The Easter season lasts for 50 days, ending with Pentecost (from the Greek pentekoste, meaning "fiftieth"). Ranking second only to Easter, the feast of Pentecost must be understood in the context of the Jewish feast by the same name. Its other name in Jewish tradition is Feast of Weeks, a full season of seven weeks of thanksgiving, beginning with Passover Sabbath. This prolonged festival celebrates the theme of harvest and thanksgiving. It evolved before the time of Jesus into a memorial of the covenant and, by 300 A.D., a memorial of the giving of the Law.
By the end of the 2nd century, Christians were observing a similar 50-day festival, rejoicing after the annual Pascha. People prayed standing, and fasting was prohibited. It seems that originally the followers of Jesus continued to observe the Jewish festival, a time of "first fruits." During these weeks, fasting and kneeling were forbidden because of the joyful experience of resurrection.
Pentecost itself closes out the Easter season. It celebrates the overwhelming experience of God pouring out the Spirit upon the first community of those who believed Jesus was the Lord and Christ. Pentecost is called, therefore, the birth of the church or the birth of the church's mission.
The color of vestments and decorations for Pentecost is red, which symbolizes the intense love and fire of the Holy Spirit. Other symbols of the Pentecost event are the dove, tongues of fire, and wind.