Reformation Day: October 31
Reformation Day is observed in Germany and Slovenia.
As the name of this holiday clearly suggests, it is a day when people across several countries of the world celebrate one of the most important and crucial Reformations to have occurred in the history of Christianity, the Protestant Reformation.
Reformation Day is a religious holiday, which is celebrated in many countries of the world with a largely Christian population. It is celebrated on the last day of October every year. Many countries observe this day as a national or public holiday.
Reformation Day History
Martin Luther is a name, who every Protestant will be aware of. He was a famous professor of theology and a priest. During the year of 1517, the Roman Catholic Church, in order to raise money and funds for St. Peter’s at Rome, started the practice of selling pieces of paper known as the indulgences or pardons, to the general public. The Church induced fear in the people and influenced them to buy these pieces of paper from the Church, so that their sins will be forgiven by buying pardon from the Church.
Martin Luther revolutionized the entire belief system of the Christians when he stood up against the Roman Catholic Church. He proposed theses of ninety-five points, in which he condemned the various malpractices and abuses of the Catholic Church. These ninety-five theses he nailed on the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in Germany. The church door was the place for main thoroughfare in Wittenberg and also used to post important public notices. This strategic vantage point gave Luther’s Theses the deserved attention that it should have got.
The Impact of Reformation
Martin Luther had never aimed to start a new church. However, people were greatly influenced by his preaching and writings. He brought to the notice of people some important points from the Bible such as justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers.
Justification by faith means that Christian’s can never buy or earn God’s love, but only have faith in God to seek forgiveness for their sins. Priesthood of all believers means that Christians need not depend on priests or middle men to have a relationship with God.
Thus, the brave and noble act of this individual brought about a complete change in the history of Christianity and gave rise to a new domain of Churches known as the Protestant Church and hence the reformation is also known as the Protestant Reformation. The followers of Luther came to be known as the Lutherans.
Martin Luther is also largely responsible for the singing of hymns in churches.
Reformation Day Traditions and Activities
Today, this day is celebrated with fond remembrance of Martin Luther. People try to reconstruct the day’s events as they might have happened on the same day several years earlier in 1517. They create various art and craft items, paint windows with glass paintings similar to the ones we would see in olden day’s churches. People also try to create old parchment paper, similar to the one that might have been used by Martin Luther and write hymns and prayers on them.
The church has special prayers and services on this day. They try to rejuvenate the doctrines and preaching of Martin Luther and reinforce the importance of faith in God above all other practices such as confessions, seeking absolution and other such malpractices.
Symbol and Color of the reformation Day
The color of the day is red which symbolizes the blood that Lord Jesus Christ had shed for the forgiveness of all our sins.
A very important symbol for the day is a seal that Martin Luther wore as a ring. It is known as the Luther Rose. The Luther Rose consists of a black cross, on a red heart. The heart is set in the middle of a white rose. The white rose is placed on a field of heavenly blue. Encircling this field is a ring of gold.
Reformation Day is a public holiday in Germany and Slovenia.
Reformation Day is also known as:
- Martin Luther Reformation Day
- Luther Reformation Day
Other interesting posts:
- Reformation Day is Celebrated in Slovenia
- Martin Luther King, Jr. is Commemorated in the United States
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