Holidays & Holy Days: To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate

Trevor S. Ferguson

December 22, 2012

SCRIPTURE SETTING

Colossians 2:16-17 (KJV)
¹⁶ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
¹⁷ Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Romans 14:4-6 (KJV)
⁴ Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
⁵ One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
⁶ He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

DEFINITIONS - WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY

Holy Day: a day set aside for special religious observance

Holiday: a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically: a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event

CONTEXT/RELEVANCE

In every country there are special days set aside as holidays or holy days. All of these special days are associated with traditional observances which define how the day is marked and how it should be celebrated. In many situations some of these traditions may conflict with Christian principles and in some occasions the practices are blatantly sinful. This therefore presents a problem for many Christians. How should we respond? Should we shun all holidays or holy days? Should we select some traditions to observe and shun others? Should we define our own traditions and use these to guide our celebrations? Are there scriptural prohibitions against observing holidays? Does the bible recommend celebrating any specific holidays?

In this study I will attempt to provide some basic guidelines that will help us in making decisions as it regards the celebration of holidays and holy days particularly as it relates to the present Christmas season.

BASELINE PRINCIPLES

      Does God sanction the celebration or remembrance of special days or events? 

      

       In the Old Testament a number of religious celebrations were observed. These were observed with various periodicities ranging from weekly to every 50 years. These celebrations included:  

    
The Sabbath – observed weekly; primarily a day of rest, in remembrance of God’s rest after creation and for the Jews in recognition of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt

New moon festival – observed monthly; commands for its observation are given in Numbers 28 and Numbers 10, although the specific reason was not stated

The Passover – observed annually; commemorated Israel’s deliverance from the last plague in Egypt where all the first born of Egypt died, but Israel’s firstborn were spared

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost, feast of harvest, day of first fruits) – observed annually, 50 days after the Passover; it was a feast of joy and thanksgiving for the completion of the harvest season

The Day of Atonement – observed annually; Israel’s most holy day, a day of repentance; most significant event was the high priest entering into the holy of holies and offering a sacrifice on behalf of the people

Feast of Tabernacles – celebrated annually; a feast of ingathering and dwelling in booths (tabernacles). The tabernacles were a reminder of God’s protection during their wilderness wanderings.

The Feast of Trumpets – celebrated annually on the first day of the sevenths month, with the blowing of trumpets, to mark the beginning of the religious calendar year.

Year of Jubilee – celebrated every 50 years – a year of rest for the land and restoration of persons who were in debt or in slavery

From these we see that days of celebration were a distinct part of the Jewish tradition and that these celebrations were commissioned by God and sanctioned by Him.

The New Testament gave no specific commands with regards to days that should be celebrated as holidays or as holy days. We are however commanded to remember the death of our Lord Jesus through the observation of the Lord’s Supper. There is no specific periodicity given, but we are told that this should be done ‘often’.

In the current Christian tradition there are two major religious holidays: Christmas and Easter. Christmas commemorates the birth of Christ while Easter commemorates his death, burial and resurrection. These seasons are however plagued with some major problems: (1) Many argue that the origins of these celebrations are pagan, (2) many of the traditions are not acceptable to Christians, (3) many believe that dates are wrong or at least implausible and (4) celebration of the  seasons have become so commercialized that many prefer to distance themselves from any celebration.

How then should the Christian respond?

Should we celebrate the birth of Christ? Should we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ?  Most persons would answer in the affirmative. Taking time out to celebrate helps to keep our minds focused on what God has done for us. It is easy for humans to forget, thus having special days designated for celebration or remembrance is a good practice.

If we accept that we should celebrate these events, the next question would be: how should we celebrate?

Practices could include:  quiet reflection, reading the scriptures surrounding his birth, death or resurrection, prayers of thanks giving and songs that reflect the story of his birth, death or resurrection or songs of thanksgiving for his birth, death or resurrection.

Where does that leave the present day traditions?

We should recognized that many of the current practices and traditions of Christmas and Easter have nothing to do with the birth, death or resurrection of Christ and as such we have to be careful with regards to the extent to which we gets involved.

Here are a few specific pointers:

  

Activities and traditions that are sinful or do not give glory to God should be avoided

 

 

One should be careful about becoming materialistic,especially as it regards Christmas celebrations. Materialism is always harmful to Christians and should be shunned.

Shun worldliness in all forms 

 - Inherently worldly activities - secular parties, secular music, indulgence in alcohol etc. 
 - Worldly appearance – ornaments, some decorations, choice of attire (dress) 
 - Worldly atmosphere – movies, some sports events, ‘Christmas functions’

 

Remember others throughout the Christmas season – “it is more blessed to give than to receive”

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY

Should Christmas celebrations be ‘legislated’? Should we impose our views on others?

The passages quoted from Colossian and Romans provide good guiding principles:

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days” (Colossians 2:16)

 "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be  fully persuaded in his own mind.  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." (Romans 14:5-6)

Celebration of holidays or holy days in the Christian dispensation is not a matter of salvation or doctrine therefore each person may exercise Christian liberty in these matters. We should not judge or condemn persons whether they choose to celebrate or not to celebrate. All that is required is that whichever position the person takes God should get the glory.

CONCLUSION

My personal view on the subject is that we should celebrate, not as the world celebrates, but unto Christ. This means our celebration should be conscious, cautious and measured. That is, the meaning and purpose of our celebration should be clear to us and others. We must be cautious that in celebrating we do not send the wrong message or end up dishonoring Christ. Finally, we must be careful that our celebration do not become excessive or too elaborate with regards to what we do, what we say and even how much we eat.