Holy Days vs Holidays

by Ron Kelley

Why aren’t most traditional religious holidays mentioned in the Bible? Paradoxically, why haven’t many heard of the holy days the Bible tells us to keep?


It seems like everyone loves the holidays! They provide such special times for families to get together. They are times for keeping special family traditions going year after year. This is especially true of the period of time surrounding Christmas and New Year’s Day. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” the song goes.

Then there is Easter, to which many attach a deeply religious meaning. But are its traditions and customs biblical? What do colored eggs and chocolate rabbits have to do with the supposed meaning of the day?

Why can’t we find specific instructions about the careful observance of Christmas and Easter in the pages of the Bible? One would think such important celebrations would be a major part of the teaching of the New Testament Church. But the Bible does not teach their observance. The Bible teaches seven meaningful holy days, but not the major holidays celebrated today.

The reality is that the Bible forbids the observance of holidays like Christmas and Easter that have their origin centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ! Let’s examine holy days vs. holidays.

Holidays have ancient pre-Christian origins
Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. Every year the newspapers and Internet are filled with articles describing the intriguing details of how the customs and traditions surrounding Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day and Halloween began in ancient pagan rituals. A search of several older reference works will show these facts have been known for many years!

In the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, under the heading “Christmas,” you will find: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. … The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” And: “Pagan customs centering around the January calends [the first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar] gravitated to Christmas.”

The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1946 edition, has this: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church. It was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority. It was picked up afterward from paganism.”

Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition, says: “Christmas, according to many authorities, was not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth. A feast was established in memory of this event (Christ’s birth) in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.”

The history of Christmas
Notice that? These recognized historical authorities show Christmas was not observed by Christians for the first 200 or 300 years after the life, ministry and death of Christ—a period of many generations after the establishment of the Church on the Day of Pentecost. Clearly we see there is no biblical justification for the observance of Christmas.



So where did Christmas come from? William Walsh provides some of the historical origins of Christmas in his book The Story of Santa Klaus: “We remember that the Christmas festival … is a gradual evolution from times that long antedated the Christian period. ... It was overlaid upon heathen festivals, and many of its observances are only adaptations of pagan [ceremonies]” (1970, p. 58).

Reporter Jeffery Sheler noted, “So tarnished, in fact, was its reputation in colonial America that celebrating Christmas was banned in Puritan New England, where the noted minister Cotton Mather described yuletide merry-making as ‘an affront unto the grace of God’” (“In Search of Christmas,” U.S. News and World Report, Dec. 23, 1996, p. 56).

Imagine that! Early New England settlers actually banned the celebration of Christmas! The Puritans fined anyone who celebrated Christmas. Spending just a brief amount of time in research, one can quickly see that practically every tradition associated with Christmas originated in pre-Christian pagan ritual practices.

What about Easter?
But what about Easter? Isn’t it biblically based, depicting the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Again, we find the same result. If you research Easter customs, you will find that many of them are based on ancient fertility symbols.

Have you ever stopped to question why bunnies and colorful eggs are so closely linked to the commemoration of the death and resurrection of the Savior of mankind? Perhaps it’s time we did just that—ask questions.

What we see is a combination of biblical themes with the pagan traditions of ages past. This is called syncretism. Notice this definition of syncretize: “To attempt to unite and harmonize especially without critical examination or logical unity” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition).

Many people will acknowledge that this practice of syncretism played a part in the expansion of Christianity through making it more appealing to pagans. Some think, so what if some of our customs and traditions surrounding cherished holidays have pagan or non-Christian origins? Why does that really matter if one’s intention is to worship God through these various customs? Many would claim that these “quaint” customs only enhance the celebration and make it fun for the family.

Let’s look at that carefully because a great deal rides on how that question is answered.

Holy days vs. holidays: What does the Bible say?
Christianity is based on the Bible. What does the Bible say about holidays and customs? God warned His people not to seek to learn how other nations worshipped their pagan gods: “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:31).

Notice this reference that bears resemblance to the modern Christmas tree in Jeremiah 10:2-5: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves.’”

This description of an ancient pagan worship of idols, with parallels to the modern Christmas tree custom, helps establish a critical premise from Scripture: God’s people are not to learn the ways of people who do not worship Him.

Some might respond “Yes, but that was thousands of years ago and that really doesn’t apply to New Testament Christianity, does it?” Consider what Christ said in Matthew 15:9: “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

Worshipping God on His holy days
Is it possible that our cultures, intending to honor Christ by celebrating the supposed dates of His birth and resurrection, are doing it all in vain? The Bible enlightens us with God’s instruction to avoid the traditions and customs that are rooted in non-Christian cultures.

