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30 Selected lectures The Festivals and Their Meaning collects thirty of Rudolf Steiner's most important lectures on the festivals of the year. He identifies and illumines the true meaning behind Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and Michaelmas, emphasizing their inner spiritual and outer cosmic aspects. Steiner shows that the festivals do not only commemorate great historical events and truths of the Christian tradition; they are in themselves--each year--spiritual events that manifest in seasonal and natural rhythms and carry a significance that grows and deepens with the development of human evolution. CONTENTS Christmas Introduction by Ann Druitt The Christmas Festival: Heralding the Victory of the Sun Signs and Symbols of the Christmas Festival The Birth of the Sun-spirit as the Spirit of the Earth: The Thirteen Holy Nights Christmas as a time of Grievous Destiny The Proclamations to the Magi and the Shepherds On the Three Magi The Revelation of the Cosmic Christ The Birth of Christ within Us Easter Easter: The Festival of Warning The Blood Relationship and the Christ Relationship The Death of a God and Its Fruits in Humanity Spirit Triumphant The Teachings of the Risen Christ Easter: The Mystery of the Future Spiritual Bells of Easter, parts 1 & 2 Ascension and Pentecost The Whitsun Mystery and Its Connection with the Ascension Whitsun: The Festival of the Free Individuality World Pentecost: The Message of Anthroposophy Whitsun: A Symbol of the Immortality of the Ego The Whitsuntide Festival: Its Place in the Study of Karma Whitsun Verse Michaelmas Michael Meditation The Michael Inspiration: Spiritual Milestones in the Course of the Year A Michael Lecture The Michael Impulse and the Mystery of Golgotha, parts 1 & 2 Michael and the Dragon The Creation of a Michael Festival out of the Spirit The Michael Path to Christ