FEAST, or FESTIVAL, in a religious sense, is a ceremony of feasting and thanksgiving. The word is formed of the Latin festum, which some derive à feriari "to keep holiday;" others from the Greek seva, "I feast or entertain," of seva, "hearth, fire."
Feasts, and the ceremonies thereof, have made great part of the religion of almost all nations and sects; witness those of the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, Christians, and Mahometans.
The first feasts among the Greeks were celebrated in solemn assemblies of the whole nation, on occasion of their games, as the Olympic, the Pythian, the Isthmian, and Nemean: in process of time they had many others, the principal of which are enumerated in the course of this work.
The Romans also had abundance of stated feasts in honour of their deities and heroes; such were the Saturnalia, Cerealia, Lupercalia, Liberalia, Neptunalia, Consualia, Portunnalia, Vulcanalia, Palilia, Divalia, &c. See SATURNALIA, &c.
They had also feasts instituted occasionally; as Carmentalia,
mental, Quirinalia, Terminalia, Floralia, Compitalia, Lemuria, Vernalia, beside other moveable and occasional ones: as to give thanks to the gods for benefits received; to implore their assistance, or to appease their wrath, &c. as the Paganalia, Feralia, Bacchanalia, Amburbalia, Amburbalia, Suovetaurilia, and divers others, particularly denominated feriae; as Sementinae, Latineae, &c. See each of these feasts, and feriae in its proper place. The feasts were divided into days of sacrifice, and days of banqueting and feasting; days of games, and days of rest or feriae.
There being but little history written, or at least published in those days, one end of feasts was to keep up the remembrance of past occurrences.
The principal feasts of the Jews were the feast of trumpets, that of the expiation of tabernacles, of the dedication, of the passover, of pentecost, and that of purification. See EXPIATION, &c.
The modern Jews have other feasts marked in their calendar, of modern institution. The Mahometans, besides their weekly feast or Sabbath, which is kept on Friday, have two solemn feasts, the first of which is called the Feast of Victims, and celebrated on the tenth day of the last month of their year; and the second called Bairam. The Chinese have two solemn feasts in the year, in the memory of Confucius, besides others of less note on the other days of the year.
Feasts among us are either immoveable or moveable.
Immoveable Feasts are those constantly celebrated on the same day of the year; the principal of these are Christmas day or the Nativity, the Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas or the Purification, Lady Day or the Annunciation, called also the Incarnation and Conception, All Saints and All Souls; besides the days of the several Apostles, St Thomas, St Paul, &c. which with us are feasts, though not feriae. See each feast under its proper article.
Moveable Feasts are those which are not confined to the same day of the year. Of these the principal is Easter, which gives law to all the rest, all of them following, and keeping their proper distances from it; such are Palm-Sunday, Good-Friday, Ash-Wednesday, Sexagesima, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and Trinity-Sunday. See EASTER, SEXAGESIMA, PENTECOST, TRINITY, &c.
The four feasts which the English laws take special notice of are, the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary or Lady Day, the 25th of March; the nativity of St John the Baptist, held on the 24th of June; the Feast of St Michael the Archangel, on the 29th of September; and that of St Thomas the Apostle, on the 21st of December: on which quarterly days rent on leases is usually reserved to be paid (5 and 6 Edw. VI. cap. 3. 3 Jac. I. cap. 1. 12 Car. II. cap. 30.)
Besides these feasts which are general, and enjoined by the church, there are others local and occasional, enjoined by the magistrate, or voluntarily set on foot by the people; such are the days of thanksgiving for delivery from wars, plagues, &c. Such also are the vigils or wakes in commemoration of the dedications of particular churches. See VIGIL, &c.
The prodigious increase of feast days in the Christian church commenced towards the close of the fourth century, and was occasioned by the discovery
that was then made of the remains of martyrs and other holy men, for the commemoration of whom they were established. These, instead of being set apart for pious exercises, were abused in indolence, voluptuousness, and criminal practices. Many of them were instituted on a pagan model, and perverted to similar purposes.