Does this mean all religious holidays and festivals are offensive to God?

By no means! We find repeated commands to keep the Sabbath and the holy days as outlined in Leviticus 23. These observances are proclaimed as “the feasts of the LORD” to be proclaimed throughout all generations. John 7 describes Jesus Christ teaching at the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles. Luke 22 shows that Christ and His disciples kept the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. If the Bible is our guide to the observance of religious holidays, the conclusion becomes clear.

Still, so many people seem to get so much pleasure out of celebrating Christmas and Easter and other traditional holidays. “I only do it for the sake of the children” is a popular reason given to observe these days despite the clear biblical instruction against them. “It’s the only time we get all the family together.” “God wouldn’t want me to keep my family from all these joyous holiday festivities and traditions, would He?”

But what will be our guide for living? God’s words or our own logic?

Jesus’ own words are direct: “‘For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men. …’ He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:8-9). Paul chimes in with his letter to Colossae: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

What else can we say? What decision do we make?

Did you know that many people have chosen not to observe these religious holidays? A little research reveals that many of our traditional religious holidays are nothing but cleverly crafted remakes of ancient rituals disguised as “Christian.”

This is not necessarily true of nonreligious holidays frequently observed in nations around the world. Observances similar to the American holidays of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day are not intended to be religious holidays and can be acceptable to celebrate.

Also, the Jewish holidays of Purim and Hanukkah were established to give thanks to God, just as the American and Canadian Thanksgiving days are. Though some modern customs of these days may not be pleasing to God, they are not rooted in paganism and do not subvert any of the truths presented in the festivals of God.

What will a true disciple of Christ do?
Holy days vs. holidays? Does it really matter what religious days we celebrate? Why not look into it and prove it for yourself? Maybe you will be shocked by what the Bible actually teaches!

For additional information, check out the other helpful articles in this section.

Holy Days: Who Makes Them Holy?

Holy Days: Who Makes Them Holy?

by David Treybig

Can humans designate which days will be holy? Or is creating holy days something only the holy Creator God can do? 

Christians have always had the freedom to decide whether to obey God or not and when to pray, study the Bible, fast and practice spiritual meditation. In reference to choices about vegetarianism and fasting, Paul wrote: “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks” (Romans 14:5-6).

But these prerogatives of free moral agency in our relationship with God do not extend to determining which days are God’s holy days. While we may choose when we will exercise personal spiritual activities, God is the one who determines holy time that supersedes human choice.

God’s instructions

In teaching the ancient Israelites about His feasts, He instructed Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts’” (Leviticus 23:2, also see verse 4). The first of these divinely appointed days deriving their authority and existence from God Himself is the weekly Sabbath. As God stated, “‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings’” (verse 3).

The weekly Sabbath and holy days are similar in that we are not to do our customary work on these days (Leviticus 23:3, 7, 8, 21, 25, 28, 35, 36). They are to be observed from “evening to evening” (verse 32), meaning “from sunset … to sunset” as the Good News Translation renders the passage.

Some have mistakenly thought that because there is no physically discernible difference between a holy day designated by God and any other day, humans can decide when to hold special celebrations to worship Him.

Representing this line of reasoning, some say that Christians today can simply choose one day in seven to worship God. This mistaken way of thinking overlooks the fact that God gave very specific dates for each of His days of worship. He didn’t say, choose one day out of seven or choose seven different times in the year for My annual holy days according to what best fits your schedule or just make up your own days of worship.

If God intended to give humans the right to alter the dates of His feasts or make up their own days, He certainly could have seen that this was written in the Bible. But He didn’t do this. Instead, He was very clear about the specific days that were His holy days and about His expectation that these days be observed.

For example, God told the ancient Israelites that the Sabbath was to be observed even during the times of plowing and harvest—critical times for farmers (Exodus 34:21). Furthermore, those who broke the Sabbath were to be put to death (Exodus 35:2). While this command is not enforced today, it does illustrate the importance God placed and continues to place on this day.

As for the Day of Atonement (one of God’s holy days), God said, “For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people” (Leviticus 23:29-30).

Ancient Israel’s example

In spite of God’s clear instructions as to which days should be kept holy, the ancient Israelites tried establishing their own days of worship with tragic results.

Throughout their history, the ancient Israelites dishonored God by abandoning His prescribed days, by establishing their own days of worship similar to God’s, by practicing syncretism—that is, trying to combine the worship of God with the pagan practices of other nations—and by outright idol worship (Jeremiah 17:21-23, 27; Exodus 32:1-5; 1 Kings 12:32-33; Zephaniah 1:4-6). Because of these sins, God allowed both Israel and Judah to go into captivity.

