Jesus Day is the day of the

March for Jesus March for Jesus is an annual interdenominational event in which Christians march through towns and cities. History The March for Jesus began as a ''City March'' in London, United Kingdom, in 1987. It emerged from the friendship of three churc ...

held annually since the 1980s by some Christians in the United States on the Saturday before

Pentecost Sunday Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of ...

. The main purpose is to demonstrate public respect for

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, the central figure of the Christian faith, by uniting with local communities in worship.

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

signed a bill into law proclaiming June 10, 2000 to be Jesus Day. 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' ran an article on it. The ''New York Times'' said that Jesus Day was unconstitutional because it violated the religious freedom clause of the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

References

External links

''The Jesus Day Proclamation'' from PBS
Christianity and politics in the United States Christian events Christianity in Texas Cultural depictions of Jesus George W. Bush {{Texas-stub