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 DruittThe Christmas Festival: Heralding the Victory of the SunSigns and Symbols of the Christmas FestivalThe Birth of the Sun-spirit as the Spirit of the Earth: The Thirteen Holy NightsChristmas as a time of Grievous DestinyThe Proclamations to the Magi and the ShepherdsOn the Three MagiThe Revelation of the Cosmic ChristThe Birth of Christ within Us Easter Easter: The Festival of WarningThe Blood Relationship and the Christ RelationshipThe Death of a God and Its Fruits in HumanitySpirit TriumphantThe Teachings of the Risen ChristEaster: The Mystery of the FutureSpiritual Bells of Easter, parts 1 & 2 Ascension and Pentecost The Whitsun Mystery and Its Connection with the AscensionWhitsun: The Festival of the Free IndividualityWorld Pentecost: The Message of AnthroposophyWhitsun: A Symbol of the Immortality of the EgoThe Whitsuntide Festival: Its Place in the Study of KarmaWhitsun Verse Michaelmas Michael MeditationThe Michael Inspiration: Spiritual Milestones in the Course of the YearA Michael LectureThe Michael Impulse and the Mystery of Golgotha, parts 1 & 2Michael and the DragonThe Creation of a Michael Festival out of the SpiritThe Michael Path to Christ