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    You are at:Home»January»January 14»January 14th is “Feast of the Ass” Day
    January 14

    January 14th is “Feast of the Ass” Day

    Major DanBy Major DanJanuary 14, 2015Updated:January 8, 202335 Comments3 Mins Read
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    Feast of the Ass

    A Brief History

    On January 14th, medieval Christians celebrated Feast of the Ass Day, although perhaps not the type of “ass” you may be thinking of!  It actually celebrated the various accounts in the Bible where a donkey (or ass) is mentioned, especially the one that supposedly carried Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt.

    Digging Deeper

    Not surprisingly, like many or even most Christian holidays, the Feast of the Ass had its origins in Paganism, being derived from the religious feast called Cervulus.

    Flight into Egypt by Gentile da Fabriano

    During this bestial-based holy day, a ceremony often took place in which a girl with a baby (or a pregnant girl) was led through a village on a donkey, followed by churchgoers answering the priest with “hee-haws” during the related church service or Mass.  In some accounts, the priest himself would bray.  (You can make this stuff up, but we did not!)

    Amazingly, this nifty holiday fell out of favor around 1500 along with its sister feast, the Feast of Fools.  Apparently some thought the titles and actions of these two celebrations were less than “Christian.” 

    Feast of Fools, Carving in Beverley Minster, from The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 94, Part 1, p.62, Jan 1824.

    Perhaps they should bring this particular feast back and give people a valid excuse, at least one day a year, to make an “ass” of themselves in church. 

    Question for students (and subscribers): What is your favorite holiday or festival and why?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    Russian icon of the Flight into Egypt; the bottom section shows the idols of Egypt miraculously falling down before Jesus and being smashed (17th century).

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

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    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    New London Consort and Philip Pickett.  The Feast Of Fools/Mass Of The Asses, Drunkards And Gamblers – Gambler’s Prayer/Malediction.  Decca Music Group Limited, 1992.

    The featured image in this article was taken from Flickr‘s The Commons. The uploading organization may have various reasons for determining that no known copyright restrictions exist, such as:

    1. The copyright is in the public domain because it has expired;
    2. The copyright was injected into the public domain for other reasons, such as failure to adhere to required formalities or conditions;
    3. The institution owns the copyright but is not interested in exercising control; or
    4. The institution has legal rights sufficient to authorize others to use the work without restrictions.

    More information can be found at https://flickr.com/commons/usage/.

    You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:

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    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

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