1992 Preacher’s Study Notes
There is no way in this presentation on holidays to please everyone or make everyone agree. My purpose today is to present some material that I hope will stimulate us to take a fresh look at this subject.
Everyone will not agree because there are so many shades of understanding and beliefs on this subject. I approach this study of holidays openly and objectively out of a genuine interest in reaching a better understanding of it. I pray that we can all approach it in this way. If, however, we approach the subject with our minds already made up, we really will do a grave injustice to it.
During the past several years, we have been taught that it is wrong to celebrate various holidays, especially Christmas; and it has been many years since I have been heavily involved in any of these holidays.
Through the years, though, I have questioned, “Why? Why do so many Christians continue to celebrate holidays (namely Christmas) and others do not?”
Some who are against any participation in certain holidays are not always open-minded to other thoughts and ideas. Consequently, they have not stopped to take a good look at the subject. And those who participate in one or more activities around holiday seasons have a variety of reasons for thinking it is okay for them to do so without violating their conscience or doing disservice to the name of Christ.
I want to point out that our attitude in this matter is of the greatest importance. Some who have not celebrated holidays have looked down their noses at those who have and have even considered them second class Christians. Some who have celebrated have felt a great deal of guilt because others do not celebrate. These attitudes cannot be right and cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit with good feelings between brethren.
I want us to understand the truth on these issues not just to preach and believe what is generally accepted — not to believe or practice something just because that is what we have done traditionally — but to think rationally about the subject.
If my presentation proves false, then I ask you to be fair in your judgment. I will listen to your points and give them prayerful consideration. If my presentation proves true, then I ask that you give equal consideration. We are not here setting brotherhood policy We are here to discuss the topic and then go home to study further, drawing solid conclusions based on an honest investigation of God’s holy Word.
This study will be broken down as follows:
- 1. Introduction
2. A brief history of holidays as observed or celebrated around the world.
3. Leading arguments used for not observing (religious) holidays.
4. A call for consistency.
5. Conclusion.
The charge for this study was to discuss the celebration of holidays in general. For the most part, when we think of the subject of holidays, we think of religious holidays. And we will focus on religious holidays in the main part of the study. When we think of religious holidays, we think of Christmas because that is the holiday people are primarily interested in. But I was not asked to discuss just Christmas.
In fact, we will concentrate on the “big four” as we begin our study: Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.
Valentine’s Day
The first of these holidays is Valentine’s Day, celebrated each year on February 14 and usually associated with love and romance. It was first celebrated in honor of two martyrs in the Roman Catholic Church, each with the name of Saint Valentine and each martyred on February 14. One of these men supposedly died in Rome and the other at Interamna about 60 miles out of Rome. One was a priest and the other a bishop in the Catholic Church. Some have concluded that they were not two but only one person — he was a bishop in Interamna but was martyred in Rome.
Customs now associated with this holiday have nothing to do with the martyrs. The customs probably go back to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, celebrated on February 15. The festival was proclaimed in honor of Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and of Pan, the god of nature. Lupercalia was “a lovers festival for young people. Young men and women chose partners for the festival by drawing names by chance from a box” (World Book 205). Then they paired off, became better acquainted, and sometimes even ended up being married.
In the 400’s, one of the popes changed this festival into Saint Valentine’s day and changed the day to February 14.
Many customs and beliefs have developed since the beginning of Valentine’s Day, and most of them have to do with love, the choice of a marriage partner, or things a young girl can do to get a husband. The practice of exchanging Valentines or cards on this day goes only as far back as the English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer.
Easter
Originally, the word Easter was the Saxon word Estra, the goddess of spring (Unger’s Bible Dictionary 283). Or some write that it may have been from the word Eastur, referring to the festival of spring (World Book 25). The celebration came to refer to what the world calls a Christian celebration in honor of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. “By the 8th century Anglo-Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary 283).
The World Book says, “It is the most important holy day of the Christian religion. People attend churches and take part in religious ceremonies” (25).
Several symbols have developed, referring to various aspects of the Easter celebration:
- (1) the cross, representing the crucifixion of Jesus and serving as a symbol of His triumph over death;
(2) the Lamb, symbolizing the paschal lamb offered in the Jewish Passover;
(3) eggs, suggesting new life or the coming back to life of nature around Easter time. This is an ancient custom. “The Egyptians and Persians often dyed eggs in spring colors and gave them to their friends as gifts. The Persians believed that the earth had hatched from a giant egg. Early Christians of Mesopotamia were the first to use colored eggs for Easter” (World Book 25);
(4) rabbits. Sometimes children are taught to believe that the Easter bunny brings them Easter eggs, a belief that may have originated in Germany.
