History
As we mentioned in our informational post on St. Mark’s Day, April 25th has historically been a day of twofold observance: one being St. Mark the Evangelist, and the other being the Major Rogation. For this post, we’ll be focusing on historic practices for the Major Rogation.
The word rogation comes from the Latin rogate, which means “to ask.” To call April 25th a Rogation Day, then, really means that it is a day set aside for us to pray, to ask the Lord for all the things that we need. So it won’t be a surprise, then, that the main tradition for the Major Rogation is to pray to the Lord for everything around you, especially for the fruitfulness of the earth.
Historically, churches would observe the Major Rogation with a long procession, beginning at the church building after the Office of None (which takes place around 3:00 in the afternoon). From there, the assembled congregation would pray the Litany while walking around the whole village, thus praying for God’s blessing of an abundant harvest throughout the whole parish. The procession would end where it began, at the church, and the congregation would then reassemble inside the church for the Divine Service.
Perhaps because of the connection between this day and the harvest, St. Mark’s Day has historically been considered to be a critical day in determining the weather for the coming agricultural season in German-speaking lands. This led to various folk rhymes, such as “Gibt’s an Markus Sonnenschein, dann hat der Winzer guten Wein.” In English, “On St. Mark’s Day, if there’s sunshine, the vintner will have good wine.”
A Modern-Day Rogation Procession
At least in the United States, many churches are not in the habit of gathering for a Rogation procession, but that doesn’t prevent Christian individuals and households from observing the day in historic fashion. You can have your own Rogation procession at home; all you need is yourself and the Litany!
Sometime on April 25th—if you want to be most historic, sometime in the late afternoon—take some time to go on a Rogation Walk. You can walk the boundaries of your town if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, but if you or your little ones aren’t accustomed to such long distances, you can just walk around your neighborhood or even just around your block.
While you’re out on your Rogate walk, take a moment to ask for God’s blessing on your community by praying the Litany. You can find the text of the Litany on page 288 of the Lutheran Service Book, page 110 of The Lutheran Hymnal, or in digital form here.
Once you get home, you might enjoy some of the fruits of the earth, perhaps with a fresh garden salad or something grown close to the area you prayed for.
And, of course, feel free to celebrate with a nice glass of wine in honor of the old German saying! In case you don’t already have your own, we’ve included some of our favorite wines to help you observe St. Mark’s Day and the Major Rogation in a most festive manner! Thank you to everyone on Instagram who weighed in about your favorite white wines! Riesling is a crowd favorite.
Wine Recommendations
White Wine
Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Riesling
Macon Lugny Les Charmes Chardonnay
La Galope Côtes de Gascogne Sauvignon Blanc
Red Wine
Mark West Pinot Noir
Josh Cabernet Sauvignon
Dada Art Wine 2
I have never heard of this! Thank you for sharing. Already in the habit of a nightly post-dinner walk, I hope we can move it up to about 3 and fit in an early walk adding the litany before evening church!
We have been aiming for a daily family walk, too! – it is such special time spent together! ❤️
– Tessa