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romcal / romcal

JavaScript library that generates liturgical calendars of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church.
https://romcal.js.org
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`england.ts` and `wales.ts`: Moving celebrations to Sunday #185

Open tukusejssirs opened 4 years ago

tukusejssirs commented 4 years ago

According to the Liturgy Office of England and Wales in England and Wales, when the celebrations of Epiphany, Sts Peter and Paul, Assumption and All Saints occur on Saturday or Monday, they are transferred to Sunday. AFAIK the moving of All Saints is already implemented, but I think that the rest of the celebrations are not.

Holydays of Obligation in England and Wales:

  • Every Sunday
  • Nativity of the Lord (25 December)
  • Epiphany of the Lord (6 January*)
  • Ascension of the Lord (Thursday after 6th Sunday of Easter)
  • St Peter & St Paul (29 June*)
  • The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August*)
  • All Saints (1 November*)

* According to a decision of the Bishops' Conference (1984) Holydays which fall on Saturday or Monday are transferred to the Sunday.

emagnier commented 2 years ago

In England and Wales calendars:

For Epiphany, in addition to the epiphanyOnSunday, we must add epiphanyOnSaturdayOrMondayTransferredToSunday (a shorten name is welcome), that can be used in England/Wales calendar.

But what happens if Epiphany falls a Monday 2? I guess it stay fixed to Monday 2 and do not replace the Solemnity of Mary mother of God on January 1. Is there other exceptions?

A last point about All Saints, if transferred from Saturday to Sunday, All Souls is automatically transferred from Sunday to Monday. But in the other side, if All Saints falls a Monday and is transferred to the closest Sunday, should All Souls rest on Tuesday?

tukusejssirs commented 2 years ago

For Epiphany, in addition to the epiphanyOnSunday, we must add epiphanyOnSaturdayOrMondayTransferredToSunday (a shorten name is welcome), that can be used in England/Wales calendar.

What about epiphanyTransferredToSunday or epiphanyMovedWhenCloseToSunday? I agree that even these aren’t perfect. :wink:

But what happens if Epiphany falls a Monday 2? I guess it stay fixed to Monday 2 and do not replace the Solemnity of Mary mother of God on January 1. Is there other exceptions?

Hard to say. Is it even possible (per liturgical rules with epiphanyOnSunday set to true without the additional transfer rules) to have Epiphany on 2 January?

2 January 2012/2017 was Monday. The notes on Epiphany in the Calendar Notes for 2012 and Calendar Notes for 2017 states that it was celebrated on 8 January 2012/2017 with the following note: the Epiphany falls on the Sunday between 2–8 January.

What I also found is that in 2021, Epiphany was celebrated on Wednesday 6 January 2021 (src). Similarly, in 2022 it’ll celebrated on Thursday 6 January 2022 and in 2023 Friday 6 January 2023 (src). It seems like there is another rule we miss (it might be described in a special decree) OR epiphanyOnSunday was set to false in England & Wales between Epiphany 2020 and Epiphany 2021. In years 2005-2020, Epiphany was always celebrated on Sunday.

A last point about All Saints, if transferred from Saturday to Sunday, All Souls is automatically transferred from Sunday to Monday. But in the other side, if All Saints falls a Monday and is transferred to the closest Sunday, should All Souls rest on Tuesday?

1 November 2021 was Monday and as per the Calendar Notes for 2021:

Here you can find all available Calendar Notes for years between 2005—2023 (all created for England & Wales).

emagnier commented 2 years ago

Thank you for your feedback!

I like epiphanyMovedWhenCloseToSunday. But I agree, the rules aren't very clear here... So I'm not sure to propose something related to that for now.

Other than that, we finally just have to complete the definition of All Saints when it falls in a Monday. Thank you for the points about All Souls, it seems we do not have to change anything here (it's already defined like that).

tukusejssirs commented 2 years ago

I like epiphanyMovedWhenCloseToSunday. But I agree, the rules aren't very clear here... So I'm not sure to propose something related to that for now.

