The Feast of the Ascension: Why It Matters and How Christians Have Celebrated It for Centuries

The Feast of the Ascension, also known as Ascension Day, is one of the highest feast days in the liturgical year. It is the day that we remember Jesus’ bodily ascent into heaven and the profound significance of this moment in the story of our salvation.

At first glance, the Ascension might seem like a sorrowful event. Jesus physically leaves the earth and disappears from the sight of His disciples. But the Church has always celebrated this day with great joy because the Ascension is not an ending—it is a triumph.

The Ascension marks the completion of Christ’s saving work, His glorious return to the Father, and the beginning of something entirely new. Jesus ascends in victory, opening heaven to humanity and preparing the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. It is both a conclusion and a commencement.

The Ascension in Scripture

The Ascension is mentioned in every Gospel except the Gospel of John and is recounted most fully in the Book of Acts. After His resurrection, Jesus remained with His disciples for forty days. He ate with them, taught them about the kingdom of God, and prepared them for what was to come.

One day, while He was eating with them, He told them to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the gift His Father had promised. He told them they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, receive power, and become His witnesses throughout the world.

On the fortieth day after Easter, Jesus led them out to the Mount of Olives. He lifted His hands and blessed them, and as He blessed them, He was taken up into the clouds. While the disciples stood looking into heaven, two men dressed in white appeared beside them and asked why they were staring into the sky. They told them that Jesus would return in the same way He had ascended.

And then something beautiful happens: the disciples worship. Filled with joy, they return to Jerusalem where they devote themselves to prayer alongside Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the other believers as they await Pentecost.

Why the Ascension Matters

There is so much theological richness packed into the Ascension.

The Ascension marks the completion of Jesus’ earthly ministry and confirms that His mission of salvation has been fulfilled. Christ ascends victorious, having conquered sin and death.

Through the Ascension, Jesus is exalted and enthroned at the right hand of the Father. The Church has always understood this moment as Christ’s coronation as King over heaven and earth.

The Ascension also reminds us that Jesus continues to intercede for us. Though He is no longer physically present on earth, He remains actively involved in our lives, mediating between humanity and the Father.

And perhaps most importantly, the Ascension prepares the way for Pentecost. Jesus tells His disciples that it is necessary for Him to go so that the Holy Spirit may come. The Ascension, therefore, becomes the bridge between Easter and Pentecost and the beginning of the Church’s mission in the world.

The Ascension also points toward our own future hope. Jesus ascends bodily into heaven, carrying human nature with Him. In doing so, He opens the way for our own resurrection and glorification with Him.

And finally, the Ascension directs our eyes toward Christ’s promised return. Just as He ascended into heaven, so He will come again.

The Feast of the Ascension in the Life of the Church

Since Jesus appeared to the disciples for forty days after His resurrection, Ascension Day is celebrated forty days after Easter. Traditionally, it falls on a Thursday, though some churches transfer the celebration to Sunday so that more people may participate in the feast.

The nine days between Ascension and Pentecost are known as a novena and are considered the very first novena of the Church. Just as the disciples gathered in prayer while waiting for the Holy Spirit, Christians throughout history have spent these days praying and preparing their hearts for Pentecost.

The Feast of the Ascension was already firmly established by the fourth century. A Spanish nun named Egeria recorded Christians in Jerusalem processing to the Mount of Olives, where hymns were sung, Scripture was read, and prayers were offered in remembrance of Christ’s ascension.

Ascension Traditions Around the World

Ascension Day has been celebrated with beautiful and fascinating customs throughout the Christian world.

In many places, Christians process through fields and pastures while praying for God’s blessing on the land. In England, this became known as “Beating the Bounds,” where parish boundaries were walked and prayed over with bundles of sticks.

In Portugal, Ascension Day is celebrated as Dia da Espiga (“Day of the Wheat Ear”). Families gather wheat stalks, rosemary, olive branches, and poppies, and hang them in their homes as symbols of blessing and provision for the coming year.

In some churches throughout Europe, statues or crucifixes of the Risen Christ were raised through openings in the ceiling called “Holy Spirit holes,” while flowers, fruit, and cookies rained down upon the congregation.

In western Germany, bakers traditionally sold pastries shaped like birds to symbolize Christ ascending into heaven.

In parts of Italy, families celebrated with picnics and children caught crickets, which were believed to bring blessings.

And in Venice, during the Feast of the Ascension, crowds still gather at the clock tower in Piazza San Marco to watch the mechanical Magi emerge and bow before Christ.

Ways to Celebrate Ascension Day

Read Acts 1:1–11

Read the story of the Ascension together as a family and reflect on Christ’s kingship and promise to return.

Eat Fowl

Traditionally, Christians ate birds such as duck, pheasant, or dove because they “fly upward” toward heaven. Roast chicken or turkey makes a simple modern alternative.

Make Bird-Shaped Cookies

In parts of Germany, bird-shaped pastries were traditionally eaten on Ascension Day.

Hike a Hill or Mountain

Just as Jesus led His disciples up the Mount of Olives, many Christians traditionally climb to a high place on Ascension Day to pray, picnic, or fly kites.

Make Divinity

This fluffy white candy symbolizes the clouds into which Christ ascended.

the recipe -

Divinity.pages

Download PAGES • 284KB

Divinity

2 ½ cups sugar

½ cup water

½ cup light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Cook the first four ingredients in a heavy saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves and a candy thermometer registers 248 degrees. Remove from heat.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly pour half the hot syrup into the egg whites while beating continuously.

Return the remaining syrup to the heat and cook until it reaches 272 degrees. Slowly pour over the egg white mixture with the vanilla extract, beating until the mixture holds its shape. Stir in pecans.

Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and allow to cool.