The Christian feastday of Pentecost, which is celebrated ten days after Ascension Thursday, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles. Some Christians believe this event represents the birth of the Church. Since the Feast of the Ascension occurs forty days after Easter, Pentecost is a moveable feast.
In Eastern Christianity, Pentecost can also refer to the entire fifty days of Passover through Pentecost inclusive; hence the book containing the liturgical texts for Paschaltide is called the "Pentecostarion".
The holy day is also called "White Sunday" or "Whitsunday", especially in the United Kingdom, where traditionally the next day, Whit Monday, was also a public holiday (now fixed by statute on the last Monday in May). The Monday after Pentecost is a legal holiday in many European nations.
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