Ascension Day
- proper noun
Examples
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Easter Monday, Ascension Day, and Repentance Day, which the SED government had abolished as public holidays in 1968, were restored.
Academic text (1990) -
Many Christians attend church services to celebrate Ascension Day each year.
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The feast of Ascension Day marks the day when Jesus ascended into heaven.
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On Ascension Day, families often gather to reflect on the significance of Christ's ascension.
Synonyms
A Christian celebration forty days after Easter remembering Jesus rising into heaven
An event when Jesus leaves Earth and goes up to heaven forty days after he comes back to life
A Christian holiday marking Jesus going up to heaven forty days after Easter
A Christian belief about Jesus rising to heaven on the 40th day after he came back to life
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'festival commemorating the Ascension of Christ' is directly derivable from combining 'Ascension' (an ascent, specifically Christ's ascent to heaven) with 'day' (a calendar day set aside), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it. This compositional naming pattern is common for religious holidays (e.g., Christmas Day, Easter Day) and is cross-linguistically familiar, supporting full transparency.
Etymology
Ascension Day comes from the word ascension ('going up') and the idea of a day to remember that action. It marks the Christian belief that Jesus went up to 'heaven' forty days after Easter, so the name literally means the day of that rising.