Ordinary Time
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Ordinary Time is a season of the Christian (especially the Catholic) liturgical calendar. Ordinary Time is the periods which do not fall under the "strong seasons" of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. The term Ordinary does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered." The weeks in ordinary time are numbered, although several Sundays are named for the feast they commemorate, such as the Baptism of the Lord (first Sunday of OT), Trinity Sunday (first Sunday after Pentecost) and the Feast of Christ the King (last Sunday in OT), and for American Catholics, the Feast of Corpus Christi (second Sunday after Pentecost).
The season of Ordinary Time begins with the Baptism of the Lord (white), which always falls on the Sunday after January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany (white). (American Catholics have slightly altered the calendar so that Epiphany always falls on a Sunday.) The Baptism of the Lord, though a feast in its own right, marks the beginning of Ordinary Time, just as the event of Christ's baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry. The season of Ordinary Time continues until Ash Wednesday (violet), which marks the beginning of the Season of Lent (violet). Thus the period of Ordinary Time between Christmas and Lent may be of anywhere from four to nine weeks, depending upon the dates of Epiphany (American Catholics) and Ash Wendesday. Ash Wednesday is a moveable feast based on the date of Easter (white/gold).
The season of Ordinary Time resumes on the Monday following Pentecost Sunday (red) and continues through Saturday afternoon before the first Sunday of Advent (violet although some Protestants use light blue), some five or six months later. The last Sunday before Advent is celebrated as the Solemnity of Christ The King (red) and always takes the place of the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In addition, certain solemnities and feasts that fall during Ordinary Time will preempt numbered Sundays in the series when the observance in question falls on a Sunday; these include, in the Roman Catholic calendar, any day that is a holy day of obligation, along with certain other special days, such as the Presentation of the Lord (formerly known as Candlemas (white), February 2), the birth of John the Baptist (red) (June 24), the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul (red) (June 29), the Transfiguration (white) (August 6), the Triumph Of The Cross (formerly known as Holy Cross Day(white/gold), September 14), All Souls Day (violet) (November 2), and the Dedication of (the basilica of) St. John Lateran (white) (November 9).
With the exceptions marked above, Green is the liturgical color of Ordinary Time, and, unlike in the other seasons of the liturgical year, funeral services are permitted on Sundays during Ordinary Time in the Catholic Church.
The term Ordinary Time was first used with the liturgical reforms which followed the Second Vatican Council. The reformed liturgical calendar took effect on the first Sunday of Advent in 1969 (before this there were two distinct seasons known as the season after Epiphany and the season after Pentecost respectively). Since then, many Protestant churches have also adopted the concept, along with the Common Lectionary which is based on the Catholic liturgical reforms of the late 1960's.
Some Protestant denominations (most notably the Methodist Church) set off the last 13 or 14 weeks of Ordinary Time into a separate season, known as Kingdomtide.