# Holidays



## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 23, 2004)

I am interested to learn about the views of fellow PB'ers with respect to what are commonly referred to as "holidays." That season is approaching and I am sure there are divergent views and practices with regards to this subject on the Board.

The Westminster Directory for Public Worship teaches that 

[quote:fb756b8ce2]THERE is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath. 

Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.[/quote:fb756b8ce2]

It is well-known that the Puritans outlawed Christmas, etc. Yet many in the Reformed camp today - including those who hold to the Regulative Principle of Worship - do observe Christmas, Easter, and other church calendar days. Some might call them holy days, others might celebrate them in a "secular" way. What reasons do those who celebrate them have? What reasons are there for those who do not celebrate them? 

What about holidays such as Reformation Day or Thanksgiving? What about St. Valentine's Day? What about Halloween? What about holy days in other countries besides America? 

Please feel free to share your rationale for what you do or do not observe. Although the subject of holidays can be one that brings up deep emotions, I hope to encourage friendly debate among the brethren. 

What are your thoughts?


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## tcalbrecht (Sep 23, 2004)

When you say "celebrate" what do you mean? Are you talking about taking the day off from work? Giving family members presents? 

I do not believe the church is authorized to have special corporate worship services surrounding these "holy days". I believe such special days detract from the one biblical holy day, the weekly sabbath. I would not structure any family worship to coincide with these days either. Again, the desired focus on the sabbath would be undermined.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 23, 2004)

My use of the term "celebrate" was meant to be understood broadly as in "observe" in some way (including the different ways that you suggested). Some might agree that Christmas should not be an occasion for a special worship service in the church, but they might observe in privately at home in the form of exchanging gifts, decorating a tree, etc. Some might have no problem celebrating Christmas in a church service. Some might feel that to celebrate Christmas is wrong, but to celebrate Reformation Day (which is often denoted as the last Lord's Day in October) is fine (for example, to have a special worship service with Reformation as the theme). Some might not celebrate Christmas but will take the day off because their company is closed or because it is convenient to have vacations at the end of the year. Some might not celebrate Christmas but will celebrate St. Valentine's Day. Some will only observe a holiday in a secular manner for "cultural reasons." Having encountered so many different views amongst Reformed brethren, I am interested in exploring the different practices and rationales that may exist on the Puritan Board. I hold to the DPW position myself and I agree with your thoughts on the importance of honoring the Lord's Day both in public and private worship, but I do observe in some manner V-Day, Reformation Day and Thanksgiving. There may be some inconsistency in my own practice, which I still want to work out more thoroughly. Meanwhile, I'd like to hear from others about holiday practices and principles.


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## wsw201 (Sep 23, 2004)

Holidays are fine as long as you don't bring them into the Church.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 23, 2004)

[quote:b3bc07afe6="wsw201"]Holidays are fine as long as you don't bring them into the Church.[/quote:b3bc07afe6]

In your view, then, is it ok for Christians to celebrate any and all holidays as long as they do it at home?


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## wsw201 (Sep 23, 2004)

Andrew,

That's right. If you want to have a Christmas Tree, or have an Easter egg hunt, that's fine with me. These are secular holidays just like Labor Day. But don't bring it into the Church with special services and such.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Sep 23, 2004)

[quote:8f456abb32="wsw201"]Andrew,

That's right. If you want to have a Christmas Tree, or have an Easter egg hunt, that's fine with me. These are secular holidays just like Labor Day. But don't bring it into the Church with special services and such.[/quote:8f456abb32]I am with you on that. They are not really 'holy-days' but we still use the word... I mean no where in the scriptures are we told not to take days off for public festivals. - hold on the Jews did it for their own...


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 24, 2004)

[quote:2251d9fbc7="wsw201"]Andrew,

That's right. If you want to have a Christmas Tree, or have an Easter egg hunt, that's fine with me. These are secular holidays just like Labor Day. But don't bring it into the Church with special services and such.[/quote:2251d9fbc7]

Just to clarify, I have a few follow-up questions (I don't mean for them to sound argumentative, but I am seeking a more detailed exposition of your rationale):

* Are you saying that you view Christmas and Easter as "secular" holidays? Isn't the intent of the holiday to celebrate the birth or death of Christ? How can that be secular in any context?