When it comes to holy time, we also note something very important about the Sabbath command. God said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The clear instruction from God is that we are to respect this specific day by keeping it—not merely a day of our choosing—holy. God is the One who designates His holy days.

Read more about God’s holy days in this section on how God’s holy days reveal His plan of salvation

Christian Holidays: Which? Does God Care?

Some holidays are national celebrations, and others have religious roots. Are all Christian holidays the same? Are some really made holy by God?

For many people, a holiday is just a welcome day off from work to be with friends and family. But some days seem to be more significant than others, depending on culture, religion and family values. The Bible actually identifies some days as holy days commanded by God to be observed. Could it really make that much difference which Christian holidays we observe?

There are two basic kinds of holidays, national or religious. In the United States, good examples of the two types would be the Fourth of July and Christmas. The French celebrate Bastille Day and the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No doubt there are many holidays and holy days around the world of which most of us are completely unaware.

Does it make any difference which days we keep?

National or religious holidays?

We celebrate our national holidays because of historic national events (such as America’s Independence Day, Memorial Day or Labor Day). This is simply a matter of observing the day because some national events are significant, and many businesses often close down that day. You have a day at home to relax or take the family on a picnic or go visit relatives.

But what about religious holidays?

Canada and the United States both observe a national Thanksgiving Day. Many Britons take part in a yearly thanksgiving harvest festival. Such celebrations have religious overtones, in that we take time to give thanks to our Creator for His blessings. Jews observe Purim and Hanukkah as both national and religious holidays. For more information about the observance of these days, please read our article: “Thanksgiving, Purim and Hanukkah.”

There are many religious holidays that man has set up in his desire to worship. If, however, there is a God who has established days as “holy,” then we should keep those above all others. It does make a difference which Christian holidays we keep if obeying God is important to us.

Saturday or Sunday: Does it make a difference?

Only God has authority to make a day “holy,” so why have people established days of worship based on their own ideas or traditions? For example, believe it or not, even the common observance of Sunday as the day of worship was established by the Roman Church, not the authority of the Bible (which clearly commands Saturday as the Sabbath).

Notice some remarkable admissions regarding this:

·         A Catholic Church newsletter stated, “Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The Day of the Lord’ [dies domini] was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church’s sense of its own power” (Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel,Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995).

·         “Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. … From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first” (Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900).

·         “Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible” (“To Tell You the Truth,” The Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947, p. 9).

Rather startling admissions, right? But does it make any difference which days we keep? The Bible says that Jesus Christ is “Lord even of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8). And the Fourth Commandment says we are to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Clearly it matters to God whether or not we keep His Sabbath.

Breaking the Sabbath was one of the main reasons the ancient Israelites went into captivity. Notice: “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths [note the plural, including other holy days God established]. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness” (Ezekiel 20:21).

There are several references in the Bible to God’s anger regarding the profaning of the days He established as holy time. Try doing a word search in an online Bible on the words “profane Sabbath” and note the results.

So which days are holy according to the Bible?

Should we be surprised if God also ordained certain annual religious holy days to be celebrated?

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts”’” (Leviticus 23:1-2). So God has implemented days on which we are to observe “holy” convocations. He lists them for us:

·         The Feast of Unleavened Bread (first and seventh days).

·         Pentecost.

·         The Feast of Trumpets.

·         The Day of Atonement.

·         The Feast of Tabernacles (first day).

·         The Last Great Day (also called the Eighth Day).

God clearly initiated these holy day observances, but where do we find He said it was no longer necessary to observe them? There is no such passage in the Bible! Rather, we find the New Testament Church observing these same holy days (Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 5:8; for more on this, see “Christian Festivals”).

On the other hand, there is no biblical record of these early Christians observing such Christian holidays as Easter and Christmas. The early New Testament Church did not celebrate them!

In reality, most religious holidays around the world have their origin in ancient polytheistic cultures. Today few people care if their observances have such pagan origins. Do you?

Does God really care what I do?

Does it matter to God? Can we decide for ourselves which days to keep holy?

Deuteronomy 12:30-31 states: “Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way.”

That’s a pretty clear instruction. If you care about what God says, believe He has authority over your life and know you should obey Him, don’t you think you should examine what the Bible really says about which Christian holidays are holy days?

We at Life, Hope & Truth are here to help you do that. Why not begin your study by reading the articles in our section on the “Plan of Salvation: How God’s Holy Days Reveal His Plan.” Since it makes a difference to God, we hope it will also make a difference to you.

