“Waft, Waft, ye winds his story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole.”
h—Trinity Sunday, the octave, or eighth day of the feast of Pentecost, is a church festival held in commemoration of the doctrine of the Trinity. The introduction of this day into the calendar is of comparatively recent date, it being established by Pope Benedict XI, in the year of our Lord 1305. It is probable that the zeal of many Christians against the use of images in the eighth and ninth centuries may have been the first cause of the appointment of a distinct day for meditating upon the nature of the Holy Trinity in unity, or the one true God as distinguished from idols. The reason for its late introduction is that in the creed of the church, and in its psalms, hymns, and doxologies, great prominence was given to this doctrine, and it was thought that there was no need to set apart a particular day for that which was done every day. This is the last of the movable feasts in the ecclesiastical year, being held eight weeks after Easter; so it may happen as early as the 17th of May or as late as the 20th of June. The length of both Epiphany and Trinity-tide depend upon the date of Easter. As Epiphany-tide is shortened by the early date of Easter, so Trinity-tide is lengthened proportionately, and as Epiphany-tide is lengthened by the later date of Easter so Trinity-tide is shortened proportionately; so Trinity-tide may contain no more than 196 days nor less than 161. (See [tables] at the close of this chapter.)
All Saints Day, or All hallowmass (Anglo-Saxon all, and halig, holy) a festival celebrated by the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches on the first day of November, in honor of all Saints and martyrs. It was introduced into the Western church in the beginning of the seventh century by Boniface. The number of saints being exceedingly multiplied, it was found too burdensome to dedicate a feast day to each, there being, indeed, scarcely hours enough in the year to distribute among them all. It was therefore resolved to commemorate on one day all who had no particular day. By order of Gregory IV, it was celebrated on the first of November, 834; formerly the first of May was the day appointed. It was introduced into England about 870, and is still observed in the English and Lutheran churches, as well as the Church of Rome on the first of November.
All-Souls’ Day, a festival held by Roman Catholics on the 2d of November, for special prayer in behalf of all the faithful dead. It was first introduced in 998, by Odilon, Abbot of Clugni, who enjoined it on his own order. It was soon after adopted by neighboring churches. It is the day on which, in the Romish church, extraordinary masses are repeated for the relief of souls said to be in purgatory. Formerly on this day persons dressed in black perambulated the towns and cities, each provided with a bell of dismal tone, which was rung in public places by way of exhortation to the people to remember the souls in purgatory. In some parts of the west of England it is still the custom for the village children to go around to all their neighbors souling, as they call it, collecting small contributions, and singing the following verses, taken down from two of the children themselves:
Soul! Soul! for a soul-cake,
Pray good mistress, for a soul-cake,
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him that made us all.
Soul! soul! for an apple or two;
If you’ve got no apples, pears will do,
Up with your kettle, and down with your pan,
Give me a good big one and I’ll be gone.
The soul cake referred to in the verses is a sort of bun which the people used to make, and to give to one another on the 2d of November.
In the following tables there is presented at one view the day of the month on which the principal feasts and fasts fall in the ecclesiastical year 1817-18 and 1885-86. In the former Easter happens at its earliest possible date, in the latter at its latest date in this century:
| YEAR 1817-18. | Days in Each Season. | Sundays in Each Season. | |
| a— | Advent Sunday, November 30th; Advent-tide. | 25 | 4 |
| 1st | Ember Week, after December 13th; Ember Days, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. | ||
| b— | Christmas, December 25th; Christmas-tide. | 12 | 2 |
| c— | Epiphany, January 6th; Epiphany-tide. | 12 | 1 |
| Septuagesima Sunday, January 18th. | 7 | 1 | |
| Paschal season from Jan. 18th to March 29th, 70 days. | |||
| Sexagesima Sunday, January 25th. | 7 | 1 | |
| Quinquagesima Sunday, February 1st. | 3 | 1 | |
| Shrove-tide, (confession time) Shrove Tues., Feb. 3d. | |||
| d— | Ash Wednesday, Feb 4th, Lent begins; Lenten-tide. | 46 | 6 |
| First Sunday in Lent (Quadragesima) February 8th. | |||
| 2d | Ember Week after first Sunday in Lent; Ember Days, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. | ||
| Holy Week, the week before Easter; Special Days, Palm Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, March 15th, 18th, 19th and 20th. | |||
| e— | Easter Sunday, March 22d; Easter-tide. | 39 | 6 |
| Low Sunday, March 29th; Paschal Season ends. | |||
| Rogation Sunday, April 26th; Rogation Days, the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after Rogation Sunday. | |||
| f— | Ascension Day (Holy Thursday), April 30th; Ascension-tide. | 10 | 1 |
| Expectation Sunday, First Sunday after Ascension, May 3d. | |||
| g— | Whitsun Day, (Pentecost) May 10th; Whitsun-tide. | 7 | 1 |
| 3d | Ember Week, after Whitsun Day; Ember Days, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. | ||
| h— | Trinity Sunday, May 17th; Trinity-tide. | 196 | 28 |
| 4th | Ember Week, after September 14th; Ember Days, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. | ||
| All Saints’ Day, November 1st. | |||
| All Souls’ Day, November 2d. | |||
| [Appendix K.] | 364 | 52 | |