* Do you condone the celebration of all Roman Catholic holidays (ie., not just Easter and Christmas but Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, Ephiphany, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, All Saint's Day, etc.) as long as they are celebrated at home? The list of Roman Catholic holidays fills the entire calendar, not to mention other holidays with religious backgrounds. If you distinguish between certain holidays that are ok to celebrate at home and those that are not, can you clarify the distinction? 

* Does the pagan/Roman origin of many of these holidays (particularly Christmas and Easter) give you any pause? How about the pagan origins of the Christmas tree and the Easter egg?

* How do you feel about the Puritans or the Scots who outlawed Roman Catholic holidays both in the church and at home?


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## ReformedWretch (Sep 24, 2004)

I don't know how I feel at the time, but I must say this is a very good question and I look forward to further discussion!


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## Contra_Mundum (Sep 24, 2004)

Just a few thoughts...

I don't mind an annual observance of Christ's birth. It doesn't even have to be the same day every year (or even [i:013198b290]every[/i:013198b290] year), and probably shouldn't be. Rom 14:5-6 applies (cf. Col. 2:16). But it ought not be created by the Church, or it will eventually become manditory and binding upon men's conscience. This is precisely what happened with the origination of the celebration of Christ's birth, even to an ugly dispute between East and West over the "right" day. Then followed the proliferation of holy-days and festivals.

I definitely detest the unholy marriage between modern (religious) observance of Christmas and the celebration of materialism. Surely this is the Devil's work. But this is the natural result of syncretism. The same sorts of corruptions have marred annual remembrances of the death and resurrection of Christ (following the Jewish Passover season). Christ's resurrection is actually to be celebrated weekly, even if it's general calendar date may be discovered with (imperfect!) accuracy. And doesn't a [i:013198b290]special[/i:013198b290] celebration of it necessarily detract from the other 51 commanded remembrances?

I'm glad that our annual Thanksgiving Day did not start out in the Church. It's secular origins, born out of a Christian-influenced culture, actualy seem to me to make it reasonable that we grace it with a blessing. It is our own cultural celebration, and is not so easily converted into a religious universal. We might similarly view a New Year's celebration. A year can begin on any day chosen, varying from society to society. There is nothing wrong in utilizing cyclical patterns in a cultural way, graced with religious recognition--its just another way of subjecting everything to Christ.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 24, 2004)

Bruce,

I concur with your thoughts on Thanksgiving and New Year's. They are different from the ecclesiastical feast days of the Roman liturgical calendar in that they are civil or cultural holidays, which I find to be entirely appropriate. I do wonder sometimes about Thanksgiving as to whether our modern cultural celebration looks anything like what the Pilgrims had in mind and whether they would even approve of its annual celebration (with a Dallas Cowboys football game) on the fourth Thursday of November in order to inaugurate the Christmas shopping season, but that's just me. The Directory for Public Worship calls for days of thanksgiving as well as days of fasting. I believe the civil magistrate as well as the church has the authority to call such. I also appreciate the innate human need for periodic festivals, cultural celebration and vacations from work. Nothing wrong with that in my book. One observation though which I have found in my research on holidays is that the Roman liturgical calendar was so filled with saints' days that practically the whole year was taken up in holidays from work. The Protestant Reformation banished many if not all of those saints' days and as a result productivity increased!


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## wsw201 (Sep 24, 2004)

Andrew,

[quote:bb725e6778]* Are you saying that you view Christmas and Easter as "secular" holidays? Isn't the intent of the holiday to celebrate the birth or death of Christ? How can that be secular in any context? [/quote:bb725e6778]

As you know, the reformed churches up to the mid 19th century did not celebrate any "œholy days". Once subscription to the Standards began to slip, the Reformed churches began to see holy days such as Christmas and Easter being brought into the church (basically copying the Anglicans and the RCC). Despite the intent of Rome, these two holidays include Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. If Christians keep these two days with the modern secular intent, I have no problem with Christmas Trees, Easter Eggs as I have no problem with Turkey on Thanksgiving.

