The reason we have a long weekend during Pentecost (Pinse)

The Pentecostal movement in Norway.Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / SCANPIX .

When is Pentecost? (Pinse) What is Pentecost? Why do we celebrate Pentecost? Have we got a holiday at Pentecost? Here are 10 quick Pentecost facts you should know.

TV pastor, Egil Svartdahl, answers 10 questions about Pentecost (that have varying degrees of importance). If you have more questions, ask in the comments box.

1. When is Pentecost?

Svartdahl: ’50 days after Easter Day. Pentecost is therefore a mobile holiday, but it always consists of Pentecost (Saturday), the first day of Pentecost (Sunday), and the second day of Pentecost (Monday). This year’s Pentecost falls on Saturday, June the 3rd. In 2018, Pentecost will fall on Saturday, May the 19th.’

2. What is Pentecost?

Svartdahl: ‘It’s a public holiday (Holy day) that indicates the Holy Sirit was sent to earth 2000 years ago. When Jesus ascended to heaven of Ascension day, he promised the disciples to send the Holy Spirit so that He would be everywhere’.

3. Why do we celebrate Pentecost?

Svartdahl: ‘Because the Pentecost is as important as Christmas, and Easter. During Pentecost, we mark that God is close to all people through His Spirit’.

4. What is speaking in tongues?

Svartdahl: ‘When the apostles gathered in Jerusalem at Pentecost 2000 years ago, there was a Jewish celebration attended by people from all over the world.

Part of Pentecost’s miracle was that they spoke foreign languages previously unknown to them, so-called tongues. Then people who spoke different languages could understand them’.

5. What is the Holy Spirit?

Svartdahl: ‘We believe there is only one indivisable God, but he is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Since the Spirit was sent to earth, God became knowable to all the people on earth. God no longer lived only in temples, or under the control of religious leaders. After the first Pentecost, there were no Godless people, or Godless places in the world.

6. What is a Pentecostal?

Svartdahl: ‘The Pentecostal movement originated in Los Angeles in 1905, and spread rapidly to Europe and Norway. Because we believe that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, and can speak in tongues, we were associated with the actual Pentecost, and what happened at Pentecost 2000 years ago.

Pentecost was initially used as a code-word, as it was originally very unusual, but today it’s commonly practiced in all churches. Did you hear that Jesus was a poor revolutionary?’

7. How do you celebrate Pentecost?

Svartdahl: ‘With several periods of worship and prayer during the holidays. But also believers, with a good conscience, can use the holiday to seal cracks in the boat, enjoy time outdoors, or unlock the cabin.’

8. What is ‘holiday-peace’?

Svartdahl: ‘To protect the holidays, there is something called ‘The law of holidays and holiday-peace’. It says, among other things, that you should not operate heavy, noisy equipment’.

9. Are we free from work on the second day of Pentecost?

Svartdahl: ‘Yes, Pentecost Monday is considered a holiday’.

10. Is the pole open in the pinnacle?

Svartdahl: ‘The Wine Monopoly is open on Pentecost Eve, but is closed on Monday, the second day of Pentecost’.

 

Source: VG / Norway Today