A Perfect & exact account Of all the holidays IN THE year, Together, With the Reasons why they were set apart as Festivals by the Church.  Psal. 149. last verse. 
This Honour have all the Sains.  
LONDON, Printed for I. Stafford, and F. coals, and are to be sold at their Shops near the White-Hart in Smithfield, and at the half-Bowle in the Old-Bailey.   

CHRISTMAS-Day, o called by the Primitive Church, and signifying nothing more then the sending of the Saviour of the World in the fullness of time, for the accomplishing and perfecting Mans Salvation; and of late dayes is called the Nativity or Birth of our Lord God, being the five and twentieth day of December, which day was set apart for solmen thanksgiving, as the principal festival in the whole year, God being made the Son of Man, that Man might become the Son of God; he as upon this day humbled himself, that Man might be exalted; he took upon him the form so a Servant, that Man might be made the Image of God.  
St. STEPHENS-Day is placed next to our Saviours Nativity, because he was the first Martyr that suffered for the Name of Christ; he was stoned at Jerusalem by the Jews; and next to our Saviour was the first Example that prayed for his enemies: his very Judges saw in him that innocency, that they apprehended his face did shine like the face of an angel.  
St. JOHN's Day was assigned by the Church to follow in this joyful festival, next to the first Martyr ▪ because he was the beloved Disciple, and kept closest to our Saviour in all his sufferings; he was the Evangelist that writ most Divinely of our Saviours Incarnation; he likewise writ the three Epistles, and at last the Revelations called by his own Name, which were the Visions he saw in the iceland of Patmos, it was reported among the Disciples that he should never die, he was by the cruel Jews thrown into a Copper of boiling oil, but miraculously escaped; it is said likewise that he had poison gave him, but did not in the least injure him, however he dyed in the hundred and two year of his age, when he was hardly able to give any other advice to his Auditors, then Babes refrain from Idols: Little Children love one another.  
INNOCENTS Day being the day that those innocent Martyrs were made a sacrifice for King Herods fury, when he made a general search for our Saviour, and in regard that the Wisemen  told him there was a King born in his Territories, he resolved that all children under three years old should be put to death, hoping thereby that our Saviour could not escape in so universal a massacre; in commemoration whereof this day was added to this festival of our Saviours birth.  
New-Years Day, being the first day of January, it is so called, because it begins the Year according to the ancient account, but it was made a festival, because it was the day of our Lord and Saviours Circumcision, being the eight day from his birth, by which he fulfilled the Law.  
The Conversion of St. Paul being the twenty fifth of january was observed by the Greek Church as a great day but not taken notice of by our Church, there is no Collect for it; He was sent bound to Rome, and there beheaded, and milk slowed ou● of his neck instead of blood.  
CANDLEMAS Day, the second day of Februury, was the Purification of the blessed Virgin; who then went into the Temple according to the Law, to return her pious thanksgiving to the King of kings, who had safely delivered her of the Saviour of the World.  
St. mathias the Apostle, he was chosen after the Ascention of our Saviour in he room of Iudas, the Son of perdition who betrayed the Lord of Life: This mathias acted with the Apostles, and was Martyred therefore by the Jews.  
LADY Day, or the Anuunciation of the blessed Virgin St. Mary, being the five and twentieth of March, was the day that the ●ngell declared to the Virgin Mary, that she had conceived with Child of the Son of God; and is full nine moneths from the 25. of December on which day our Saviour was born.  
LENT was set apart by the Church as a fasting time in commemoration of our Saviours fasting forty daies, and forty nights when he was tempted in the wilderness by the Devil.  
GOOD-FRIDAY, being the Friday before Easter, on which day our Saviour suffered upon the cross, being crucified by the Jews between two thieves, at the time when he began to die, the Sun withdrew himself, and would not behold so sad a thing as the Tragedy of the Son of God; the Temple rent its vail; the dead arose & walked in the streets, and a Heathen observing the same, cried out, either the God of Nature now suffers, or else the world shall suddenly be dissolved.  
EASTER commonly called the Feast of the Passeover, was an ancient Feast among the Jews; but is observed by the Christians, because on Easter Sunday early in the morning our Saviour arose again from the grave, having thereby conquered both Death and Hell.  
St. mark the Evangelist, who writ one of the Gospels of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and indeed though the shortest, yet he writ as full and copious as to matter, and substance as the best; he was also assistant to Paul and Barnabas as a Secretary to writ their Epistles to the Churches; he was Martyred for the name of Jesus.  
