Having praised the writings of Fr. Francis X. Weiser in two previous posts (here and here), I thought it meet to share the following excerpt from his magnum opus, the Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1958), pp. 243-45.
Ascension Plays
During the tenth century some dramatic details
were added to the liturgical procession on Ascension Day in the
countries of central and western Europe.
In Germany it became a
custom for priests to lift a cross aloft when the words Assumptus est in caelum (He was taken up into Heaven) were sung
at the Gospel.
From the eleventh century on, the procession was gradually
dropped in most countries and in its place a pageant was
performed in church. These “Ascension plays” have never been
accorded official approval or liturgical status by the Roman
authorities.
By the thirteenth century it had become a fairly general custom
to enact the Ascension by hoisting a statue of the Risen Christ
aloft until it disappeared through an opening in the ceiling of
the church. While the image, suspended on a rope, moved slowly
upward, the people rose in their pews and stretched out their
arms toward the figure of the Saviour, acclaiming the Lord in
prayer or by hymn singing. Hundreds of reports in old books from
the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries contain vivid
descriptions of this ancient custom.
One of the most charming examples is the Ascension play of the
Bavarian monastery in Moosburg, recorded by the priest and poet
Johann von Berghausen (1362). In the center of the church,
directly underneath an opening in the ceiling, a platform
decorated with colored cloths and flowers was erected. On this
platform stood a little tent, open at the top, which represented
the Mount of Olivet. Inside the tent was placed a statue of the
Risen Christ, holding high the banner of victory. A strong rope
that hung down from the ceiling was fastened to a ring on top of
the wooden image. After Vespers (in the afternoon), a solemn
procession moved from the sacristy to the platform. It was led by
two boys in white dresses. They impersonated angels; on their
shoulders they wore wings and on their heads little wreaths of
flowers. They were followed by a young cleric who represented the
Blessed Virgin, “dressed in the robes of holy and honorable
widowhood.” To his right and left walked clerics enacting Saint
Peter and Saint John. Behind them came ten other clerics in
Oriental gowns; they were barefoot, and on their foreheads they
carried diadems inscribed with the names of the Apostles. The
altar boys and priests, vested in festive garb, concluded the
group. In front of the platform, the deacon sang the Gospel of
Ascension Day, and the choir intoned the antiphon, “I ascend to
my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20, 17).
The priests then venerated the image of Christ with inclinations
and incense. Finally, while the choir sang Ascendit Deus in
altum, alleluia (God rose on high), the statue was slowly pulled
aloft. As it rose higher and higher, a few figures of angels
holding burning candles came down from “Heaven” to meet the Lord
and to accompany him on his journey. From a large metal ring that
was suspended below the opening, there hung cloths of silk
representing clouds. Between these “clouds” the image of the
Saviour slowly and solemnly disappeared. A few moments later, a
shower of roses, lilies, and other flowers dropped from the
opening; then followed wafers in the shape of large hosts. The
schoolchildren were allowed to collect these flowers and wafers,
to take them home as cherished souvenirs. Father Berghausen
explains this custom as follows: “The little ones collect the
flowers which symbolize the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. The
wafers indicate the presence of Christ in His eucharistic Body,
which remains with us, under the species of bread, to the end of
time.” While the congregation stood with eyes raised to the
ceiling, the two “angels” intoned the final message of Ascension
Day, which predicts the triumphant coming of the Lord on the
clouds of Heaven, for the great judgment at the end of the world:
“Why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who has been
taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same way as you
have seen him going up to heaven.” (Acts 1, 11) The celebration
was concluded with solemn Benediction.
The Lutheran reformers violently attacked not only occasional
abuses in these plays, but the whole institution. However, Luther
himself seems to have later regretted the hasty condemnations of
earlier years, for in a message to his preachers he wrote in
1530: “If such customs had remained as pageants for the sake of
youth and school children, to furnish them with a presentation of
Christian doctrine and Christian life, then it could well be
allowed that Palm donkeys, Ascension plays, and many similar
traditions might be admitted and tolerated; for by such things
conscience is not led into confusion.”
Other Customs
It was a widespread custom in many parts of Europe
during the Middle Ages to eat a bird on Ascension Day, because
Christ “flew” to Heaven. Pigeons, pheasants, partridges, and even
crows, graced the dinner tables. In western Germany bakers and
innkeepers gave their customers pieces of pastry made in the
shapes of various birds. In England the feast was celebrated with
games, dancing, and horse races. In central Europe, Ascension Day
is a traditional day of mountain climbing and picnics on hilltops
and high places.
Popular superstitions threaten dire punishments to anyone who
works on Ascension Day in field and garden, but especially to
women who do their sewing on the feast. Any piece of garment that
has been touched by a needle on the Ascension will attract
lightning before long, and many stories are told of how people
were killed that way. In some sections of Europe it is said that
weddings should not be held on Ascension Day because one of the
partners would die soon. Those who go bathing in rivers and lakes
are exposed to the danger of drowning more than on other days. It
seems that all these superstitions are relics of the pre-Christian lore of the demons of death who were said to roam the
earth and kill people around this time of the year.
