Of course! Rogation days are the days when bald people pray to grow some hair!
I'm kidding, although, perhaps bald people do just that during Rogation Days. The word "Rogation" comes from the Latin words that mean "to Ask" and they follow the days after the Gospel in which we hear "ask and ye shall receive".
After that the explanation gets a bit thick. For one thing, they land between Easter and the Ascension and since Easter moves around, so do they. In general, they start on April 25th, unless we have a late Easter that lands after that, then they we start them the next week. There are four days, the major Rogation on April 25th (or the week after that) and the Minor Rogation, for the three days before the Ascension. They used to involve fasting, but now only involve praying the Litany of the Saints and maybe a procession. They used to involve big processions. If there is a procession, it has to be followed by a Mass.
That's if you can find anyone who still observes them at all. They were removed from the Church calendar during Vatican II in 1969. You'll be hard pressed to find any processions these days. Rogation days were established (already considered an "ancient" practice in the 6th century) to pray for a good harvest and to mark the change of seasons.
Rogation Days are another one of those things that the early Church grabbed to replace a pagan practice. I say, "Good for them!" The pagans had a big procession going on around this time of year to pray to the gods and make sacrificial offerings for good crops. The early Church was sharp as a tack in replacing pagan festivals and holidays with Christian ones, so no one felt deprived, while at the same time ridding the world of silliness.
Although, obviously, there is work to be done, as we saw last weekend. (And will see again in a few months, it seems. Reverend Crazypants now claims he was off by five months. Think anyone will believe him? Third try "is" a charm, afterall.)
Many people still observe Rogation days on their own. It's a lovely way to observe the change of season and to connect ourselves to nature. You can have 'do it yourself" Rogation days by simply saying the Litany of the Saints.
You should, however, walk around while you do that, since the whole idea is to connect with nature a bit. Put on your Sketchers and take in God's bounty.
Reference: wicca-teachings.blogspot.com
