holy day of obligation
Americannoun
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a day on which Roman Catholics are duty-bound to attend Mass and abstain from certain kinds of work.
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a day on which Episcopalians are expected to take communion.
noun
Etymology
Origin of holy day of obligation
First recorded in 1930–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ash Wednesday has been a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church — a mandatory day of church attendance — but it’s not obligatory in the Episcopal Church.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2024
It was the feast of the Epiphany, a holy day of obligation, so Papa did not go to work.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
For example, St. Patrick's Day is not a holy day of obligation.
From Baltimore Catechism, No. 4 An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine by Kinkead, Thomas L.
The great feast of Corpus Christi is not a holy day of obligation.
From Baltimore Catechism, No. 4 An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine by Kinkead, Thomas L.
It was not a holy day of obligation but she knew it was a feast day in French Village.
From The Shepherd of the North by Maher, Richard Aumerle
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
