Catholic Pentecost (Day of the Holy Spirit)
Description:
The holiday is celebrated for two days - on Trinity Sunday (Pfingstsonntag) and Trinity Monday (Pfingstmontag). In Austria, Trinity Monday, like other, most important church holidays, is declared a day off, included in the list of legal holidays.
The name of the holiday in German comes from the Greek word "pentekosté" - fiftieth. In the Middle Ages, this word was transformed into the word "paintekuste" and was further developed in the Middle High German word "pfingesten", which gave the modern name of the holiday "Pfingsten".
The symbols of the Trinity are the dove, fire and water, with which many ancient customs are associated. For example, in some places in Austria, on Saturday in front of the Trinity, village wells are decorated with flowers, ribbons and colored garlands, and in churches during the festive mass, live pigeons are released or a wooden pigeon is raised through the attic hatch. A wonderful custom associated with the symbolism of the Holy Fire is the decoration of the Candle Trinity table during breakfast.
In Salzburg, in addition to the Salzburg Festival, founded in 1920 and won worldwide fame, the Easter Festival and a series of concerts on the Trinity, established by Herbert von Karajan, are held.