What is Ordinary Time?

The Christian liturgical calendar is organized around two major seasons: Christmastide and Eastertide. Yet, the bulk of the year is spent in Ordinary Time. So what is Ordinary Time and how does it fit in the Christian calendar? To understand Ordinary Time, it is useful to know a bit about the Christmas and Easter seasons. 

The Christmas season, which explores the incarnation of Christ, begins with Advent, which marks the beginning of the Church year. The first day of Advent is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. So, for 2021, Advent starts on November 28th and ends on Christmas Eve. Christmas day marks the first day of the 12 days of Christmas, which runs through January 5th. Yes, the twelve days of Christmas are a real thing. January 6th is Epiphany Sunday which celebrates the three Magi’s visit to the young Jesus.

Eastertide, which explores the death and resurrection of Christ, begins on Ash Wednesday, marking the first day of the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, many Christian traditions observe the practice of marking the foreheads of participants with ash, often made from the palm leaves of the previous year’s Palm Sunday, as a reminder that we are from dust and to dust we will return. The Lenten season is marked by fasting or abstinence and attention towards repentance. Lent is 40 days long, not counting Sundays (thus, it is technically 46 days long) and ends on Maundy Thursday, the day of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples. 

You may have noticed that Easter always falls on a different day. Easter is determined as the Sunday following the first full moon that happens on or after the Spring Equinox (which according to ecclesiastical rules is March 21st, even though it is actually March 20th). For 2021, the first full moon after the Spring Equinox is March 28th which puts Easter on April fourth. The absolute earliest Easter can be is March 22nd and the latest is April 25th. The last time Easter fell on March 22nd was 1818 and the next time won’t be until 2285. The last time Easter fell on April 25th was in 1943 and the next time will be 2038 (then 2190 after that!). Ash Wednesday is always 46 days before Easter. 

Pentecost Sunday wraps up the Easter season as the church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples during the festival of Pentecost. The Easter liturgical season is 50 days total from Easter to Pentecost Sunday, inclusive of both (For 2021, this was April 4th through May 23rd). 

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: What is ordinary time and what is its significance?

Ordinary time includes any day of the year that is not in the Christmas or Easter liturgical seasons. The title “ordinary” comes from the use of ordinal numbers to count the weeks of this season. Thus it does not mean ordinary in the sense of uneventful, mediocre, common, or expected. If Christmas explores the incarnation and Easter explores the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, then Ordinary Time explores Jesus’ life and ministry.

The first week of ordinary time starts on the Monday after January 6th, epiphany. Rather than referring to this season by counting the weeks of ordinary time, many church will refer to this time as the Sundays after Epiphany. This portion of Ordinary time ends on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (aka Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day). The central theme to this portion of ordinary time is the calling of disciples and Jesus’ early ministry. 

The second portion of Ordinary Time begins on the Monday after Pentecost. Some churches refer to this portion of Ordinary Time as the Sundays after Pentecost. This portion of Ordinary Time ends the Saturday before Advent begins. The central theme of this portion of Ordinary Time is supporting disciples and embodying what was learned and discerned during the Easter season.

I hope you found this information useful for understanding the church calendar and how Ordinary Time fits into the two major liturgical season. For all you visual learners, check out this info-graphic:

Jill Engelhardt

Jill Engelhardt is a PhD in New Testament. She graduated in 2019 from Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, TX. She is a published author and freelance writer. She has been a member of Divine Life church for the better part of 15 years. She lives in Fort Worth with her husband and her dog.