The Christian year celebrates different parts of the Christian faith during the course of twelve months, dividing the year into a series of seasons. These are Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent and Easter. The rest of the year is referred to as ‘Ordinary Time’ as there is no specific focus for celebration. The Christian year also consists of Saints Days, Festival and Holy Days. These seasons and days make up the Christian calendar.

Each season has its own mood, theological emphasis, etc., which is shown in different ways of decorating churches, colours used, scriptural readings, themes for preaching and so on. The scripture passages for each Sunday (and even each day of the year in some traditions) are specified by a list called a lectionary.

Some festivals, like Christmas Day, happen on the same date every year, while others move around within a range of dates because the Christian calendar grew out of both the Jewish and the Roman calendars. In the past, the Jews were a nomadic (wandering) people. The moon became very important to them as they often travelled at night, so they gradually based their calendar on its phases. The first great Christian festivals developed from Jewish ones and the Christian Church developed under the Roman Empire which followed a calendar controlled by the sun, a 'solar' calendar. When the Church began to introduce festivals of its own, they fixed them on dates already in the Roman calendar. The Christian calendar is therefore a dual one, with 'fixed' feasts based on the Roman 'solar' calendar, and 'moveable' ones based on the Jewish 'lunar' calendar.

The seasons in the Christian year follow the life of Jesus, beginning in Advent, at the very end of November, when we prepare for the birth of Christ. This is followed by Christmas when Jesus was born and then Epiphany when the Wise Men came to visit Jesus. After Epiphany we follow the life of Jesus through to the preparation for his passion (suffering) in Lent, death on the cross in Holy Week, resurrection from the dead at Easter and ascension into Heaven. The Christian year then follows the founding of the Church itself, with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and finishing at Trinity, when we focus on learning more about our faith. See above to find out some of the events that we celebrate at St. James's.

The Seasons	The Principal Feasts
1. The Season of Advent
2. The Season of Christmas	Christmas Day
3. The Season of Epiphany	The Epiphany
4. Ordinary Time Beginning the day after the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas), celebrated on 2nd February, finishes the Sunday next before Lent	The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas) The Annunciation of Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary
5. The Season of Lent
6. The Season of Easter	Easter Day
	Ascension Day
7. Ordinary Time This starts again on the Monday after Pentecost and continues until Christ the King, the Sunday next before Advent. Trinity Sunday follows one week after Pentecost. For the remaining twenty five Sundays of the year the Church considers the great teachings and lessons of the faith.	Pentecost (Whit Sunday) Trinity Sunday All Saints' Day
Other Principal Holy Days	The Festivals
Ash Wednesday Maundy Thursday Good Friday	The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus 1 January The Baptism of Christ Epiphany 1 or, when 6 January is a Sunday, Epiphany 2 The Conversion of Paul 25 January Joseph of Nazareth 19 March George, Martyr, Patron of England 23 April Mark the Evangelist 25 April Philip and James, Apostles 1 May Matthias the Apostle 14 May Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth 31 May Barnabas the Apostle 11 June The Birth of John the Baptist 24 June Peter and Paul, Apostles 29 June Thomas the Apostle 3 July Mary Magdalene 22 July James the Apostle 25 July The Transfiguration of Our Lord 6 August The Blessed Virgin Mary 15 August Bartholomew the Apostle 24 August Holy Cross Day 14 September Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist 21 September Michael and All Angels 29 September Luke the Evangelist 18 October Simon and Jude, Apostles 28 October Christ the King Sunday next before Advent Andrew the Apostle 30 November Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr 26 December John, Apostle and Evangelist 27 December The Holy Innocents 28 December