Zoom Image
Felix Genn, Bishop of Münster: Ascension Day is about the "exaltation" of Jesus
Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/ DPA
Many men usually use Ascension Day for a beer and handcart tour – on the occasion of the so-called Father's Day. The holiday has a religious origin. The fact that it is seen as the day of fathers and thus as a counterpart to Mother's Day was only established later.
What is actually celebrated on Ascension Day?
Believers celebrate on the day that Jesus has returned to "his Father", that is, God. Ascension is a theological term and means that Jesus is resurrected. But while the resurrection is celebrated at Easter, Ascension Day is about the "exaltation" of Jesus. The feast is thus intended to recall the theological statement that Jesus, with the Ascension, now sits "at the right hand of God", as it says in the Creed.
In the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, it is said that Jesus spoke to his disparles 40 days after his resurrection. Then he was "lifted up before their eyes, and a cloud picked him up and hid him from their sight". Thus, the Ascension offers an explanation for the fact that Jesus' body is no longer with the people on earth after the resurrection. Ascension Day is therefore a kind of conclusion of the resurrection.
When is Ascension Day celebrated?
Ascension Day is celebrated on the 40th day of Easter, 39 days after Easter Sunday. The period is the counterpart to the 40-day fasting period. Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday.
Cop