[quote:bb725e6778]* Do you condone the celebration of all Roman Catholic holidays (ie., not just Easter and Christmas but Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, Ephiphany, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, All Saint's Day, etc.) as long as they are celebrated at home? The list of Roman Catholic holidays fills the entire calendar, not to mention other holidays with religious backgrounds. If you distinguish between certain holidays that are ok to celebrate at home and those that are not, can you clarify the distinction? [/quote:bb725e6778]

No I do not condone these RCC holy days. The way I see it is that all of these Holy Days, no matter how well intended, have been and are fulfilled in Christ. And all that Christ has fulfilled is acknowledged and celebrated on the Lord"(tm)s Day each week. Christ"(tm)s birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension are at the root of the Gospel message that is preached each Sunday. God has, in order to bolster our weak faith, provided visible means of His grace through the Sacraments. As we celebrate the Lord"(tm)s Supper, we see before us the greatest drama ever portrayed before our very eyes in the elements of Christ"(tm)s Body and Blood.

[quote:bb725e6778]* Does the pagan/Roman origin of many of these holidays (particularly Christmas and Easter) give you any pause? How about the pagan origins of the Christmas tree and the Easter egg? [/quote:bb725e6778]

The fact that pagans have taken items created by God and have given it a certain meaning does not mean that I have to take it in that same meaning. A chunk of wood where part of it can be carved into an idol and the other part put into a fire to keep you warm, is still a chunk of wood. What evil men do with it does not mean I have to do the same.

[quote:bb725e6778]* How do you feel about the Puritans or the Scots who outlawed Roman Catholic holidays both in the church and at home?[/quote:bb725e6778]

I have no problem with what the Church has done in the past regarding these holy days.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks for your responses, gentlemen. I hope to see more comments by others too. 

I appreciate the opinions that Wayne and Bruce have expressed and especially your desire to keep these religious holidays out of the Church where they can do nothing good but rather only harm the consciences of men and degrade the Lord's Day.

I myself have problems with attempting to take Christ out of Christ-mass and replace him with Santa Claus. St. Nicholas, I believe, was a real person, but the Santa Claus of mythology is given attributes that belong to God ("He know when you've been sleeping/He knows when you're awake/He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake"). I personally cannot in good conscience teach my children to "believe" in him. I find that even in the so-called secular approach to celebrating Christmas there is too much baggage to try to sift through it all (believe me, I have tried). The same goes for Easter. I believe both of these holidays are inherently religious and cannot be observed in merely in a cultural way. The customs associated with each holiday were created in a religious context. What can be more religious than singing Christmas carols? Gift-giving, to give another example, is fine for birthdays and other occasions, but when it is done on December 25 it is because the Roman Catholic Church has decreed that day to do it in honor of the birth of Christ. I would argue that's a religious custom, regardless of the motives of those exchanging gifts. When the Puritans banished Christmas and other Roman Catholic holy days both in public and in private, they argued that these holidays corrupted and supplanted true religion. They found no Biblical warrant to celebrate Christ's birth annually (certainly not on December 25) and celebrated His death every time they partook of the Lord's Supper. The Romans 14 passage I don't think even contemplates holidays like Christmas and Easter, which were borrowed from the RCC from the pagan Saturnalia and Ashtaroth festivals, but rather Jewish holy days. In fact, Christmas and Easter are so pagan-Catholic in origin that I really can't see any significant difference in principle or practice between them and Halloween. That being said, I understand the desire to redeem that which is wordly; I just don't believe that pagan-Catholic holy days can be redeemed at all.


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## tcalbrecht (Sep 24, 2004)

[quote:06228200fa="VirginiaHuguenot"]Gift-giving, to give another example, is fine for birthdays and other occasions, but when it is done on December 25 it is because the Roman Catholic Church has decreed that day to do it in honor of the birth of Christ.[/quote:06228200fa]

I was not aware that the RCC had ever decreed gift-giving on Christmas. (Too bad I didn't know that growing up in an RCC home.) I know that they make Christmas a "holy day of obligation" for attendance at the Mass. Do you have a reference for the gift stuff?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 24, 2004)

[quote:e321d59336="tcalbrecht"][quote:e321d59336="VirginiaHuguenot"]Gift-giving, to give another example, is fine for birthdays and other occasions, but when it is done on December 25 it is because the Roman Catholic Church has decreed that day to do it in honor of the birth of Christ.[/quote:e321d59336]

I was not aware that the RCC had ever decreed gift-giving on Christmas. (Too bad I didn't know that growing up in an RCC home.) I know that they make Christmas a "holy day of obligation" for attendance at the Mass. Do you have a reference for the gift stuff?[/quote:e321d59336]

Hmmm, I grew up Roman Catholic too and was always taught that gift-giving reflects God's gift of the baby Jesus to the world as well as the practice of St. Nicholas. Gift-giving in the RCC often takes place on St. Nicholas' feast day (December 6) as well as the day of Christ-mass (December 25). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, I believe gift-giving takes place on Ephiphany (January 6). I think gift-giving was part of the festival of Saturnalia way before the birth of Christ. However, this custom may or may not be officially decreed, but it is certainly encouraged, at least in my experience.


