Ascension Day marks Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven, according to Christian belief.
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What Do People Do?
Ascension Day is officially celebrated on a Thursday on the 40th day of Easter, or 39 days after Easter Sunday. Some churches in the United States join forces to celebrate a combined Day of Prayer and Ascension Day service, which may include a time for reflection. A few churches also organize a “church crawl”, where people travel from one church to another and experience the different prayer events.
Other churches may feature combined cathedral choirs that offer a special solemn Eucharist written especially for Ascension Day. A social time usually follows the service. Some Lutheran churches hold a special ceremony where the Paschal candle is extinguished and removed after the reading of the gospel on Ascension Day.
Celebrating the Ascension
As Luke concludes his account of the Ascension (Luke 24:51-53), he says: “As He blessed them He parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.”
Christ’s final act before ascending to Heaven was blessing us, and his followers’ immediate response was praise.
As we remember the glory of this event with the feast day of the Ascension, let us too react with an outpouring of praise! Do so through prayer, song, and the sharing of faith with our brothers and sisters worldwide.
The Vibrant Channeled Creator 