Holidays!? Whose idea was this anyways?

This time of year there is much debate about the importance and significance of holidays and if we are doing them right, or if we should do them at all. Some would argue that holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, are not even to be celebrated or have been overly hyped with too much commercialism. Often, some sects, denominations, and certain church leaders will assert that holidays like Christmas are not Biblical, and that we as Christians shouldn’t even celebrate these. I find this to be a fascinating line of argument when you consider God is the founder of ‘Holidays’, after all. Let’s define our term; holiday. Holidays are days of celebration, usually a day(s) to rest from labor or work. The word ‘holiday’ comes down to us from old English from the root words that meant ‘holy day’. It is the idea that a day is set aside to be holy and observed as rest and celebration, and to no surprise, God was the first celebrator of a holiday.

In Genesis 2 we see that God ‘rested’ on the seventh day, which came to be known as the Sabbath, and actually the word translated ‘rested’ in most English translations is ‏שָׁבַת‎ (shābat), in Hebrew, where the word Sabbath comes from. I love Eugene Peterson’s Translation (some call it a paraphrase) of the first four verses of Genesis 2,

“Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

2-4 By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day Because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done.

This is the story of how it all started, of Heaven and Earth when they were created.” (The Message).

In the KJV we read, (Genesis 2:3) “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” God “blessed” and “sanctified” the seventh day, that is to say, He declared it HOLY! Now this is not a call to go back to Saturday Sabbath keeping, as Paul declares, (Colossians 2:16 (KJV) “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.” It is not the idea that any day is more special or holy than another, no, I am advocating that it is a GOD-GIVEN right to celebrate holidays. Not only was God the originator of the first holiday, but He created a whole host of Holi-(holy) days to teach us to celebrate things, rest from usual activities, and commemorate certain events or days.

ORIGINS OF HOLIDAYS

In Leviticus 23 we find a list of Holy (Holi-) Days, seven to be exact, that God instituted. The Jews, to this day, still celebrate these important reminders of God’s provision and hand upon the Jewish people (and of course they hold prophetic significance for all). These, in order, are the Passover (vs. 4-5), Feast of Unleavened Bread (vs. 6-8), Firsfruits (vs. 9-14), Pentecost (vs. 15-21), Feast of Trumpets (vs. 23-25), the day of Atonement (vs. 26-32), and finally the Feast of Tabernacles (vs. 33-43). The first three verses of the chapter deal with the Sabbath, and so, we see God was a Holiday Creator, creating the concept and idea of holidays. As you study these holidays, you should realize that God was teaching great truths thru these celebrations. For example, as we look into Passover we see redemption, restoration, and God’s intervention into His people’s history, and of course, Jesus was the final explanation and final fulfillment of it.

GOD LOVES HOLIDAYS

I am actually arguing, or at least trying to convince you, that God wants us to celebrate holidays. I know there are those that would say, “Tony, the Holy Days of the Old Testament are for the Jews.” And of course, you would be right. I’m not advocating going back to Jewish observance of Holy Days (such as; Passover or the Day of Atonement), no, as I said, Jesus is the final and complete fulfillment of these ceremonies. I am actually not opposed to someone doing these as a practice, for their own spiritual enrichment and finding the Jewish roots of our faith. I think there is great value in these Holy Days, God gave them as lessons, too. What I am saying, as with the Sabbath, it isn’t that the Holiday has to be on that particular day or even that particular one, no, it’s the idea of Holi(Holy)day in its self. If I could show you that Jesus, Himself, celebrated a non-God-ordained celebration, would it cause you to pause. It did me.

HANNUKKAH?

I will make the case that celebrating Christmas is okay, and even something we could imagine Jesus doing. What is funny is my argument is based on a December holiday, but not Christmas, as to why celebrating Christmas, is okay. Let me explain. The Jews, to this day, celebrate a Holiday they call Hanukkah, and its origins are not in the OT Holy Days, “Hanukkah (/ˈhɑːnəkə/ HAH-nə-kə; Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה khanuká, Tiberian: khanuká, usually spelled חנוכה, pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew, [ˈχanukə] or [ˈχanikə] in Yiddish; a transliteration also romanized as Chanukah or Ḥanukah) is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah) This is a holiday that comes from the intertestamental time, before Jesus was born. Yet, Jesus celebrated it, maybe...

We read where Jesus endorsed Hanukkah with His presence, (John 10:22-23 KJV) “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.” This seems innocent enough, almost mundane, yet we know that, (2 Timothy 3:16 -KJV) “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” as a means to teach, demonstrate, and give us examples to live by. If Jesus wanted Hanukkah to be considered anathema, He could have declared so on that day as this holiday was underway. It is safe to say there is no real indication that Christ was celebrating Hanukkah, either, I must admit, but a lack of condemnation is noteworthy. I would venture that this is my point, in essence, that the celebrating of a man-made holiday is not unbiblical or wrong. We celebrate birthdays, Fourth of July, and other holidays not scripturally based, and they are not he scorn of the ‘holier-than-thou’ crowds.

HOLIDAYS ARE A CHRISTIAN THING TO DO

Seriously, we must consider that holidays are not anti-Christian in the participation of them, no matter the roots or foundations of them. Pastor Greg Locke said, on a video on his Facebook page, that we are pagan in our origins too, if you define pagan as depraved, sinful, and totally unholy, we all started that way. If God can redeem the unholy heathen can He not redeem a holiday? Can we not find a way to bring Christ into Christmas, as the very name of the holiday begs the question, “what’s this day about?” That Jesus was not born on the 25th of December is of no consequence, it is the idea of Him coming, I love to celebrate. I would invoke my right as a believer that Paul stated, (Colossians 2:16 NLT) “So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.” That street goes both ways, so we should not judge those who wish to not celebrate. Well, I’ll just say, have fun with you and your tree-less, manger-less, Santa-less, Christmas-less 25th of December and all be over here wrapped in tinsel searching for a star with the ‘Wise Men’.

#christmas #holidays