The Holy Spirit, part of the Holy Trinity, counsels Christians in their walk with God.

This weekend, Christians around the world celebrate through Pentecost the gift of this wise spirit from God to His children. Below are five facts about Pentecost that are worth knowing.

They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

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1.) Pentecost means “50th.” Christians celebrate the Pentecost festival 50 days after Easter. Sunday, June 4, this year marks Pentecost and is the celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

2.) In the Old Testament, new Christians were first given the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2:1-13. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place,” says Acts 2:1-4 in the New International Version. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Related: Why We Should Be Like the Disciple Peter and Not Judas

3.) Jews celebrate Pentecost, too. The Jewish people celebrate Pentecost 50 days after Passover ends. In the Jewish faith, believers celebrate Passover (of the “Shavuoth,” or feast of weeks festival) to remember how God gave Moses the Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus, in the Old Testament.

The Jewish festival foreshadows the coming of a Messiah.

4.) As the Book of Acts explains, the Christians were “utterly amazed” at the events happening when the Holy Spirit first came upon them.

“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven,” Acts 2:5-8 says. “When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard his own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?'”

Scripture goes on to say, in Acts 2:9-12: “‘Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?'”

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Related: Six Key Facts About the Important Passover Holiday

5.) About 3,000 people converted to Christianity on the first day of Pentecost. According to the Bible, those who repent and turn to Jesus receive the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:38-29, the apostle Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”