Various Christians of various stripes refrain from celebrating a variety of holidays, ostensibly on Christian grounds.
- Some Christians do not celebrate Halloween, because of its devilish imagery.
- Some Christians do not celebrate patriotic holidays such as Independence Day or Thanksgiving, because of the possibility of idolizing the nation-state. In particular, Thanksgiving can be seen as an alternative creation story, and a simulacrum of the communion table.
- Some Christians do not celebrate Valentine's Day, because of its glorifying a commercialized version of romance, and its origins in pagan Rome.
- Some Christians do not celebrate birthdays, because they see it as self-glorifying, and the only characters in the Bible who celebrate birthdays are negative examples like King Herod.
I'm sure this will surprise no one, but the only holidays I avoid celebrating are the patriotic ones. I do try to qualify my celebration of Christmas and Valentine's Day, which culturally speaking are celebrations of mass marketing and consumerism. I also tend to avoid announcing my birthday, but that's strictly because I don't like people making a big deal of it, and has nothing to do with theological considerations.
What do you think? Are there any holidays Christians might want to either avoid or qualify their participation in? Are there holidays Christians should especially get behind?
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Comments (39)
I loooooooooooooooooooove celebrating the holidays. I love getting together with friends and family in large groups. I love days off. I love dressing up. I love being happy and having fun. If it makes you angry or uncomfortable to celebrate a certain holiday then either don't do it or find a new way to celebrate. I have a lot of problems with politics but I do enjoy a good cookout and fireworks (and it's not like people actually do a lot of political talk on the fourth of July). I think Thanksgiving has iffy roots and encourages greed and gluttony but taking the time to be truely reflective and thankful is a good thing and a lot of people volunteer on that day which is also positive. It's all in how you look at things.
For the record, way-to-go parties sound like a great idea.
I absolutely disagree with celebrating Halloween. Otherwise I am okay with celebrating holidays as long as God is the main focus of them.
Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentine's Day all have some sort of nonchristian origin if people are going by the strictest interpretation. That being said I really do not care because I love the excuse to eat good food (I am a lousy cook and my relatives give me leftovers) and I like giving people little treats or other things. I don't celebrate Halloween because I am a cantankerous shrew at the age of 22 and hate giving begging kids candy, but I love the sales of Reeses and candy corn pumpkins that I buy for my family and friends.
The only holiday I hate and avoid is 4th of July, but that is just because I hate loud noises. If you ever hear of all the firework stands in a town because set on fire, it is probably me finally snapping from people shooting fireworks off until two in the morning from over a week before the holiday to several days afterwards.
Putting up a tree and adorning it with ornaments was specifically pointed out as bad and not a thing a God believer should be doing. I don't mind Thanksgiving...but all of the Pagan holidays, I try to avoid.
I'm writing a lot of this from the top of my head, but...
The majority of these holidays and celebrations have, not Biblical, but Pagan roots. You can look in a well respected reference book like an encyclopedia, and learn where the majority of these holidays originated.
About four or five centuries after Christ death, while Rome was still a world power, it's empire controlled and covered many lands with people of other cultures, faiths and beliefs other than Christian. Rome's religion itself was originally Pagan, originating from Greek Mythology. From what I understand, one could still worship in their faith and rituals, customs and traditions as long as they also worshiped and paid obeisance, however it was done, to the Roman gods. Many Christians were persecuted and killed because they only wanted to follow Jesus example give exclusive devotion to his Father, God,Yahweh or the only true God and no other.
Apparently and eventually Christianity started to become a big movement and the Roman emperors decided to convert and choose it as its state religion. Many of the people who were Pagans didn't want to give up their ways of false worship so apparently a compromise was reached like before and many of the Pagan celebrations and customs were interwoven into what we now see as "Christian Holidays" and other celebrations. Christmas is sun worship renamed, Easter is fertility worship in disguise, Halloween, that doesn't need much explanation but if I recall it has a Celtic Pagan origin.
The Bible has no indication that the early Christians or Jews celebrated such holidays, so there must have been a good reason why. Perhaps they realized that it would be unacceptable or unclean to God to share in any share worship of false Pagan gods.
