About the days held holy by Mormons, including Sundays and a few festivals and remembrances.
Holy days
Last updated 2009-10-06
Mormon holy days
Mormon holy days
Sunday
Like many other Christian churches Mormons regard Sunday as the day of rest and day of worship.
Most Mormon families will spend a substantial part of Sunday in meetings and worship with their community.
Monday
Monday is often reserved for Family Home Evening.
Festivals
Mormons really only celebrate two religious festivals: Easter and Christmas.
An additional festival is Pioneer Day, on 24 July. This celebrates the arrival of the first Latter-day Saint pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.
Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day on July 24th is a major Mormon occasion in Utah, USA. It is also known as Covered Wagon Days and Days of '47.
A 1947 U.S. postage stamp commemorates Utah's centenery ©It honours the arrival of Brigham Young and his followers to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th 1847. They had been forced to flee the persecution they experienced at Nauvoo in Illinois and their other settlements in the Eastern United States. The day has been continuously celebrated since the first memorial of this event which occurred in 1849. This was when Brigham Young lead a procession to the future site of a Mormon Temple.
In Utah it is both a state and church holiday. As it has come to represent the concepts of birthday, independence and thanksgiving it is an even bigger occasion than the 4th July USA Independence Day festivities. It is of significance to Mormons and non-Mormons alike in Utah because it relates to the history and founding of the state. However it only has religious importance for Mormons.
It is also widely celebrated in parts of the neighbouring states to Utah where Mormons originally settled. This is known as the Mormon Culture Region (MCR) and refers to some of the American western states such as Idaho and California. As the influence of the Church spreads across the USA this concept (MCR) is felt to be less relevant. This church is now the fifth largest Christian denomination in the USA.
The Mormon settlers famously used covered wagons like this one ©In its recognition of the achievements of the early adherents of the Church, it has been likened by some to the Jewish festival of Passover, another notable flight from persecution.
In Utah it has developed into a fusion of the holy and the worldly. There are many parades, fireworks and rodeos. There are also feasts, dances and excursions.
In the UK, whilst members of the faith are proud of their US pioneer history and the urban development it details, it is not an official Church celebration. Groups of Mormons may remember the day informally and may gather to sing Mormon folk music around the time.
In July 2007 the Church celebrated the 170th anniversary of the arrival of the first Mormon missionaries to the UK.
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