Feast of Death, or Feast of Souls, a solemn religious ceremony in use among the savages of America; some of whom thus testify their respect for the deceased every eight years; and others, as the Hurons and Iroquois, every ten years.
The day of this ceremony is appointed by public order; and nothing is omitted, that it may be celebrated with the utmost pomp and magnificence. The neighbouring tribes are invited to be present, and to join in the solemnity. At this time all who have died since the last solemn occasion are taken out of their graves; those who have been interred at the greatest distance from the villages are diligently sought for, and brought to this great rendezvous of carcasses.
It is not difficult to conceive the horror of this general disinterment; but it cannot be described in a more lively manner than it is done by Lafitau, to whom we are indebted for the most authentic account of those nations.
"Without question (says he), the opening of these tombs displays one of the most striking scenes that can be conceived; this humbling portrait of human misery, in so many images of death, wherein she seems to take a pleasure to paint herself in a thousand various shapes of horror, in the several carcasses, according to the degree in which corruption has prevailed over them, or the manner in which it has attacked them. Some appear dry and withered; others have a sort of parchement upon their bones; some look as if they were baked and smoked, without any appearance of rottenness; some are just turning towards the point of putrefaction; whilst others are all swarming with worms, and drowned in corruption. I know not which ought to strike us most, the horror of so shocking a sight, or the tender piety and affection of these poor people toward their departed friends: for nothing deserves our admiration more than that eager diligence and attention with which they discharge this melancholy duty of their tenderness; gathering up carefully even the smallest bones, handling the carcasses, disgusting as they are, with every thing loathsome, cleansing them from the worms, and carrying them upon their shoulders through tiresome journeys of several days, without being discouraged from the offensiveness of the smell, and without suffering any other emotions to arise than those of regret, for having lost persons who were so dear to them in their lives, and so lamented in their death.
"They bring them into their cottages, where they prepare a feast in honour of the dead; during which their great actions are celebrated, and all the tender intercourses which took place between them and their friends are piously called to mind. The strangers, who have come sometimes many hundred miles to be present on the occasion, join in the tender condolence; and the women, by frightful shrieks, demonstrate that they are pierced with the sharpest sorrow. Then the dead bodies are carried from the cabins for the general re-interment. A great pit is dug in the ground, and thither,
Feast. thither, at a certain time, each person attended by his family and friends, marches in solemn silence, bearing the dead body of a son, a father, or a brother. When they are all convened, the dead bodies, or the dust of those which were quite corrupted, are deposited in the pit: then the torrent of grief breaks out anew. Whatever they possess most valuable is interred with the dead. The strangers are not wanting in their generosity, and confer those presents which they have brought along with them for the purpose. Then all present go down into the pit, and every one takes a little of the earth, which they afterwards preserve with the most religious care. The bodies, ranged in order, are covered with entire new furs, and over these with bark, on which they throw stones, wood, and earth. Then taking their last farewell, they return each to his own cabin.
"We have mentioned, that in this ceremony the savages offer, as presents to the dead, whatever they value most highly. This custom, which is universal among them, arises from a rude notion of the immortality of the soul. They believe this doctrine most firmly, and it is the principal tenet of their religion. When the soul is separated from the body of their friends, they conceive that it still continues to hover around it, and require and take delight in the same things with which it formerly was pleased. After a certain time, however, it forsakes this dreary mansion, and departs far westward into the land of spirits. They have even gone so far as to make a distinction between the inhabitants of the other world; some, they imagine, particularly those who in their lifetime have been fortunate in war, possess a high degree of happiness, have a place for hunting and fishing, which never fails, and enjoy all sensual delights, without labouring hard in order to procure them. The souls of those, on the contrary, who happen to be conquered or slain in war, are extremely miserable after death."