Just now a dove has settled on a high tree in our garden. Actually nothing special, but it is Pentecost, and therefore the dove is a special animal in the Christian imagination:
The dove is considered a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Even in ancient times it stood for gentleness and love – due to the false assumption that it had no gall bladder and was therefore free from all that was bitter and evil. In thebiblical story of the Flood, one of three doves sent out brings a green olive branch back to Noah’s Ark, signaling salvation and a new beginning.
The actual derivation of the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, however, comes from the New Testament: The evangelists report that after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove. At the same time the voice was heard: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” as it says in theGospel of Matthew.
In the church tradition it stands for the Pentecost miracle – the Holy Spirit descends to the people. Yet there are no doves at all in the biblical Pentecost story. Here, completely different images are in the foreground: It is reported how the followers of Jesus gathered in Jerusalem suddenly experience a roar from heaven, a mighty wind that fills the whole house. Their many questions are suddenly blown away, they suddenly understand what Jesus’ death and resurrection are all about, and they preach this in foreign languages that they do not actually know.
In the Baroque era, living doves were often released in churches at Pentecost. In other places of worship, a wooden dove was lowered above the heads of the faithful through an opening in the church ceiling, the “Holy Ghost hole.” With incense and prayer, the congregation then received the Holy Spirit symbol. (Evangelical Church)
In this sense, a happy Pentecost to all of you.