"The Church Year" from Full Homely Divinity

Wikipedia Article

Easter, the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on the third day of his death by crucifixion. Easter also refers to the season of the church year, called Eastertide or the Easter Season, lasting for fifty days, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.

The Great Vigil, when observed, is the first service of Easter Day. It is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Morning.  After 40 days of Lent, we get to say "Alleluia!" again!

Wikipedia article on Easter

"Easter Customs" at Full Homely Divinity

The term Ordinary does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered." The weeks in ordinary time are numbered, although several Sundays are named for the feast they commemorate, such as Trinity Sunday (first Sunday after Pentecost) and the Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday in OT).  Among the special days that occur during summer ordinary time include:

Trinity Sunday

Blessing of the Animals on St Francis Day

All Hallows and the Day of the Dead   All Saints Day

Christ the King Sunday (the last Sunday of the Litrugical year)

Full Homely Divinity (a website for Anglicans published by the Consortium of Country Churches), posted Rediscovering Advent, an excellent article about Advent.  The article includes a good discussion about advent wreaths , Jesse Trees, and other devotions.

If you’d like a scriptural devotion for Advent, pick up an Advent Calendar at either entrance of the Church, or consider the advent calendar from Trinity Episcopal Church in NYC.

Christmas lasts for twelve days!  An excellent discussion and daily devotional is available here.  Among the feast days that occur during Christmas are:
Dec 26- St Stephen's Day (the first Christian Martyr)
Dec 27- St John the Evangelist
Dec 28- Holy Innocents
Dec 29- St Thomas Becket
Jan 1- Holy Name
Jan 6- Epiphany

"Epiphanytide is clearly defined at its beginning and end with the major manifestations of our Lord, the Visit of the Magi on Epiphany and the Baptism of our Lord on the First Sunday, and the Transfiguration on the Last Sunday.  Not only does this give Epihanytide a greater integrity as a season in itself, it provides a clearer line of thematic material in the larger movement from Christmas to Easter, with the Transfiguration serving as the turning point, both temporally and theologically, from the Christmas cycle to the Paschal cycle."

Read a fuller discussion of Epiphanytide at Full Homily Divinity
Preparing for Lent

Shrove Tuesday (Wikipedia)

Read about "Lenten Customs" at Full Homily Divinity

Ash Wednesday (Wikipedia)