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## JohnV (Sep 24, 2004)

My views are quite different. The Dutch have a separate day for Saint Nicholas than they do for Christmas. I don't like that arrangement. To me it gives Christmas an entirely non-Christian basis, and I won't recognize that as a cause for celebration. We, that is my family, don't recognize Santa or the Easter Bunny at all. If Christ is not the object of these celebrations, then it is not for us. This goes for New Year's Eve and Day, Thanksgiving Day, Ascension Day (if we observe Easter, then Ascension Day goes with it), and Good Friday. These are all optional, not mandatory. An opportunity to worship on those days, not as a formal Sunday worship, but as an informal congregational opportunity, is welcome. If we would not worship on those days, we would not observe them at all. So I think a separate Sinter Klaas day is ridiculous; it does not serve the purpose of keeping the world out of Christmas. It makes Sinter Klaas (Saint Nicholas) the reason for giving gifts, not Christ; so it is just a throw-back to Romanist traditions.

I know that Dec. 25 is an arbitrarily chosen day for Christ's birth, that there is some dispute as to whether Christ was crucified on a Friday, etc., etc. But these hardly weigh into the considerations. If Christ died on a Thursday, the question would not change at all: we would just change the question to Thursday instead of Friday. Or if we determined that Christ was born on November 9th, or some other day; we would then be talking about Christmas on that day instead of Dec. 25. It makes no difference in the discussion at hand.

This is what I grew up with. And I am comfortable with it. I have no problem keeping the ideas in place. They are deeply ingrained in me. Yet another person, just as Dutch, just as Reformed, but in the regular practice of observing a Sinter Klaas day and Christmas Day, at each end of the month, will have a different concept of these than I do. He will think that I am mixing Christmas with the world, and I will think the same of him. Some people have tried to talk me out of my observations by pointing to the arbitrariness of the days, as if that makes a difference. I just ignore them, as that is an entirely different subject. Some observe Christmas Day but think it sinful to go to church on that day, as if it somehow goes against the RPW. So I recognize that my views are not universally understood. 

I have found that the practice we hold to as a family has helped us to keep our focus on what Christmas means to celebrate, and that celebration of it is good and proper for us to do. And what better way than to go to God's house to sing together, to pray together, and to listen to God's Word and receive His blessing?

The church I have been attending the last few years does not do these things. Worship is for Sundays only. I can respect them for it, for they impose neither one way or the other. Some members go to churches of their relatives on those days, and there is no questioning of that. Neither side imposes it on the other. It begs the question, but is a livable situation.


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## ReformedWretch (Sep 24, 2004)

I like JohnV's answer the best so far. It's pretty much how I see it.

You see, if you wait long enough someone will post a great response you can just agree with.


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## Contra_Mundum (Sep 25, 2004)

You could teach me a thing or two, Adam.
I'm more likely to spew verbiage. A good thread gets going, my mind starts spinning, and my fingers get itchy. 

I wonder sometimes how many threads I've actually killed, if its some kind of record or other...


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## govols (Sep 25, 2004)

I'm still taking MLK day off from work.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 25, 2004)

[quote:14ca9103ca]My views are quite different.[/quote:14ca9103ca]

John, 

I appreciate your comments. Can you elaborate on how your view is consistent with the Regulative Principle of Worship?

So far on this thread we seem to have a mix of views ranging from 1) keep Christ out of Christmas and keep Christmas out of the church; 2) put Christ back into Christmas and keep Christmas in the church; 3) don't celebrate Christmas in the church or anywhere else; 4) take MLK day off from work.

Any other points of view out there on this issue? Christmas is the major holiday to be addressed of course, but I am especially interested in folks' views of other holidays like Reformation Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.

Does anyone hold to a view of ecclesiastical and civil holidays that is consistent with the principles and practices of the Puritans?