Halloween
Halloween means hallowed or holy evening and is associated with Alihallows’ Eve. It takes place on the day before All Saints’ Day, November 1. The holiday comes “. . . from the rites of the druids celebrating the day of Saman, when the Lord of the Death called together the souls of the wicked who had died during the past year” (Collier’s Encyclopedia). Celtic tribes, who practiced the religion of the Druids, brought this celebration to the British Isles. These people believed that ghosts, spirits, witches, and elves harmed people on Halloween. It was also used by the Druids as a celebration of the summer’s end.
The theme of the harvest, which runs through modern Halloween celebrations, comes from both the old druidic celebrations and the old Roman festivals in honor of Pomona, goddess of fruit, which were brought to Britain during the Roman occupation (Collier’s Encyclopedia).
It was common for horses and humans to be sacrificed during these celebrations. Men, mostly criminals, were imprisoned in wicker and thatch cages shaped like animals or giants; and Druid priests set fire to the cages, burning them to death.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, black cats were thrown into the flames in wicker cages because they were thought to be friends of the witches. During this time, too, some believed that witches rode through the skies on their broomsticks. On Halloween, these witches reportedly danced on hilltops with goblins and imps while the Devil played the bagpipes or castanets made from dead men’s bones. This was also a time when young women used various fortune telling techniques to determine who their future husband would be.
After the spread of Christianity, enemies of the church made fun of the Christians; and one Halloween they worshipped the Devil, set skulls on pretended altars or painted profane crosses on church walls. The Roman Catholic Church transformed this day into a Christian feast day in the 700’s when they named November 1 as All Saints’ Day. Many Superstitions and beliefs have developed from these original beginnings.
Christmas
The fourth holiday is Christmas, a time when the world celebrates the birth of Christ, even though the date of His birth is unknown.
Scholars do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth. For more than 300 years, people observed His birthday on various dates. In AD 354, Pope Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birthday of the Sun as the Light of the World. The Christians of Egypt celebrated Christmas on January 6, and many members of the Easter Orthodox Church still observe this date (World Book 416).
As with other holidays, customs and celebrations have developed surrounding Christmas. One tradition honors St. Nicholas, a bishop who became known for his generosity in the A.D. 300’s and later designated by the Dutch as “the patron saint of children” (World Book 415).
Even though Santa Claus is known as an American symbol, the idea came from various traditions in several European countries.
The Norse believed that the goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the home. The name Santa Claus also developed from a European source. Dutch settlers in New York, called St. Nicholas Sinterklaas. American children loved this symbol and they called him Santa Claus (World Book 415).
No one is sure about the origin of the Christmas tree legend, but several legends and tales have developed, some being connected with so-called miraculous happenings and other just legends. Other symbols include the star, lights, Christmas cards, the yule log, mistletoe, and others.
These four holidays are ones that we usually think of when we think of religious holidays. As we broaden our study of holidays, I would ask you to consider the following also:
Thanksgiving
A holiday that originated in the United States, Thanksgiving is also celebrated in Canada and probably came from a similar type holiday in England. It is a time of feasting and prayer for the blessings received for the year.
The first Thanksgiving Days were harvest festivals, or days for thanking God for plentiful crops. For this reason the holiday still takes place late in the fall, after the crops have been gathered. One of the first Thanksgiving observances in America was entirely religious and did not involve feasting. On Dec. 4, 1619, 39 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Plantation, on the James River near what is now Charles City, Virginia. The group’s charter required that the day of arrival be observed yearly as a day of thanksgiving to God (World Book 180).
The first Thanksgiving in this country took place less than a year after the people at Plymouth Colony settled. The first winter in Massachusetts was very severe and killed almost half of the people in the colony. But, because there was a good corn harvest during the summer of 1621, the governor (William Bradford) decreed that there would be a three-day feast and a Thanksgiving Day with the purpose of prayer and celebration.
The point is that it was begun as a religious celebration and not as just a secular holiday, as some believe.
New Year’s Day
One of the oldest religious celebrations in the world is New Year’s Day. From the earliest of times, all nations have celebrated New Year’s Day. The different cultures—Chinese Egyptian, Jewish, Mohammedan, and Roman—all began their new year at a different time, but the first day of the year has always been a time of celebration.
Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians celebrated the new year about the middle of June. This was the time when the Nile River usually overflowed its banks. . . . In ancient Rome, the first day of the year was given over to honoring Janus, the god of gates and doors and of beginnings and endings. The month of January was named after this god (World Book 237).
Many people brought gifts to the Roman emperor to wish him well. In Persia, many gave eggs to their friends, symbolizing the beginning of new life. This custom meant the same thing as “turning over a new leaf.” The custom of bringing gifts to the emperor was later brought over to England.
New Year’s Day was made a holy day in what was termed the Christian church in A.D. 437, and it was called the feast of circumcision. This custom was brought over from paganism. “At first, parties were not allowed on this day because the pagans had followed that custom” (World Book 237).
A book titled Holidays and Birthdays says, “Because New Year’s Day is called a Christian holy day, many people begin the day by going to church. But it is also a day to visit friends and relatives and to exchange gifts” (36-37).
New Year’s Day is a holiday that has been celebrated for more than 5000 years, but not at the same time of the year by all cultures. And it is a holiday that we normally do not think of as religious as far as the world is concerned; however its history shows that it has always been considered a religious celebration. In spite of that association, we think nothing of observing this holiday and of even integrating Worship with it.
Birthdays
Another holiday not usually considered a religious holiday, is birthdays; but its origin comes from religious type celebration that reach back into pagan times. The idea of a birthday being a special day goes back thousands of years, even to the time when people believed that good or bad spirits could help a person on that special day.
Long ago, people believed that on a birthday a person could be helped by good spirits or hurt by evil spirits. So, when a person had a birthday, friends and relatives gathered to protect him or her. And that is how birthday parties began (Holidays and Birthdays 12).
Birthday candles came from ancient Greece where people worshipped many gods and goddesses. Artemis, the goddess of the moon, was one of these. Each month, the Greeks brought cakes to her temple. “The cakes were round, like a full moon. And, because the moon glows with light, the cakes were decorated with lighted candles” (Holidays and Birthdays 12); thus the idea of the birthday cake and candles developed from paganism.
References are made to Herod’s birthday celebration in Matthew 14:6 and Mark 6:21, although some scholars believe these may have been a celebration of his ascension to power instead of his day of birth.
The later Jews regarded the celebration of birthdays as a part of idolatrous worship. In the early Church the term “birthdays” was applied to the festivals of martyrs, the days on which they suffered death in this world and were born to the glory and life of heaven (Unger’s Bible Dictionary 147).
In spite of this background, I have heard some say they would celebrate birthdays in an extra special way, but they would not celebrate any of the Christmas traditions. This is a great inconsistency.
Other Common Items with Roots in Idolatry
Many other parts of our everyday lives today have roots in idolatry. For example, several of the months are named for Greek and Roman gods. January is named for the Roman god Janus, March for the Roman god Mars, May for the Roman goddess of spring and growth — Maia, June either for Juno (the Roman goddess of marriage) or from a Latin word meaning juniores.
Days of the week are likewise named for pagan gods.
In spite of these facts, no one hesitates to place a calendar on the wall because it began in idolatry No one feels he is worshipping one of these gods when a month or a day of the week is showing on the calendar.
Even some of our New Testament words, so commonly used and so well accepted, came out of either paganism or Romanism.
For example, the word saint. Paul used this word many times, but one place is at the beginning of the book of Ephesians where he addresses his words to the “saints.”
Paul took it right out of the terminology of the pagan Greek religions. He had to. There were no other terms which he could use so long as he was confined to the Greek language. There it meant “devoted to the gods.” For instance, a Greek worshiper would bring an offering to the god as a gift. He devoted it to that god. Or, the Greeks would build a magnificent temple and devote it to a certain god. The building was thereby set apart from any secular use, and separated to a religious one. It was consecrated to the worship of that particular Greek god (Wuest, Vol. I, 16).
The point is not that we should not use such terminology. The point is that just because something began in another age, even back in pagan times, does not necessarily make it either right or wrong. It is when it is used in connection with idolatry or with the wrong attitude that it becomes wrong. This fact we accept every day. We celebrate birthdays and we use calendars in spite of their beginnings. If something is wrong, it is wrong for another reason.
Reasons Some Use for Not Celebrating Christmas
When we discuss religious holidays and reasons that we should not celebrate them, we usually talk about Christmas and leave the others out of the discussion. The point of my approach in this study is that we need to be consistent, regardless of what our view is.
