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feast

feast

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

feast commemorative banquet symbolizing communal unity. Generally associated with primitive rituals and later with religious practices, feasts may also commemorate such events as births, marriages, harvests, and deaths. The principal Christian feasts of the Western Church are Easter , Pentecost , Epiphany , and Christmas . The greater number of feasts (excluding Sunday, the weekly feast) fall on the same day of the month each year (e.g., Christmas) and constitute the temporal cycle. Some of the more important liturgical observances are movable (e.g., Easter) and are part of the sanctoral system. Among the Jews the chief feasts are Rosh ha-Shanah , the Feast of Tabernacles , Purim , Passover , Hanukkah , and Shavuot . In the Muslim world the Islamic feasts vary according to country and locale, although there are several feast days of universal importance. The most widely celebrated are the little and great feasts following the fast of Ramadan and the feast commemorating the birth of Muhammad. In Buddhist countries festive celebrations are usually associated with the birthday of Buddha, his attainment of Nirvana, or enlightenment, and his death. In India there are many national and regional Hindu feasts. One of the most important is the feast of Holi. See also vigil and fasting .

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Feast

Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary | 1986 | Copyright

257. Feast (See also Epicureanism.)

  1. Barmecide feast a sham banquet, with empty plates, given to a beggar by wealthy Bagdad nobleman. [Arab. Lit.: Arabian Nights, “The Barmecide’s Feast”]
  2. Belshazzar’s Feast lavish banquet, with vessels stolen from Jerusalem temple. [O.T.: Daniel, 5]
  3. Camacho’s wedding lavish feast prepared in vain, as Camacho’s fiancée runs off with her love just before the ceremony. [Span. Lit.: Cervantes Don Quixote ]
  4. Hanukkah (Feast of Lights or Feast of Dedication) Jewish festival lasting eight days; abundance of food is characteristic. [Judaism: NCE, 1190]
  5. Lucullan feast a lavish banquet; after Lucullus, roman general and gourmet. [Rom. Hist.: Espy, 236]
  6. Prospero’s banquet shown to the hungry castaways, then disappears. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare The Tempest ]
  7. Thanksgiving national holiday with luxurious dinner as chief ritual. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc.]
  8. Thyestean banquet at which Atreus served his brother Thyestes’ sons to him as main course. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 1081]
  9. Trimalchio’s Feast lavishly huge banquet given by wealthy vulgarian. [Rom. Lit.: Satyricon ]
  10. Zeus disguised as Amphitryon, gives a banquet at the latter’s house. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 32]
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"Feast." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Feast." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500266.html

"Feast." Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. 1986. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505500266.html

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feast

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

feast / fēst/ • n. a large meal, typically one in celebration of something. ∎  a plentiful supply of something enjoyable, esp. for the mind or senses: the concert season offers a feast of classical music. ∎  an annual religious celebration: the feast of St. Joseph. • v. [intr.] eat and drink sumptuously. ∎  (feast on) eat large quantities of: feasting on barbecued chickenr. PHRASES: feast one's eyes on gaze at with pleasure. feast or famine either too much of something or too little.

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feast

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

feast feast day a day on which a celebration, especially an annual Christian one, is held.
feast of reason intellectual discussion, as complementary to genial conversation; the phrase comes originally from Pope's Satires of Horace (1733), ‘the feast of reason and the flow of soul’.

see also after the feast comes the reckoning, skeleton at the feast.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "feast." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "feast." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-feast.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "feast." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-feast.html

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feast

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

feast religious festival; sumptuous meal or entertainment. XIII. — OF. feste (mod. fēte) :- L. festa n. pl. (taken as fem. sg. in Rom.) of festus festal, joyous, rel. to fēriæ (see FERIAL).
So vb. XIV.
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T. F. HOAD. "feast." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "feast." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-feast.html

T. F. HOAD. "feast." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-feast.html

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Feast

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms | 1985 | Copyright

Feast

the company at a feast, collectively.

Examples: feast of brewers; of quests, 1400.
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feast

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | | Copyright

feast, feasts. See FESTIVAL; FÉIL; FEIS; FAIR.
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "feast." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "feast." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-feast.html

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feast

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

feast •arriviste, artiste, batiste, beast, dirigiste, east, feast, least, Mideast, modiste, northeast, piste, priest, southeast, uncreased, unreleased, yeast •wildebeest • hartebeest • beanfeast •anapaest (US anapest)

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

A FEAST OF HERITAGE.(Special Sections)
Newspaper article from: The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM); 12/5/2001
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News Wire article from: PR Newswire; 7/14/2011
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Newspaper article from: Manila Bulletin; 1/8/2006

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