Why do you think that Christmas is popular in some Asian countries when the vast majority of the country is non-Christian. Maybe because of the celebration, food, partying, socializing, having time off from work, commercialism, etc. Even non-believers celebrate Christmas because of these reasons.
I did some further research online to find out how much further in-depth Christmas and Easter go! I didn't see where this information was referenced from but it's very contingent to the fact that the these two holidays, and others are Pagan and that they originated with Nimrod who instigated and initiated the Tower of Babel in opposition to God. - Genesis 10:8-12
As for the patriotic holidays, read the account of Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, during Daniel's youth, and their reason for not bowing down to the immense golden image. Read and do research.
Shouldn't a Christian, make sure they know the origins of all their different religious celebrations, beliefs, and practices and see if they coincide and are consistent with the Bible? One shouldn't try to or think they can compromise with God.
“If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH will set you free.” - John 8: 31,32
"...you worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation originates with the Jews. Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the TRUE worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and TRUTH, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and TRUTH.” - John 4: 22-24
From a Christian's understanding, belief and views/standpoints, the Bible is the absolute Truth. Anything else is the opposite or a lie, right? According to the Bible, who is the father of the lie? Satan the Devil, right? His organization of henchmen are the demons correct? If so and Christians know that Pagan religions and teachings are not the TRUTH, then who is behind them? Isn't it Satan and his demons?
"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils(demons): ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils(demons)." -1 Corinthians 10:21 (KJV)
All it takes is a little reading and research which much of it can be found online...that's only if one want's to do it...just sayin.
P.S. The Bible doesn't condemn having time off from work, celebrating, eating, partying, dancing or socializing. Only certain things that involve Pagan customs, traditions and paraphernalia that can be associated with them would be condemned.
I think it is incredibly important that we are intentional about the narratives we attach ourselves to. This is why I don't participate in patriotic holidays. I want only to be defined by the Christian narrative. The fleeting nature of America is hardly worth celebrating. Nations are meaningless to God and all kings and kingdoms pass away. Even though people are fleeting as well they are worth celebrating because we were meant to be personal beings.
Since I am concerned with being defined by the Christian narrative it makes little to no sense for me to involve myself with holidays such as Halloween, Valentines Days, etc. I can use them as an opportunity to love people though so I try to do that. I also try to drench any celebration with discussion on motivation. Understanding the celebration and how we approach it is as important as the celebration itself.
I think the Church in the west has forgotten 1) how to celebrate 2) why to celebrate and 3) what to celebrate. We need to pay attention to our Christian calendar and revere it. We need to learn it. For some of us it may be for the first time. That means Easter, Christmas, and Pentecost are more important than the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Veteran's Day (which I use to celebrate the martyrs of faith).
All that said, I don't need to boycott holidays other people celebrate simply because I don't celebrate them. I can still attend a BBQ on the 4th of July even if I don't say the pledge of allegiance or vote. My participation in the Christian narrative is a protest to any holiday that is not rightly and truly a holy day. By celebrating holy days I declare the division between them and holidays and beckon people to a richer and more saving narrative.
(I'm still waiting for Christians to get on board with Purim! Come on folks. Peaceful resistance to the extinction of thew Jewish people headed up by a hot and strong woman!? How are we NOT going to celebrate that to death? Plus, one of the commands for the holiday is to drink a lot so... ya know... it's good.)
@TheGreatBout@xanga - "I think the Church in the west has forgotten
1) how to celebrate 2) why to celebrate and 3) what to celebrate. We
need to pay attention to our Christian calendar and revere it."
I would say that this is, by and large, a Protestant problem. We Catholics love our calendar, and revere it, plan entire vacations around it, &c. Notice how many posters above seem to think that because they can find a day in which pagans celebrated one thing, that therefore no Christian can do anything celebratory on said day without participating in the pagan origin.
Just recently, there was a post on the date of the Nativity and one poster actually said that to celebrate the life of Christ and the Christian calendar was blasphemy. I think that a return to the traditional calendar would be very instructive for many Western Christians. Very good thoughts.
