesima (in full, Septuagesima Sunday) is the name given to the third from the last Sunday before Lent in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. ... The Octave of Easter, formerly know as Low Sunday (also known as , or Quasimodo Sunday) is the first Sunday after Easter. ... Easter, the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. ...

The faithful typically observed the Rogation days by fasting in preparation to celebrate the Ascension, and farmers often had their crops blessed by a priest at this time, which always occurs during the spring (in the Northern Hemisphere). Violet vestments were worn at the rogation litany and its associated mass, regardless of what colour was worn at the ordinary liturgies of the day. Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. ... General understanding of the Christian doctrine of Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to heaven in the presence of his apostles, following his resurrection. ... The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On the Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and about 88-90% of the human population. ... Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions, especially the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Churches. ...

A common feature of Rogation days in former times was the ceremony of 'beating the bounds', in which a procession of parishioners, led by the priest, churchwarden, and choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their parish and pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. The name derives from the practice of beating choirboys with sticks, a possible throwback to pagan practices of the regions^[1]. Look up choirboy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is...

The calendar reforms adopted by the Second Vatican Council in 1970 officially eliminated the Rogation days from the church calendar, and the Sunday preceding Ascension Thursday is now known simply as the Sixth Sunday of Easter. This observance in the Catholic Church has revived somewhat in some locales since 1988 when use of such older rites was permitted. Churches of the Anglican Communion reformed their liturgical calendar in 1976, but continue to recognize the three days before Ascension as an optional observance. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

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Reference

1. ^ This article incorporates text from The Modern World Encyclopædia: Illustrated (1935); out of UK copyright as of 2005.