so all the chorus sang / Of heav'nly birds, as to the stars they nimbly sprang

Ascension: 40 Days After Easter (guest post)

and

May 07, 2024

Toss up your heads ye everlasting gates,
And let the Prince of Glory enter in:
At whose brave volley of siderial states,
The sun to blush, and stars grow pale were seen,
When, leaping first from earth, he did begin
To climb his angels' wings; then open hang
Your chrystal doors, so all the chorus sang
Of heav'nly birds, as to the stars they nimbly sprang.
Giles Fletcher Jr., excerpt from “Christ's Triumph after Death: Canto IV. Christ's Victory and Triumph” (16th c.)

Dear friends,
Today, I’m thrilled to share a guest post with you:
Steph Ebert
has written a beautiful piece for us about celebrating the feast of the Ascension in the Southern Hemisphere.
More often than not, the perspective of the historical Church year traditions comes from the Northern Hemisphere. Since our two hemispheres experience opposite natural seasons (Christmas lands during summertime in the SH, wintertime in the NH), this leaves our Southern Hemisphere friends in a position of trying to re-align their experiences of nature with the liturgical calendar.
I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot from Steph about how she’s approaching this - and, from talking to many of you, I know that the availability of liturgical year resources geared toward our Southern Hemisphere brothers & sisters is meager.
As a big proponent of embracing local liturgical living - looking at how the patterns of the calendar speak to our own varied circumstances & landscapes - it’s my hope that we can continue this conversation about the versatility of the Church year. Share your thoughts or questions below, and let’s think creatively about how the liturgical calendar is manifested in our own unique places.
Pax vobis,
Kristin

Spiritual significance of Ascension day

Ascension day, 40 days after Easter, remembers the day that Christ ascended into heaven. Before he left, he sent out his disciples with the command to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus previously said that unless he left, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t come, and so Ascension Day is also a prequel to the celebration of Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit. Like almost every celebration on the church calendar, it invites reflection on the full story of God's work in the world. Like the Apostle’s Creed reminds us, on Ascension day we remember that Jesus accomplished his work on earth through his death and resurrection, and now he is seated at the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead. We remember that Christ intercedes for us as priest, and he is king over all. While it might seem sad that Jesus left, the angels seem to chide the disciples for “standing around staring at the sky”, and tell them to get moving! The celebration of Christ’s ascension has traditionally been a celebration of his kingship, the completion of his redemptive work, and a look forward to the presence of the Holy Spirit.

History

Even since the time of Augustine (5th century), Christians have celebrated this day. While traditionally on a Thursday, it is often celebrated on a Sunday in places where it is not a public holiday. It has inspired many traditional musical pieces, including Bach and Handel. In Orthodox traditions, it is celebrated with a Vigil the night before.

Northern Hemisphere Traditions

The biggest consistent tradition in Western churches seems to be extinguishing the Paschal candle, which has been burning through Eastertide. In the middle ages, churches used to have processions to re-enact the disciples journey with Jesus to the mount of Olives by parading through the streets with a crucifix, then ending by raising it up through the church roof!

Hikes or pilgrimages up mountains for Ascension Day services have been practiced since the early days of this celebration.

Apparently in parts of Italy this day is called “La Festa del Grillo” (“the Feast of the Cricket”) and children catch and release crickets to sing for them.

Eating fowls of any type was a common food (remembering Christ ascending like a bird flying upwards).

Southern Hemisphere Traditions

Of course, as Kristin so often points out, the purpose of delving into the historical roots and practices of a tradition is not to replicate a mini-museum of the past, but to gain awareness of how different traditions began, reflect on the purpose of a celebration, and embody these celebrations in our own specific locations. In many Southern Hemisphere places, Christian celebrations often arrived after having been well developed in a local Northern hemisphere context. Often, the methods of celebrating the Christian calendar retained the embodied practices that made sense in Northern climates and seasons (and are at times very anachronistic! Easter songs about spring don’t make sense in Autumn, nor do Advent songs about light and hope in the cold and dark when we are embracing summer).

At other times practices were adapted and rooted in existing local customs. In similar ways that the early Christians in Europe sometimes infused celebrations of the church with local agrarian customs, many South American countries with an influence of Portuguese or Spanish Catholicism have unique ways of celebrating the church calendar (although for Protestants, celebrating the church calendar in this way is not as widely practiced).

I live in South Africa, which was previously a British colony, and so our English speaking church culture has many links with historical Northern Hemisphere Anglican celebrations. New Zealand and Australia, as English speaking former colonies, also have similar links, but like South Africa, experience the “opposite season” as our Northern friends. Sometimes our church simply keeps the Northern traditions, even retaining the wording of the northern liturgies. Sometimes they are slightly adapted.