When brethren discuss Christmas, they offer various reasons for believing it is wrong. Some of these reasons are as follows:
1. It is paganistic because of where it began.
2. It was celebrated by the Roman Catholics who named it Christ’s mass.
3. It is a “religious” holiday.
4. It celebrates the birth of Christ, but it is the wrong time of the year.
5. It is not authorized by Scripture. (1 Peter 4:11) [pdc]
Those who have these reasons for not celebrating this holiday are, no doubt, sincere in their beliefs; and it would be wrong for them to observe it. My purpose is not to sway anyone from his conscience in this matter but to call all of us to consistency in our attitudes toward all holidays. As far as Christmas is concerned, we have a lot of closet celebrators and a lot of nibblers. Yet they hesitate to mention the subject for fear of being ostracized.
I see no reason to treat those who celebrate Christmas any differently from the way we treat those who celebrate Valentine’s Day by giving their wife a bottle of perfume or allowing their children to exchange cards — this one is no different from other so-called religious holidays. I have shown through the histories of these holidays that every one of them, even those we do not usually consider religious holidays, have their roots in paganism or Catholicism and usually both.
The question is, then, does the observance of these holidays as family or social traditions cause one to be a idolater or a Catholic — does this act cause one to sin? I believe not, no more than one is a pagan if he has a calendar on his wall. If I believed that, I would have to eliminate all holidays, calendars, and some terminology so commonly used by Christians.
Things I do believe:
1. If one participates in any of the deceptions or lies commonly associated with Christmas, Easter, or any of the other holidays, it is wrong.
2. If one has the feeling of worship of an object or an idol as he participates in any of the traditions, it is wrong. But what is true of one is true of all, if we are consistent. If a Christian feels he is worshipping the moon when he has a birthday cake, he should not have one. If he feels he is driving evil spirits away by having candles on a cake, he should not have them. If one believes he is associating himself with the paganistic beginnings when he gives another a valentine, he should not do so.
3. If a Christian violates his conscience by observing any of the holidays, he sins if he does so.
Conclusion
May I repeat that I am not trying to get anyone to accept religious holidays wholesale or partially, nor am I trying to get anyone to reject them. I do hope to stimulate each of us to think deeper about our convictions about these matters and to be consistent with whatever belief we arrive at.
May I further emphasize that we must decide if we are dealing with law or liberty? If we are dealing with law and if our traditional arguments are valid, then we must be consistent. We must give up all holidays that have similar backgrounds.
If observance of holidays is a matter of liberty then we must allow the liberty without making another Christian feel guilty or like a second-class citizen in the kingdom if he does not agree with us. Some have been intolerant in some cases, for example, about Christmas; but they have been tolerant about other holidays, making us look inconsistent in the eyes of those whom we are trying to influence.
Paul speaks about matters of liberty in Romans 14:1-12, making it clear there is flexibility in some matters. He, of course, is not addressing the doing of anything that is a violation of holy scripture --- he addresses only those things that are not in themselves sinful.
The apostle makes it clear that the Lordship of Jesus must be recognized and that He is to be respected (vv. 8-9). Further, he says that each of us must be aware of the judgment of God. “... every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (v. 12). In matters of liberty, we are not to judge or condemn others. In matters of law, it is, of course, the judgment of God that condemns one when he violates that law. The warning is that we are not to become confused in such matters, condemning where we should allow liberty and accepting when we should keep law.
Similar teaching is found in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. Paul ate the meat set before him asking no questions. But if someone set meat before him and said this meat is sacrificed to idols, he then would not eat it. He refused, not for his own conscience sake but for the sake of the weak brother who would feel that he was worshipping an idol if he ate that meat. Eating meat was a matter of liberty — not law.
I believe it is safe to say that people who celebrate holidays today do not in anyway recognize their pagan beginnings or feel they are worshipping an idol by what they do.
It appears very dangerous from the teaching of these Scriptures to push our personal opinions on others and force them to abide by our opinions. When Christian liberties are the issue, Paul said “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).
One elderly brother used to say, “I had just as soon go to hell for being a law maker as a law breaker.” It is just as wrong to be a law maker as a law breaker.
Am I encouraging anyone to observe any of the holidays we have discussed? No I am not. I will leave that to your personal studies and decision. I am asking that we be consistent in our positions and arguments and not be guilty of making laws.
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Bibliography
Collier’s Encyclopedia
Holidays and Birthdays. Vol. 9. Chicago: World Book, Inc.
Unger, Merrill F. Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1966.
World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 1982.
Wuest, Kenneth S. Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Vol. 1. “The Exegesis of Ephesians.” Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973.
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