Growing up, my family never celebrated halloween. In 22 years of living, I have never once gone trick-or-treating. Also, when I was 11 my family stopped celebrating Christmas in the way people typically do. We stopped getting a tree, and stopped giving/getting presents. We had time with family and friends, and a dinner. We reflected on Christ's birth and the meaning Christiany gave to the holiday. However, the roots of Christmas are actually pagan. The holiday has been "Chrisitianized" to be about Christ's birth story when it originally was a pagan holiday.. we didn't want to participate in it anymore. Even as a child, I agreed fully to not get presents and a tree because of it. It's quite interesting. Google makes it very easy to find loads of information on this. However, once I get married and move out and have a family of my own I will be forced to make a decision. I'm pretty sure my husband-to-be wouldn't be willing to give it up. His family is really big on EVERY holiday.
Here's some good info though about the pagan origin.
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm
@theworldiswatchingyou@xanga - Same here. I love holidays also lol
I'll celebrate any holiday as long as it's paid vacation
@saenpual@xanga - Same here.
@MysteriumFidei@xanga - That's true. Catholics are far better at this than protestants tend to be. Though, I've yet to see Catholics have a good celebration. Maybe I don't know where the good ones are lol. My Eastern Orthodox friends sure know how to party though. This is an area where Protestants can learn from their more liturgical siblings.
Even though Catholics on the whole are good at adhering to the Christian calendar I don't know many that can explain Ash Wednesday or Pentecost well. Which find incredibly strange. Again, maybe I don't know where the good ones are. ;)
@TheGreatBout@xanga - "Though, I've yet to see Catholics have a good celebration."
Oh, dear. Just for my youngest daughter's baptism, we had ninety people at our house, thirty pounds of pork sausage, and ten gallons of beer. It lasted from the end of Mass till dark. If I had known, I would have invited you.
I'm actually flabbergasted that you've never been to a good Catholic party - I thought the reputation we had was that we partied a little too much.
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All Christian religions including Catholic teach God is the
same yesterday, today and forever. When Aaron built the golden pagan golden calf in the desert (that
is all people know of that story.) The rest, when he saw what he had done he
built a alter to God thereby mixing pagan with pure worship. The pagan idol was
enough to anger to anger God but to mix the two no way would he accept that. When the children of Israel
took over the promise land their population began to grow and they began to
move into other countries that practice pagan worship.God warned them not to join in their worship and above all
not to take any of their practice into worship with the worship to him. So if God is the same yesterday, today and forever wouldn’t
that make Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentines Day wrong? They were
taken into the worship of the church by Emperor Constantine so the pagan would
all join the church. For the first 100 years of America
it was against the law to practice these days. I hate to hear people say well times are different it’s all
ok now. Uh,Huh Ya Right. Warn a divisive person once then twice after have nothing to
do with them.Let the blind lead the blind so to speak.
That's ridiculous that people wouldn't celebrate Halloween! It's by far the BEST holiday ever! My favorite! Even beats Christmas where I get a lot of gifts. I celebrate every last one of these holidays. And not celebrating a birthday? I'd never be down for that. I'm 22! I like to have cake, get presents, and then go out to the bar and have fun.
Holidays are all in good fun. People take some things far too seriously. Just relax and have fun.
Patriotic holidays are fine to celebrate. I celebrate them as giving thanks to God for bestowing a great Nation upon us. I celebrate all the "traditional" holidays as they also have roots in Christianity as well. As long as you are having fun, and not falsely worshipping, I see no problem.
I have heard all of these arguments against holidays many times over, all except Thanksgiving. Please tell me why it is wrong to give thanks to God for HIs many blessings throughout the year? For many years we had a basket in our home where everyone dropped slips of paper on which they had written something they were thankful for. On Thanksgiving we passed the basket and took turns reading them out loud. It was fun to remember what had happened that year, to see how God had worked in our lives and sometimes to laugh at something silly. Good Times!
@bacord - If your argument is valid, then Purim was immoral for the Hebrews to institute.
Also, Jesus celebrating the Passover Seder would be wrong too.
And Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah). So Jesus must be immoral as well by your logic.
And no, Constantine didn't start any of those Holidays. They were in the Church calendar from the beginning. In the year 68, the first controversy arose because they didn't know when to celebrate Easter. The question was not whether it should be celebrated, but when. And some of the Apostles were still alive when this debate was going on, which makes the Apostles wrong as well. Pretty much everybody in the world is wrong but you.
Maybe you should become a bishop. Say, in the eternal city, perhaps?
@sugartomyhoney@xanga - There is nothing wrong with celebrating Thanksgiving. Marking our calendars to record God's dealings with mankind is the way it always has been. The Hebrews did it, the Apostles did it, and we do it to-day. It is part of the human experience.
@MysteriumFidei@xanga - We need to hangout. I'm okay with that reputation.
@MysteriumFidei@xanga -
You are dead wrong and you know it. Emperor Constantine did institute these, history bears that out.
The early church (gentile) observed Gods holy days not the same as the Jewish Christians who
followed their own customs.
Like I said you have been told. What you do with truth is up to you.
In the new heavens and the new earth they will be followed by force if necessary.
Sexy game girl.. just simply refuses to check it out and pushes the truth away. Nothing I can do
about that.
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
@Celtic_haven@xanga -
Way to go. You are doing right.
@bacord - "You are dead wrong and you know it. Emperor Constantine did institute these, history bears that out."
Then why do we have records of people born almost three hundred years before Constantine's rule talking about the timing of the Paschal feast? Why were the Quartodecimans singled out in the second century in Asia Minor for their peculiar celebration time of Easter if Constantine invented Easter in the fourth century? If I "know" I'm wrong, then how do you account for your utter ignorance of history? What historical works have you in fact read? Do you know the Didache, the letters of Ignatius, or Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History? What actual history written by ancient authors have you actually read that makes you believe that Constantine invented the Church calendar?
"The early church (gentile) observed Gods holy days not the same as the Jewish Christians who followed their own customs."
God didn't always have Holy Days. Originally, only the seventh day was holy. When Moses came around, God added more Holy Days like Passover, the Festival of Booths, and the Festival of Trumpets and many more. So by your argument, God should not have instituted these Days, because He is the same always. But his immutability does not mean that we also experience immutability.
"Like I said you have been told. What you do with truth is up to you."
No, you made a few empty assertions. I actually told you something that contained information.
"God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow."
Did the Hebrews sin when they celebrated Purim?
Did Jesus sin when He celebrated Hanukkah?
Did Jesus sin when He celebrated the Seder?
Answer those questions.
God's immutability does not mean that we always do everything the same.
If that's the case, then make sure you have a one-year-old lamb to slaughter the next time the Hebrew month of Nisan comes around. And on the fourteenth day of Nisan, make sure you splatter the blood of the lamb on the lintel of your doors. Remember, God is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.
@MysteriumFidei@xanga -
Does.. Purim..Hanukkah...Seder come from Pagan Holy days?
I noticed you corrected your word Easter for the correct word which means passover.
I also know you are far from stupid by your post.
You also know why God hates pagan holy days.
God doesn't mind celebration for victories such as the 4th of July or Thanksgiving a new
beginning for Christians in a new world.
If you really have studied Christ life you will know Mary conceived Christ on Hanukkah.
Blood sacrifices and baby sacrifices God will never ok and don't mix them together with his worship.
As Christians we are not obligated to keep Jewish Holy days as they were kept in the old
covenant we are to remember them often in our lives as these are the times of looking up.
Keeping the Sabbath is a spiritual thing kept daily.
I celebrate my children and their lives daily and am thankful to God for them.
I am thankful and celebrate my friends lives.
I will never celebrate nor bow down to an pagan idle of any shape or form.
I think you are still young and like to be divisive and to argue.
Go and read 1st John Chapter 3 start at vs 11 read to the end of the Chapter.
One of Johns final warnings in one of his letters is little Children stay away from idles.
@TheGreatBout@xanga - "peaceful resistence?" Are we skipping the first half of Esther 9?