Inspired by Hearthstone Fables, a group of ladies in our area started a “seasonal supper club” to explore the church calendar in light of our seasonal and local context. We tend to meet before a major celebration in the church calendar (Hallowtide, Advent, Christmastide, Lent, Eastertide, Ascension and Pentecost, Ordinary time) - eating a seasonal meal, doing research into the history of these celebrations, and brainstorming ways to celebrate in our local context.1

*Steph’s treehouse in an avocado tree (photo by Steph Ebert)*

Ways to Celebrate a Southern Hemisphere Ascension Day

Ascension Day falls at the beginning of Autumn, rather than Spring. We’ve passed the Autumn equinox, and so the temperature is getting crisper, the sun is rising a bit later, and in our area, we often get windier days as cold fronts blow in from the mountains.

Fly Kites or Blow Bubbles: In my research I learned that in the Caribbean and some Southeast Asian countries, kite flying has been associated with Easter (and in some cases, the Ascension). Anything that allows our family to get out into nature and “look up” like the disciples, is a win in my book! We’ve not tried this yet, but I’m hoping we will get some windy autumn days around the Ascension and can try some kite flying. Last year, in the same spirit, we blew bubbles outside and watched them rise to the clouds.
Early morning, outdoor prayer: In South Africa, Ascension Day was a public holiday for many years and churches would hold sunrise prayer services (at church, or outdoors at a sunrise overlook). Churches in our area continue the tradition of an early morning prayer service, often outdoors. To be honest, I don’t think we’ll manage to make it to a gathering. Last year we ate breakfast outside in our tree house (the highest point on our property, since we weren’t going to manage a mountain climb!) and read the story from a picture Bible. If our kids were older, I think we would probably take advantage of the cool autumn weather to go for a hike.
Watch for migrating birds and butterflies: This is sometimes more of an Eastertide activity, but this year Easter was so early that our migrating birds are still visible. Kestrels and swallows leave us for North Africa. The idea of a migration– a bird leaving but then returning – is a beautiful picture of Christ’s leaving us only to come back again one day. (Birds which migrate include: lesser striped swallow, Amur Falcon, White-rumped Swift, White Stork, Pygmy Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kite, Lesser Kestrel, Honey Buzzard, Woodland Kingfisher, Red-chested Cuckoo, and European Bee-eater). Citrus Swallow-tail butterflies are particularly active in South Africa at this time.
Spot the Cosmos: White is a traditional color for Ascension day. March and April are the months that Cosmo flowers bloom in South Africa. Their white blooms remind me of Ascension day! The bright red and orange autumn flowers of red hot pokers and aloes are also beginning to peak out. Their vibrant colors are more of a reminder of Pentecost, little glimmers that remind me although Christ is not physically present, Pentecost is coming and we are about to celebrate the presence of his holy spirit.
Meditate on Christ as Priest and King and Home-maker: I often think about Christ as sitting in power at God’s right hand interceding for me and all the saints. I don’t often think about his words to his disciples that he is “going to prepare a place for them”. Or how when he returns, he will “clean house” through his judgment, and put things to rights. I love scouring Spotify for old hymns and contemporary songs that focus on the spiritual themes of a certain season of the liturgical year. Perhaps this time before Pentecost is a good time for me to “clean house” both mentally and literally – in order to transition from the celebration of Eastertide to the emphasis on active service that Pentecost brings. This year I want to do a better job praying for people we know working in different cultures around the world during Pentecost. I want to be more hospitable to our neighbors. Perhaps this week is a good time to prepare for the activity to come.
Seasonal Snacks: Chicken, or other fowl, is apparently a traditional meal in the North. I imagine we might have some chicken and spice it up with some Peppadews (plentiful in early March, they will be done pickling by now!) or the first of the avocado harvest. Citrus is also beginning to be more plentiful (although normally an Eastertide association for me! Again, Easter was so early this year) – so we may make some home-made lemonade.

Benediction

*The pond on our farm, with cattle pasture beyond*

Hark how the floods clap their applauding hands,
The pleasant valleys singing for delight,
And wanton mountains dance about the lands,
The while the fields, struck with the heav'nly light,
Set all their flow'rs a smiling at the sight,
The trees laugh with their blossoms, and the sound
Of the triumphant shout of praise, that crown'd
The flaming Lamb, breaking through heav'n, hath passage found.
Giles Fletcher Jr., “Christ's Triumph after Death: Canto IV. Christ's Victory and Triumph” (16th c.)

Friends, isn’t Steph’s reflection so beautiful and thought-provoking?! The liturgical calendar asks us to look at our days through an incarnational lens, after all - and, while looking to the calendar’s heritage traditions is illuminating and connective, these holy-days speak to and through our own places. Right here, right now.

What does the Ascension look like where you are? What’s blooming, what food is in season, what animals are you noticing? What traditions abound in your community?