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## blhowes (Sep 25, 2004)

[quote:742da9c9f3="Andrew"]So far on this thread we seem to have a mix of views ranging from 1) keep Christ out of Christmas and keep Christmas out of the church; 2) put Christ back into Christmas and keep Christmas in the church; 3) don't celebrate Christmas in the church or anywhere else; 4) take MLK day from work.Any other points of view out there on this issue?[/quote:742da9c9f3]
I think of Christmas time more in terms of family fun than as it being a religious holiday. I went through phases (and this may just be another phase) where I thought of it as being a pagan holiday that Christians should have no part of, and also where it was OK to celebrate it, as long as we 'remember what its all about'. Now, I just enjoy it as a secular holiday and don't try to 'keep Christ in Christmas' or to try and justify why we do certain traditions because of any similarities there may be to what's described in the scriptures.

I don't go out of my way to try and make it a religious holiday or to keep it 'pagan' either. I think of it as family time where we just have fun, exchange gifts, etc. If we're at the mall and the kids want to get their pictures taken with Santa, I have no problem with that - I even asked the younger one last year if he wanted to go to the mall to have his picture taken. I don't encourage them to believe in Santa, nor do I try and isolate them from the tradition. What do I tell them if they ask if there really is a Santa? The same thing I tell them if they ask any other question about whatever topic - the truth. 

Though I don't think Christmas is bad per se, I think it has no place in church. I even wish pastors weren't 'forced' to preach about the manger passages on that day (unless God truly lays those passages on their hearts). 

One thing I've always found interesting about Christmas is that people seem to be much more open to hearing the gospel during that time, accept tracts, etc. That doesn't mean more get saved or anything, but it seems to be an accepted tradition that more people are focused on the 'baby Jesus' and are more willing to talk about Jesus to some extent.


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## JohnV (Sep 25, 2004)

[quote:2877949a72="Andrew"]John, 

I appreciate your comments. Can you elaborate on how your view is consistent with the Regulative Principle of Worship? [/quote:2877949a72]
As I understand the RPW nothing may be added to Scripture nor taken from it; and as it applies to worship, nothing may be added or subracted from God's principles of worship. I view God's commands for worship as quite general in one sense, and quite specific in another. If you recall from the Exclusive Psalmody thread, I view the command to sing, using all kinds of instruments, making new songs, including all of creation, etc., to mean that confining singing only to the Psalms goes directly against the RPW. 

As a believer I cannot divorce my worldly existence from my spiritual life. A life of faith is an effort to bring the former under the latter more and more each day. So if I celebrate Christ's birth once a year, or His observe a day for His crucifixion and for His resurrection, or for His ascension too, and a day out of the year to pray for and to thank Him for His bounty to me, then I cannot just see it as a day apart from Him. 

So we have these alternatives: celebrate these days; or do not celebrate these days. It is not an alternative to me to celebrate them without ascribing to Christ praise. The same with the passing of an old year and the dawning of new one. If we count our years with thanksgiving, then do we just watch them go by? Or do we return thanks to God who gives us these years? 

These things do not add to the regulations of worship, nor do they detract anything from what the Word enjoins upon us. If, for example, we have Ps. 90, in which we pray that we be taught to count our years, certainly it cannot mean that we learn to count to 70, or perhaps 80 or more, and nothing more. Its not speaking of counting numbers, but counting God's beneficent graces to us even in the years given us. So it is not extra-Biblical to go to God's house of worship on the day of the passing of an old year and the beginning of a new year. I see it as starting the year with God, and ending the year with God, giving thanks in all circumstances. If we are commanded to count our years, then how do we do that in obedience? Without worship?

To take the RPW legalistically is to contravene the RPW. It cannot be invoked legalistically without adding to or taking away from what the Word commands us. It points to the Word, not the regulation itself. It is a principle for using the Word, not a law on top of the Scriptures. So the Directory of Public Worship, to wit:
[quote:2877949a72]THERE is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath. 

Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.[/quote:2877949a72]
is quite right. These days ought not to be counted as Holy-days, and need to discontinued as days of religious ritual observances. They have been added. They need to be seen for what they are, the voluntary gathering of God's people to celebrate in His grace with praise and worship on ordinary days, but set aside for counting God's grace; and not demanded religiously observed ritual. But if this regulation is added to Scripture to keep us from going to His house on any other day but Sunday, then it is directly in opposition to the RPW. 

Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, Thanksgiving, New Years, these days are not Holy-days. These are days for observing on a regular basis God's gifts to us, His grace and continuing sovereign love to us. To call them Holy days is repugnant to the proper use of them to worship God for all that He has done for us. They are ordinary days that we may freely use to His honour, and for our spiritual and communal benefit.

However, if this causes any friction among God's people, then it is to be removed as any stumbling block would be. Though I believe I have the freedom to use these days in this manner, I would rather give them up than to cause others trouble.


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## Puritan Sailor (Sep 27, 2004)

We had another thread on this issue last year. And I still feel the same way about it. I treat these holidays as "free will offerings" where we may voluntarily gather together for worship. There's nothing wrong with remembering Christ's birth or death, so long as it is not a required observance imposed on the people of God outside the Lord's Day. But, the one thing I will not do, is mix the holidays with our cultural pollutions. Christmas is about Christ, not Santa, hence you will not find statues or pics of Santa at my house. I'm still debating the Christmas tree, cause I don't see what it has to do with remembering Christ's birth. But the giving of gifts, the singing of christmas songs, and most importantly, teaching my family what was so significant about Christ taking on human flesh, I think are perfectly legitimate. So Christmas for us is usually rather simple. No Santa, only Christ. The same for easter. No bunny, just Christ. Of course I do benefit from all the great candy sales that time of year too :bs2:


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 27, 2004)

[quote:e3e829e163="puritansailor"]Of course I do benefit from all the great candy sales that time of year too :bs2:[/quote:e3e829e163]

Although I do not celebrate Christmas or Easter as noted previously, I too benefit - without any scruples of conscience - from candy sales around Easter and the big December 26 sales. Cadbury creme eggs are the best - but I especially love munching the heads off of chocolate Easter bunnies!!


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## Ianterrell (Sep 28, 2004)

'I am interested to learn about the views of fellow PB'ers with respect to what are commonly referred to as "holidays."'

My Opinion: POPERY!!! :flaming:


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## Ianterrell (Sep 28, 2004)

[quote:ec0a768cc3="wsw201"]Andrew,

That's right. If you want to have a Christmas Tree, or have an Easter egg hunt, that's fine with me. These are secular holidays just like Labor Day. But don't bring it into the Church with special services and such.[/quote:ec0a768cc3]


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 6, 2004)

Here's an interesting resource I found online concerning the Puritannical view of Christ-mass:

http://www.ecwsa.org/relecwchristmas.html


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## C. Matthew McMahon (Oct 6, 2004)

Here are a few articles on Christmas......

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Christmas/Christmas.htm


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 16, 2004)

Here's a CNN article on the upcoming "holiday"...

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/15/halloween.sabbath.ap/index.html


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 18, 2004)

Any other thoughts on holidays??


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## Peter (Oct 19, 2004)

Holy-Days other than the Christian Sabbath (X-mass, Ishtar, etc. which are what the Directory for Publik Worship means by the term) are popish idolatries. They are nowhere commanded in scripture and thus are forbidden. That's something our Reformed and Presbyterian fore father's universally understood.

The Regulative Principle of Worship and Christmas, Brian Schwertley
>http://entrewave.com/view/reformedonline/Christmas%20(web).htm

A Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies, George Gillespie
>http://www.naphtali.com/GGhodays.htm


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## yeutter (Oct 19, 2004)

As John V. pointed out the Article 67 of the traditional Dutch Reformed Church order directs that in addition to Sunday; Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Day of Prayer, National Day of Thanksgiving, and Old and New Years Day are to be observed.

Lutherans and Anglicans would add Advent, Ash Wednesday, Trinity Sunday, and All Saints Day to the days of obligation. 

The retention of the traditional church calandar served much the same function as Heidelberg Cathechism preaching. It directed the Church to consider the incarnation, and nativity of our Lord as well as His atonement and ressurrection.

[Edited on 20-10-2004 by yeutter]


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 2, 2004)

Now that Reformation Day and Halloween are behind us, and the Roman Catholic holidays such as All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, and the Day of the Dead, are almost over, we can look forward to a day of giving thanks later this month.

First, though, does anyone celebrate Guy Fawkes Day (November 5)? (See http://www.guy-fawkes.com/)


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