St Philip and St. jacob being the first day of May, were two of the Apostles of our Lord.  
ASCENSION day, set apart by the Church as the day when our Saviour took his Disciples to Mount Olivet, and from them was taken out of their sights in a cloud, and ascended up into Heaven after he had lead captivity captive.  
WHITSUNDAY by the Jews called the Feast of Pentecost was observed as the time when our Saviour fulfilled the Promise to his Disciples in sending the Holy Ghost unto them after his departure which happened as upon Whitsunday, when they were all met together, the Spirit appearing upon their heads in cloven tongues, whereby they were immediately inspired, and were able to preach Christ Jesus in all languages.  
The Nativity of John Baptist being the 24. of June; he was our Saviours Herald to proclaim his coming, and the Morning star to give notice that the Son of righteousness was arising with healing in his wings, he was imprisoned by the command of King Herod, & because St. John had been too plain with him in his advertisements & doctrines, to please the dancing, fancy of a young Strumpet, he was beheaded in prison, and his head was brought as a present to her in a Charger.  
St. PETER one of the eminnetest of the Apostles for his love and faith in Jesus Christ, he boasting too much in his own confidence denied our Saviour and forswore that he knew him; but afterwards his penitence was eminent; he wrote two Epistles to the Church, and according to the prophesy of our Saviour he was Martyred, being crucified ●s our Saviour had been, but not in the same manner; for he would be crucified with his head downward, because he thought himself unworthy to die with his head upward as our Saviour had done.  
St. JAMES was one of the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour; he was eminent, for being one that our Saviour affencted, and was more conversant with him, then the rest of the Apostles; he writ an Epistle to the Church called by his own Name, and afterwards continuing an Asserter, and a Preacher of Jesus Christ, who dyed at jerusalem, and rose again from the dead, he was Martyred for the same sealing that Doctrine with his blood.  
St. BARTOLMEW, was likewise an Apostle, we find none of his Epistles which he wrought to the Churches, nor is he much mentioned for any thing that he was famous for, in the Acts of the Apostles, but however he dyed a Martyr, for his professing, and teaching the name of Jesus.  
St. MATTHEW he was a Publican, and sat at the receipt of custom when our Saviour called him; he was chosen an Apostle, and afterwards writ that Evangelical gospel and the 20. of September is assigned by the Church, for the memory of his Martyrdom.  
St. MICHAEL the Archangel commonly called Michaelmas day being the 29. of September, we find mention of him in the Epistle of St. Iude the 9. v. where it is said that St. Michael the archangel contended with the Devil about the body of Moses: this was kept as a great festival by the Primitive Church.  
St LUKE by his Profession was a physician, but a very learned and able writer, he was an observer of our Saviours Life, and as an Evangelist writ one of the Gospels, and likewise seeing the famous miracles that were wrought in the Name of Jesus, he writ likewise the book called the Acts of the Apostles: I red nothing of the manner of his death.  
St. SIMON, and St. judas the one called Simon zealots to distinguish him from Simon Peter, the other called Iude or Iudas, he was called brother of james, to distinguish him from Iudas Iscariot that betrayed the Lord of Life: he writ the Epistle called St. Iude: they are recorded in Ecclesiastical Histories as Martyrs.  
ALL SAINTS day was a general day set apart by the Church Universally to all the Saints: it is appointed to be kept on the 1, of Novem. and was kept very strictly by the Primi. Church.  
Gunpowder TREASON being the 5 ▪ of Novem. was made a day of thanksgiving by an Act of Parliament, in the year 1605: for the miraculous preservation of King james, and the Parliament from the Popish conspiracy, which had laid a Plot of Gunpowder underneath the Parliament House to have blown them all up as they were sitting.  
St. ANDREW was likewise one of the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour; he writ nothing that we find extant, to any of the Churches, but no doubt but he was a great Preacher of the Name of Jesus because we find him Recorded in ecclesiastical Histories for a Martyr, who was run through with a spear by the Jews.  
St. THOMAS was another, and not the least of the Apostles, he was not very eminent for any singular account, when our Saviour rose from the dead, he mistrusted that it was really the same Jesus, until he felt the print of the nailes in his hands, and the hole made by the spear in his side, which confirmed his Faith so much, that he died as a Martyr for the profession thereof.  
FINIS.   

A single Sheet of Christus natus est, to be sold by the said John Stafford.