Calendar of saints

From ArticleWorld

The Christian calendar of saints is derived from the church practice of annually celebrating the lives and deeds of Christian martyrs. Over time, the calendar was filled, and now every day of the year has at least one saint assigned to it. Some saints are recognized on two or more days of the year.

These saint’s days, combined with religious feasts, festivals and holy days, make up what is commonly referred to as the liturgical year in Christianity. In the Catholic Church, there are also varying degrees of importance assigned to specific saints. These degrees are communicated to church members in the form of required actions. They are, from least to most important:

• optional memorials
• memorials
• feasts
• solemnities

Types of saints

In the beginning, to be added to the calendar, it was required that a saint be an apostle of Christ or a martyr dying in the name of Christianity. Later, being a confessor or evangelist were acceptable conditions for sainthood. Not all saints were added, however. Many have also been removed over time or assigned to different days. This is in part due to regional differences in religious tradition and later standardization of the liturgical year.

Saints days

The practice of observing a specific saint’s day is still widespread in many parts of Europe. Catholic children--and, depending on tradition, non-Catholic children--are often given a name that belongs to a traditionally Catholic saint. Thus, many children have a birthday as well as a saint’s day, which is celebrated in many countries in addition to, or in lieu of a birthday celebration.