Holy Days of the Christian Year

According to the American Book of Common Prayer (1928)
For the Calendar Years of Our Lord 2026 & 2027

The Calendar of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer appoints six and twenty fixed Holy Days — the red-letter feasts of our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, and of the Apostles and Evangelists — together with the moveable feasts and fasts whose dates depend upon Easter. This page consolidates the whole reckoning for two years of grace, beginning with the Circumcision on the First of January, 2026, and continuing through the Holy Innocents on the Eight and Twentieth of December, 2027. The Sundays of the Christian Year are likewise tabulated, that the reader may at a glance see the unfolding of the redemptive cycle from Advent through Trinity-tide.

The Year of Our Lord 2026

Principal Feasts of Our Lord

The Seven Greater Festivals of the Christian Year

Tue., Jan. 6The Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ
Sun., Apr. 5Easter Day
Thu., May 14Ascension Day
Sun., May 24Whitsunday (Pentecost)
Sun., May 31Trinity Sunday
Sun., Nov. 1All Saints’ Day
Fri., Dec. 25Christmas Day The Nativity of our Lord

The Red-Letter Holy Days

Fixed feasts appointed in A Table of Feasts to be observed throughout the Year

Thu., Jan. 1The Circumcision of Christ
Tue., Jan. 6The Epiphany
Sun., Jan. 25The Conversion of St. Paul
Mon., Feb. 2The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Candlemas)
Tue., Feb. 24St. Matthias the Apostle
Wed., Mar. 25The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sat., Apr. 25St. Mark the Evangelist
Fri., May 1St. Philip and St. James, Apostles
Thu., May 14Ascension Day
Thu., June 11St. Barnabas the Apostle
Wed., June 24The Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Mon., June 29St. Peter the Apostle
Sat., July 25St. James the Apostle
Thu., Aug. 6The Transfiguration of Christ
Mon., Aug. 24St. Bartholomew the Apostle
Mon., Sep. 21St. Matthew the Apostle
Tue., Sep. 29St. Michael and All Angels (Michaelmas)
Sun., Oct. 18St. Luke the Evangelist
Wed., Oct. 28St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles
Sun., Nov. 1All Saints’ Day
Mon., Nov. 30St. Andrew the Apostle
Mon., Dec. 21St. Thomas the Apostle
Fri., Dec. 25Christmas Day
Sat., Dec. 26St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr
Sun., Dec. 27St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Mon., Dec. 28The Holy Innocents

The Moveable Feasts of Eastertide

Reckoned from Easter Day, the Fifth of April

Wed., Feb. 18Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent)
Sun., Mar. 29Palm Sunday
Thu., Apr. 2Maundy Thursday
Fri., Apr. 3Good Friday
Sat., Apr. 4Easter Even
Sun., Apr. 5Easter Day
Mon., Apr. 6Monday in Easter Week
Tue., Apr. 7Tuesday in Easter Week
Sun., May 10Rogation Sunday (the Fifth Sunday after Easter)
Mon.–Wed., May 11–13The Rogation Days
Thu., May 14Ascension Day
Sun., May 24Whitsunday (Pentecost)
Mon., May 25Monday in Whitsun Week
Tue., May 26Tuesday in Whitsun Week
Sun., May 31Trinity Sunday

