Calendar

Christian Scientists observe the traditional holy days of the Christian calendar, but observe them with special services, lecture, prayer, and study instead of giving and receiving gifts or having loud and animated festivities. The Christian calendar revolves around the events that took place during Jesus Christ’s life, specifically Christmas and Easter. Some of the main holidays, events, and time periods in the Christian calendar include: Advent, Christmas, the Easter season, Easter Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Michael and All Angels, and The Immaculate Conception. One of the main holidays that Christian Scientists celebrate is Thanksgiving, which is not part of the tradition Christian calendar. Thanksgiving is celebrated on a much larger scale than Christmas and Easter. Both holidays are celebrated in a more quiet fashion with special lectures and prayers.

The Christian Calendar: http://www.christianitysite.com/calendar.htm

Calendar: Thanksgiving

The Church of Christ, Scientist is the only religious tradition in the United States that celebrates Thanksgiving as a religious holiday, with church services, personal healing testimonials, and specific Bible lessons for the holiday. The celebration of Thanksgiving even surpasses the celebration of Christmas for Christian Scientists, as they don’t worship as a community on Christmas unless it falls on a Sunday.

Mary Baker Eddy initiated the tradition of having Christian Science services on Thanksgiving. Eddy was an extremely grateful woman and was especially just grateful to be alive due to her near-death experience and scare after falling on ice. After her healing experience, she gained a new love and appreciation for God and all that he does. Eddy’s recovery and new found appreciation of God sheds light on why Thanksgiving was so important to Eddy and is now so important to Christian Scientists.

Virginia Harris, the elected leader of the First Church of Christ, Scientist notes that, "The Bible was very, very important to Mary Baker Eddy and, obviously, gratitude and thanksgiving are important threads throughout. [They are] an important way for us to connect with the divine. It opens our expressions, our thoughts, away from self-centeredness."