Jesus Day

Jesus Day is a common term for the day of the March for Jesus held annually by some Christians on the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday, since the 1980s, with the purpose of showing their love of Jesus by "serving their communities and worshiping their Lord in the streets of their cities." [cite web | title =Jesus Day | work =March for Jesus | url =http://www.marchforjesususa.com/usa/index.htm | accessdate =2007-07-24]

In the United States in 2000, George W. Bush, then-Governor of Texas, signed a bill from the Texas Legislature that proclaimed June 10 of that year to be Jesus Day (following the lead of many other states and cities in the United States). The event was observed in Austin that year. The Texas proclamation urged people to "follow the example of Jesus" to "answer the call to serve those in need". The proclamation received national attention when the "New York Times" ran an article on it. [cite web | title =Jesus Day | work =THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE RELIGION ISSUE; Bush's Jesus Day Is Called Insensitive and a Violation of the First Amendment | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEFD8123CF935A3575BC0A9669C8B63&scp=1&sq=%22jesus+day%22&st=nyt | accessdate =2008-02-10] Since then, it has been widely and erroneously implied or asserted that Jesus Day is an invention of George Bush, that it was singular to the state of Texas, or that it is/was an official Texas state holiday held annually.

References

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/readings/jesusdaymemo.html "The Jesus Day Proclamation" from PBS]
* [http://www.snopes.com/religion/jesusday.htm "Jesus Day" from Snopes.com]