Sundays of the Christian Year

From Septuagesima through the Sunday next before Advent

  • SeptuagesimaFeb. 1
  • SexagesimaFeb. 8
  • QuinquagesimaFeb. 15
  • First Sunday in LentFeb. 22
  • Second Sunday in LentMar. 1
  • Third Sunday in LentMar. 8
  • Fourth Sunday in LentMar. 15
  • Passion SundayMar. 22
  • Palm SundayMar. 29
  • Easter DayApr. 5
  • Low Sunday (1st aft. Easter)Apr. 12
  • 2nd Sunday after EasterApr. 19
  • 3rd Sunday after EasterApr. 26
  • 4th Sunday after EasterMay 3
  • Rogation SundayMay 10
  • Sunday after AscensionMay 17
  • WhitsundayMay 24
  • Trinity SundayMay 31
  • 1st Sunday after TrinityJune 7
  • 2nd Sunday after TrinityJune 14
  • 3rd Sunday after TrinityJune 21
  • 4th Sunday after TrinityJune 28
  • 5th Sunday after TrinityJuly 5
  • 6th Sunday after TrinityJuly 12
  • 7th Sunday after TrinityJuly 19
  • 8th Sunday after TrinityJuly 26
  • 9th Sunday after TrinityAug. 2
  • 10th Sunday after TrinityAug. 9
  • 11th Sunday after TrinityAug. 16
  • 12th Sunday after TrinityAug. 23
  • 13th Sunday after TrinityAug. 30
  • 14th Sunday after TrinitySep. 6
  • 15th Sunday after TrinitySep. 13
  • 16th Sunday after TrinitySep. 20
  • 17th Sunday after TrinitySep. 27
  • 18th Sunday after TrinityOct. 4
  • 19th Sunday after TrinityOct. 11
  • 20th Sunday after TrinityOct. 18
  • 21st Sunday after TrinityOct. 25
  • 22nd Sunday after TrinityNov. 1
  • 23rd Sunday after TrinityNov. 8
  • 24th Sunday after TrinityNov. 15
  • Sunday next before AdventNov. 22
  • First Sunday in AdventNov. 29
  • Second Sunday in AdventDec. 6
  • Third Sunday in AdventDec. 13
  • Fourth Sunday in AdventDec. 20
  • First Sunday after ChristmasDec. 27

Days of Fasting or Abstinence

Appointed by the Church for solemn observance

Feb. 18 – Apr. 4The Forty Days of Lent
Fri., Apr. 3Good Friday
Mon.–Wed., May 11–13The Rogation Days (before Ascension)
Wed./Fri./Sat., Feb. 25, 27, 28Ember Days in the First Week of Lent
Wed./Fri./Sat., May 27, 29, 30Ember Days in Whitsun Week
Wed./Fri./Sat., Sep. 16, 18, 19Ember Days after Holy Cross Day
Wed./Fri./Sat., Dec. 16, 18, 19Ember Days after St. Lucy
All FridaysFridays throughout the year, except Christmas Day

Vigils observed in 2026

The Vigils of the following feasts, where they fall not upon a Sunday, are days of solemn preparation: the Nativity (Dec. 24, Thursday), the Epiphany (Jan. 5, Monday), the Purification (Feb. 1, Sunday — no vigil kept), the Annunciation (Mar. 24, Tuesday), the Ascension (May 13, Wednesday), Whitsunday (May 23, Saturday), the Nativity of St. John Baptist (June 23, Tuesday), the several Apostles’ days as the Calendar appoints, and All Saints’ Eve (Oct. 31, Saturday).

National and Civic Observances

As provided in the American Book of Common Prayer

Sat., July 4Independence Day
Thu., Nov. 26Thanksgiving Day (appointed by Civil Authority)

A Note upon the Reckoning

The 1928 Book of Common Prayer appoints twenty-six fixed Holy Days in its Table of Feasts to be observed throughout the Year, together with the moveable feasts whose dates are governed by Easter Day — Easter being the Sunday following the Paschal full moon on or after the vernal equinox. The Sundays of the Christian Year are numbered from Trinity Sunday until the Sunday next before Advent, the number varying year by year (twenty-five in 2026, twenty-six in 2027) to fit the cycle. When a fixed Holy Day falls upon a Sunday in 2026 or 2027, the rubrics of the Prayer Book direct that the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel of the Holy Day shall be used, except upon the First Sunday in Advent, the Sundays in Lent, Easter Day, Whitsunday, and Trinity Sunday, when the Sunday observance prevails.