The Feast of the Ass (; ) is a medieval, Christian feast observed on 14 January, celebrating the Flight into Egypt. It was originally celebrated primarily in France, as a by-product of the Feast of Fools celebrating the donkey-related stories in the Bible, in particular the donkey bearing the Holy Family into Egypt after Jesus's birth. History This feast may represent a Christian adaptation of the pagan feast, Cervulus, integrating it with the donkey in the nativity story. In connection with the biblical stories, the celebration was first observed in the 11th century, inspired by the pseudo-Augustinian Sermo contra Judaeos c. 6th century. In the second half of the 15th century, the feast disappeared gradually, along with the Feast of Fools, which was stamped out around the same time. It was not considered as objectionable as the Feast of Fools. Practices A girl and a child on a donkey would be led through town to the church, where the donkey would stand beside the altar during the sermon. Details The preacher impersonates the Hebrew prophets whose messianic utterances he works into an argument establishing the divinity of Christ. After confuting the Jews out of the mouths of their teachers, the orator addresses the unbelieving Gentiles: "Ecce, convertimur ad gentes." The testimony of Virgil, Nabuchodonosor, and the Erythraean Sibyl is interpreted in favor of the general thesis. As early as the eleventh century, this sermon had the form of a metrical dramatic dialogue, the stage-arrangement adhering to the original while modified by additions and adaptations. A Rouen manuscript of the 13th century exhibits twenty-eight prophets taking part in the play. After Terce, the rubric directs "let the procession move to the church, in the center of which, let there be a furnace and an idol for the brethren to refuse to worship." The procession filed into the choir. On one side were seated Moses, Amos, Isaias, Aaron, Balaam and his Ass, Zachary and Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Simeon. The opposing team of three Gentile prophets sat opposite. The proceedings were conducted under the auspices of Saint Augustine; the presiding dignitary called on each of the prophets, and each testified to the birth of the Messiah. After the Sibyl recited her acrostic lines on the Judgement Signs, the prophets sang praise to the long-sought Savior. Mass immediately followed. In all this, the pleasant part to the congregation is the role of