Holy Days vs. Holidays

·        Holy Days: Who Makes Them Holy?

·         Christian Holidays: Which? Does God Care?

·         Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?

·         Thanksgiving, Purim and Hanukkah

·         Christmas: Should Christians Celebrate It?

·         New Year: Should Christians Celebrate It?

·         Origin of Easter

·         Sign of Jonah: Did Jesus Die Good Friday, Rise on Easter?

·         New Moons: Should Christians Observe Them?

The European Dream: “Bound by Fate”?

The European Dream: “Bound by Fate”?

by Eddie Johnson - October 18, 2013

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet in Berlin, Germany, in April of 1943. The Nazi dream was that the fate of victorious Germany and Italy and their vanquished opponents would all be bound in one united Europe. (Photo by Gerhard Baatz, Wikimedia Commons)

What does the future hold for today’s German-led European Union? Bible prophecy and history enlighten us to long-planned dreams for mainland Europe.

Could Europe fall again for a Nazi-type dictator who would carry out the unspeakable acts of Third Reich Germany? Bible prophecy reveals the fate of Europe will be to fall to the domination of a powerful leader who will bring Europe and the world to the brink once again.

Europe: bound together by fate

As early as 1942, Germany under the Third Reich was confidently planning victory in Europe and the economic control of that continent. In that year Nazi academic Heinrich Hunke talked about “the community of fate which is the European economy” (emphasis added throughout). The Nazi dream was that the fate of victorious Germany and Italy and their vanquished opponents would all be bound in one united Europe. Professor Hunke also said, “The continent [mainland Europe] is, with Germany and Italy, bound by fate.”

He saw the war efforts of Hitler and Mussolini resulting in something very much like what the European Union is moving ever closer to today. The economic control the Nazis dreamed about but failed to gain by brute force then is today being achieved (in a different manner) by a German-led European Union.

“Anglo-Saxon values”

Hunke’s comments are quoted from chapter 4 of the book Europe’s Full Circle by Rodney Atkinson (1996). Chapter 11 of the book highlights many comments made in Nazi Europe and compares them to strikingly similar comments made in the Europe of our time. For example: “The Anglo Saxon economic system, the classic national economy is dead” (Heinrich Hunke, 1941) and “It is important to establish a European single currency core in order to stand firm against Anglo-Saxon values” (Philippe Maystadt, Belgian finance minister, 1996).

With the fervor of a Winston Churchill, Mr. Atkinson does a powerful job of warning the sleep-walking British against the creeping economic ideology of a German-led United States of Europe.

Europe’s dangerous future

However, Mr. Atkinson’s warning is against European economic and political integration. The stark reality is that there are other dire consequences of a united Europe that Britain, and indeed the rest of the world, should be concerned about.  

The EU’s struggles last year over the debt crisis in Greece, Spain and Italy led to the Future of EuropeGroup’s efforts to propose plans to not only enable the Eurozone to survive but to turn the crisis into an opportunity to strengthen Europe. The New York Times, reporting on the plan, stated: “Highlighting the difficulties confronting the European Union, the document notes, ‘In many parts of Europe, nationalism and populism are on the rise, while the feeling of solidarity and sense of belonging in Europe are dwindling.’ Its answer is more, not less, Europe” (Sept. 18, 2012).

Bible prophecies indicate the appearance of a German-led United States of Europe in the years prior to the return of Jesus Christ. It is likely that this European power will develop from the present European Union economic system. The biblically foretold reality is that it will not be just an economic system but will be a mighty military, political and religious power. Like the Nazi Third Reich, it will be powerful enough to use brute force to suppress all who would dare oppose it.

The nature of “the beast”

The final book of the Bible informs us that just such a megalomaniac dictator will indeed be “granted power” on the European Continent once more (Revelation 13:15). This madman will be granted power to get millions of people around the world on his side and will delude himself of grandeur and self-importance. The book of Revelation symbolically calls this future cruel dictator “the beast” and for a good reason (Revelation 13:1). Satan the devil will grant him “his power, his throne, and great authority” (verse 2).

“He [the beast] was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark” (Revelation 13:15-17).

At that time, there will be commandment-keepers who believe that worship of anybody but the Eternal God, or bowing to any image, is against the First Commandment. They will refuse to comply. Consequently, they will not be allowed to buy or sell, do business of any kind or be employed because they refuse “the mark of the beast.” Some will even be martyred.

Such is the system of the symbolic “beast” of Revelation. His power, far from being just economic, will last for 3½ years, culminating in the return of Jesus Christ.

You need to understand more about what is coming. See our two related articles, “Mark of the Beast”and “666: The Number of the Beast.”