If you intend to shop for the weekend, you must hurry. Because even though most people have realized that it is Whitsun and the long weekend, some may have forgotten that the shops also close earlier. In Pentecost, shops are required to close at four o’clock at the latest. – We close at four o’clock today and then we won’t open until Tuesday morning, says center manager at City Nord in Bodø, Tor Austad. Center manager at City Nord in Bodø, Tor Austad. Photo: Bente H. Johansen / news Every year there are blissfully ignorant customers walking towards the center at five or six o’clock, only to be surprised by closed doors: – Every year there are some who forget this Pentecost. Easter seems like the vast majority of people have it under control, but Whitsun seems to come on a little too quickly. An extra day off Austad believes that few people know why we actually celebrate Pentecost and that many therefore have a different relationship to this holiday, compared to Christmas and Easter. For most, it will just be an extra day off. – Someone will probably get a surprise, not only at the shopping centre, but also at the usual grocery stores, he says and continues: – Now there are quite a few shops open on Sundays, so there is probably no immediate danger of people going hungry to death. – Becomes a bit diffuse for many Austad is probably right about the fact that many people do not know why we celebrate Whitsuntide, we must believe priest and professor at the University of Oslo, Hallgeir Elstad. The Christian holiday is celebrated every year on the seventh Sunday after Easter. – Pentecost is one of the three major holidays in Christianity, alongside Christmas and Easter. It is very simply about the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. Hallgeir Elstad, who is a priest and professor at the University of Oslo Photo: Alexander Tufte Wetherilt / UiO At Christmas we celebrate Jesus’ birth and at Easter we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. After that comes the day of Christ’s ascension when Jesus left his disciples with a promise to send them the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is about the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit, which makes the spirit of Jesus present in the congregation in a new way. The reason why Pentecost is a bit hidden compared to Christmas and Easter may have something to do with the fact that this holiday is not very concrete. At Christmas and Easter we celebrate birth, suffering and death, which Elstad believes is easier to understand. – Pentecost and the Holy Spirit may be a bit vague for many. – In addition, summer is approaching and it is natural to get out in the open, especially if we have good weather. So you forget
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