Well, I think that proposing additional calendar configuration properties is fine, as long as it is used in multiple calendars (to avoid code repetition and abide the DRY principles). This rule would be used at least in England and Wales (plus their dioceses), therefore it might be a good idea.

From your point of view, why are you not sure to propose something related to that for now?

emagnier commented 2 years ago

Because I'm not 100% sure to understand the rule here.

Eventually, what I'm ready to implement (with option A OR option B):

  1. If Epiphany is a Saturday or a Monday, move it to the closest Sunday.
  2. But:
    • Option A: if Epiphany is Monday 2, do nothing (do not move it to another day, keep it on Monday 2).
    • Option B: if Epiphany is Monday 2, move it to the closest Sunday after the Christmas Octave, so Sunday 8.

What do you think? Should I implement that with the first point, + the second with option B (ignoring option A)?

tukusejssirs commented 2 years ago

I think the option B is the right one, but I have no proof for that. Also what bugs me, all Calendar Notes explicitly state that the Epiphany can be celebrated on a date between 2—8 January, therefore I don’t really understand why it would be moved from 2 to 8 January.

That is why I’ve just sent an email to the Liturgy Office of England & Wales (see below for its content). I suggest to wait a few more days if they answer it.

Letter to the Liturgy Office > Addressee: Liturgy.Office@cbcew.org.uk > Subject: Epiphany celebration date in England & Wales > > Dear Sir or Madam, > > I am a contributor of an open source project called [romcal](https://github.com/romcal/romcal) (sample [website](https://romcal.js.org/) is in development). It is a library that strives to provide a way to generate liturgical calendar for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, be it the General Roman Calendar or any particular calendar like national, diocesian, religious, parish or arbitrary calendar. > > Currently, we face an [issue](https://github.com/romcal/romcal/issues/185) regarding the celebration date of the Epiphany of the Lord in England & Wales. > > According to [this website](https://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/index.shtml#Holydays), the celebration date of the Epiphany, Sts Peter and Paul, the Assumption and All Saints is transfered to Sunday if they fall on Saturday or Monday. I understand this part for all of these celebrations, but there is a missing bit of information for the Epiphany. > > As far as I know, the Epiphany when transfered to Sunday may fall on a date between 2—8 January. If 2 January is Monday, what happens to the Epiphany transfer? Obviously, it cannot be moved to Sunday 1 January. > > [Here](http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/index.shtml#Notes) I found _Calendar Notes_ for years between 2005—2023. From those years, 2 January 2012 and 2017 fall on Monday. In those years, the Epiphany was celebrated on 8 January. Therefore I presume that the Epiphany cannot fall on 2 January, but only on a Sunday between 3—8 (or 3—9?) January. Is my assumption right? > > However, in those _Calendar Notes_ I also found that since the Epiphany 2021, it is celebrated on 6 January, therefore (1) it is not celebrated on Sunday anymore; (2) it is _probably_ not transfered to Sunday when it falls on Monday or Saturday. I presume that there might be either an error in the _Calendar Notes_ or the Epiphany celebration date was changed. I there was a decree issued by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, I wish you provided me with a link to it. > > Note that if there are different rules in individual dioceses in England/Wales, I’d like to know those rules too. That might not be the case for England & Wales, but we have already encountered such rules in other countries. > > I am looking forward to your answer. Thank you very much in advance. > > Yours faithfully, > > Tukusej’s Sirs
emagnier commented 2 years ago

Probably:

In fact, it makes sense, the maximum date of Epiphany is the 8 (it can never be celebrated a 9 January). And the minimum date is 2 January, because 1 January is the last day of the Christmas octave (it's even a Solemnity), so it's untouchable.

We will wait a few days if they provide an answer. Thank you for writing this letter ;) Then I also think the points 1 + 2B are the right way, + moving Epiphany to Sunday 3 if it falls a Saturday 8.