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Catholic customs & traditions : a popular guide
This newly revised, expanded edition answers the questions most commonly asked by both Catholics and non-Catholics. Dues outlines traditional Catholic religious history, gives an engaging overview of the rich variety of customs associated with Advent, Christmas, Holy Week, and Lent, and provides a thorough understanding of why Catholics practice their faith the way they do.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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September 21, 2024
A VERY HELPFUL SUMMARY OF THE CHURCH CALENDAR, AS WELL AS CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS
Greg Dues is a religious educator and pastoral minister, who has also written books such as 'Called to Parish Ministry,' 'Enjoying God & Teaching Creatively: Insights and Ideas for More Effective Religion Classes,' 'Seasonal Prayer Services for Teenagers,' etc. [NOTE: this review pertains to the 214-page 1989 hardcover edition.]
He wrote in the Introduction, "our challenge is to revive or renew those religious traditions that anchor and support our quest for mystery. [This book] encourages readers to respect, enjoy, and... to practice those traditions that are in keeping with our contemporary Catholic church, liturgy, and spirituality.
"This book cannot deal in an exhaustive way with almost twenty centuries of accumulated traditions... Attention is limited to those popular practices that have particular meaning for North American Catholics of the Roman Rite." (Pg. 2-3) Later, he notes, "In their origin religious traditions were neither planned nor carefully thought out. Nor were they mandated by church authorities. Some of them, such as the veneration of saints, eventually did become part of universal church teaching. Some of them disappeared into history and trivia..." (Pg. 7)
He states that in the 1st century church, "There seem to have been two Sunday assemblies at the beginning. On Saturday (Sabbath) morning, Christians came together for a service of the Word and prayer modeled on the Synagogue practice. Then, probably Saturday evening (1 Cor 11:17-24), beginning the first day of the week, those who believed Jesus was the Christ would gather ... for a meal (1 Cor 11:17-22), probably the full Sabbath meal. A ritual of blessing a Eucharistic cup and bread highlighted this meal... In the early 2nd century, this Eucharistic ritual was moved to before dawn on Sunday... This change may have been caused by persecution... During the first centuries of Christianity the notion of resting on this special day was unheard of." (Pg. 25-26)
He observes, "The primitive church seems to have had little or no interest in the actual date or circumstances of Jesus' birth... Eventually, the church's desire to live out liturgically the entire Christ mystery led to a Nativity festival. The actual date of Christ's birth is unknown. The gospels do not record it, nor is there any early tradition to identify it..." (Pg. 59-60)
Of the "pagan origins of Dec. 25" theory, he says, "Contemporary scholarship has challenged this theory. Christmas seems to have been celebrated on December 25 already in the late 3rd century. The pagan feast of 'the birthday of the unconquered sun' at the winter solstice was then still fairly new and not widely celebrated. Furthermore, Christianity was still a religion banned by Roman law. It would hardly be in a mood to adopt a pagan festival celebrated by its persecutors for such an important mystery in its own religion.
"A better theory rests on the powerful influence of the primitive liturgical core of a church year... According to the Julian calendar computation at that time, Jesus would have died on March 25 and the annual Pascha was celebrated around that time. The Paschal Mystery... included the Incarnation without distinguishing between conception and birth... Nine months after March 25 is December 25 and the festival of Jesus' birth." (Pg. 61-62)
He points out, "The Christmas tree... originated in Germany. There it was first called the Paradise Tree... In the early 17th century, these ... traditions seemed to have merged... The Christmas lights or burning candles and the Star of Bethlehem were attached to the Paradise Tree... This gave rise in the land of the Germans to the Christmas tree." (Pg. 68-69)
He says, "From very early times the baptism of new Christians took place during this annual [Easter] ritual. This practice evolved because of the intimate bond between the resurrection of Jesus to new life and the new birth of the baptized. This Easter theme of new life has overtones of fertility... There is little evidence that Christianity deliberately borrowed beliefs and practices from these [pagan fertility] cults. It is natural, however, that it be influenced by the real world in which it thrives." (Pg. 115) He adds, "Religious traditions associated with Easter are not all Christian in origin, but most have received a Christian interpretation over the centuries." (Pg. 117)
For example, "The egg... is a natural symbol, not only of creation, but also of re-creation and resurrection... Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition, and the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth to new life. Because eggs were at one time forbidden by the church's Lenten discipline of fasting and abstinence, they were a precious Easter food... Rabbits are part of pre-Christian fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly... The Easter Bunny has never had a religious meaning." (Pg. 118-119)
This is a very informative, quite thorough presentation, which will be of great use to anyone wanting to know more about the Church calendar and holidays. (My only complaint is that, although he gives a brief bibliography at the end of the book, there are no FOOTNOTES documenting his specific statements.)
