The Easter Season: The Great Fifty Days of Eastertide form a single festival period in which the tone is sustained through the following weeks, and the Church celebrates the gloriously risen Christ. The lit Easter Candle stands prominently in Church for all the Eastertide services. The Alleluia appears frequently in liturgical speech and song. White or gold vestments and decorations emphasize the joy and brightness of the season. At the Ascension, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue his work, he promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then he is no longer among them in the flesh; closely connecting this event to the theme of mission. The arrival of the promised gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost completes and crowns the Easter Festival.
