Circumcision of Jesus was for many centuries combined on January 1 with the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, before the two were separated, and now that the Feast of the Circumcision has disappeared as such from the official Catholic calendar, the other feast may be regarded as celebrating this too. At various points in history, relics purporting to be the holy prepuce, the foreskin of Christ, have surfaced and various miraculous powers have been ascribed to it. A number of churches in Europe have claimed to possess Jesus' foreskin, sometimes at the same time. The best known was in the Lateran
Feast of the Ascension the fields and placed at home until next year, for good fortune. The feast has been associated with specific hymns and other church music. The oldest hymn in German related to the feast is the Leise "Christ fuhr gen Himmel", first published in 1480. Johann Sebastian Bach composed several cantatas and the "Ascension Oratorio" to be performed in church services on the feast day. He first performed "Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37", on 18 May 1724, "Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, BWV 128", on 10 May 1725, "Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BWV 43", on 30 May 1726