Greg Dues is a religious educator and pastoral minister, who has also written books such as 'Called to Parish Ministry,' 'Enjoying God & Teaching Creatively: Insights and Ideas for More Effective Religion Classes,' 'Seasonal Prayer Services for Teenagers,' etc. [NOTE: this review pertains to the 214-page 1989 hardcover edition.]
He wrote in the Introduction, "our challenge is to revive or renew those religious traditions that anchor and support our quest for mystery. [This book] encourages readers to respect, enjoy, and... to practice those traditions that are in keeping with our contemporary Catholic church, liturgy, and spirituality.
"This book cannot deal in an exhaustive way with almost twenty centuries of accumulated traditions... Attention is limited to those popular practices that have particular meaning for North American Catholics of the Roman Rite." (Pg. 2-3) Later, he notes, "In their origin religious traditions were neither planned nor carefully thought out. Nor were they mandated by church authorities. Some of them, such as the veneration of saints, eventually did become part of universal church teaching. Some of them disappeared into history and trivia..." (Pg. 7)
He states that in the 1st century church, "There seem to have been two Sunday assemblies at the beginning. On Saturday (Sabbath) morning, Christians came together for a service of the Word and prayer modeled on the Synagogue practice. Then, probably Saturday evening (1 Cor 11:17-24), beginning the first day of the week, those who believed Jesus was the Christ would gather ... for a meal (1 Cor 11:17-22), probably the full Sabbath meal. A ritual of blessing a Eucharistic cup and bread highlighted this meal... In the early 2nd century, this Eucharistic ritual was moved to before dawn on Sunday... This change may have been caused by persecution... During the first centuries of Christianity the notion of resting on this special day was unheard of." (Pg. 25-26)
He observes, "The primitive church seems to have had little or no interest in the actual date or circumstances of Jesus' birth... Eventually, the church's desire to live out liturgically the entire Christ mystery led to a Nativity festival. The actual date of Christ's birth is unknown. The gospels do not record it, nor is there any early tradition to identify it..." (Pg. 59-60)
Of the "pagan origins of Dec. 25" theory, he says, "Contemporary scholarship has challenged this theory. Christmas seems to have been celebrated on December 25 already in the late 3rd century. The pagan feast of 'the birthday of the unconquered sun' at the winter solstice was then still fairly new and not widely celebrated. Furthermore, Christianity was still a religion banned by Roman law. It would hardly be in a mood to adopt a pagan festival celebrated by its persecutors for such an important mystery in its own religion.
"A better theory rests on the powerful influence of the primitive liturgical core of a church year... According to the Julian calendar computation at that time, Jesus would have died on March 25 and the annual Pascha was celebrated around that time. The Paschal Mystery... included the Incarnation without distinguishing between conception and birth... Nine months after March 25 is December 25 and the festival of Jesus' birth." (Pg. 61-62)
He points out, "The Christmas tree... originated in Germany. There it was first called the Paradise Tree... In the early 17th century, these ... traditions seemed to have merged... The Christmas lights or burning candles and the Star of Bethlehem were attached to the Paradise Tree... This gave rise in the land of the Germans to the Christmas tree." (Pg. 68-69)
He says, "From very early times the baptism of new Christians took place during this annual [Easter] ritual. This practice evolved because of the intimate bond between the resurrection of Jesus to new life and the new birth of the baptized. This Easter theme of new life has overtones of fertility... There is little evidence that Christianity deliberately borrowed beliefs and practices from these [pagan fertility] cults. It is natural, however, that it be influenced by the real world in which it thrives." (Pg. 115) He adds, "Religious traditions associated with Easter are not all Christian in origin, but most have received a Christian interpretation over the centuries." (Pg. 117)
For example, "The egg... is a natural symbol, not only of creation, but also of re-creation and resurrection... Christians of the Near East adopted this tradition, and the Easter egg became a religious symbol. It represented the tomb from which Jesus came forth to new life. Because eggs were at one time forbidden by the church's Lenten discipline of fasting and abstinence, they were a precious Easter food... Rabbits are part of pre-Christian fertility symbolism because of their reputation to reproduce rapidly... The Easter Bunny has never had a religious meaning." (Pg. 118-119)
This is a very informative, quite thorough presentation, which will be of great use to anyone wanting to know more about the Church calendar and holidays. (My only complaint is that, although he gives a brief bibliography at the end of the book, there are no FOOTNOTES documenting his specific statements.)
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