Bible Study Festivals

7/29/2019 Bible Study Festivals

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CELEBRATIONS

1. Why do we do some of the curious things we do? Why pretend that a jollyman in a red suit gives toys made by elves to children on one night a year?Why pretend that rabbits lay eggs? And why do it in the name of religion?

2. Christmas is one of the worlds most popular holidays, celebrated bypeople of many faiths. Yet the holiday has a strange and convoluted past,one hinted at in such puzzling symbols as decorated trees, holly wreaths

and mistletoe.Is it possible?

3. Many millions of people believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead on aSunday morning. But do the Scriptures tell a different story? And how didrabbits and colored eggs come to be associated with Christs resurrection?

4. Many are surprised to learn that the Bible nowhere encourages us to

celebrate Easter and Christmas. It does, however, show that God revealeda series of festivals that teach mankind about His great plan for all of us!

5. History shows that religious authorities systematically set aside the Biblesdays of worship and substituted other practices and celebrations withdistinctly non-Christian origins. Is God pleased and honoured with such

worship?


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ORGANISATION OF PRESENTATION

Introduction

Valentines Day

Halloween

Christmas & Easter

God Instituted festivals

Queries and Discussions


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The ancient origins of Christmas customs

During the second century B.C., the Greeks practiced rites to honor heirgod Dionysus (also called Bacchus). The Latin name for this celebrationwas Bacchanalia. It spread from the Greeks to Rome, center of heRoman Empire.

It was on or about December 21st that the ancient Greeks celebratedwhat are known to us as the Bacchanalia or festivities in honor of

Bacchus the god of wine. In these festivities the people gavethemselves up to songs, dances and other revels which frequentlypassed the limits of decency and order

Because of the nocturnal orgies associated with this festival, the RomanSenate suppressed its observance in 186 B.C. It took the senators several

years to completely accomplish this goal because of the holidays popularity

Suppressing a holiday was unusual for the Romans since they later becamea melting pot of many types of gods and worship. Just as the Romansassimilated culture, art and customs from the peoples absorbed into theirempire, they likewise adopted those peoples religious practices


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The ancient origins of Christmas customs

In addition to the Bacchanalia, the Romans celebrated another holiday, theSaturnalia, held in honor of Saturn, the god of time, [which] began on

December 17th and continued for seven days. These also often ended in riotand disorder. Hence the words Bacchanalia and Saturnalia acquired an evilreputation in later times.

Winter-solstice celebrations

Both of these ancient holidays were observed around the winter solstice theday of the year with the shortest period of daylight. From the Romans alsocame another Christmas fundamental: the date, December 25. When theJulian calendar was proclaimed in 46 C.E. [A.D.], it set into law a practice thatwas already common: dating the winter solstice as December 25. Laterreforms of the calendar would cause the astronomical solstice to migrate to

December 21, but the older dates irresistible resonance would remain

On the heels of the Saturnalia, the Romans marked December 25 with acelebration called the Brumalia. Bruma is thought to have been contractedfrom the Latin brevum or brevis, meaning brief or short, denoting theshortest day of the year.


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Early Christians

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During the days of Jesus apostles in the first century, the early Christianshad no knowledge of Christmas as we know it. But, as a part of the Roman

Empire, they may have noted the Roman observance of the Saturnalia whilethey themselves persisted in celebrating the customary feasts of the Lord (listed in Leviticus 23).

The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us that the first Christians continued toobserve the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations ofevents which those festivals had foreshadowed

Over the following centuries, new, non-biblical observances such as

Christmas and Easter were gradually introduced into traditional Christianity.History shows that these new days came to be forcibly promoted while thebiblical feast days of apostolic times were systematically rejected.Christmas, the [purported] festival of the birth of Jesus Christ, wasestablished in connection with a fading of the expectation of Christsimminent return


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How the Christmas date was set?Saturnalia and the kalends [new moon, in this case of January] were thecelebrations most familiar to early Christians, December 17-24 and January1-3, but the tradition of celebrating December 25 as Christs birthday came tothe Romans from Persia. Mithra, the Persian god of light and sacred

contracts, was born out of a rock on December 25. Rome was famous for itsflirtations with strange gods and cults, and in the third century theunchristian emperor Aurelian established the festival of Dies Invicti Solis, theDay of the Invincible Sun, on December 25.

Mithra was an embodiment of the sun, so this period of its rebirth was amajor day in Mithraism, which had become Romes latest official religion with

the patronage of Aurelian. It is believed that the emperor Constantineadhered to Mithraism up to the time of his conversion to Christianity. He wasprobably instrumental in seeing that the major feast of his old religion wascarried over to his new faith

This is an amazingly late date. Christmas was not observed in Rome thecapital of the empire, until about 300 years after Christs death. Its originscannot be traced back to either the teachings or practices of the earliest

Christians. The introduction of Christmas represented a significant departurefrom the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

Although it is difficult to determine the first time anyone celebrated

December 25 as Christmas, historians are in general agreement that it wassometime during the fourth century.


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The roots of modern customs

SantaClaus is an American corruption of the Dutch form SanNicolaas, afigure brought to America by the early Dutch colonists (EncyclopaediaBritannica, 11th edition, Vol. 19, p. 649, Nicholas, St.). This name, in turn,

stems from St. Nicholas, bishop of the city of Myra in southern AsiaMinor(Turkey), a Catholic saint honoured by the Greeks and the Latins onDec. 6.

Knowing what we have already learned about the ancient pre-Christianorigins of Christmas, we shouldnt be surprised to learn that Santa Claus isnothing but a figure recycled from ancient beliefs tied in with paganmidwinter festivals.

What about other common customs and symbols associated with Christmas?Where did they originate? On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses weredecorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the

poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and firtrees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festiveseason. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have alwaysbeen associate with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 2, p. 903,Christmas).


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Did Jesus Christ tell us to celebrate His birth? No. He left explicitinstructions regarding how His followers are to commemorate Hisdeath (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), but nothing about His birth.


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Easter: Masking a Biblical Truth

The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us,popular customs reflect many ancient thisinstance, connected with such as the

symbols of the Easter hare or rabbit (15thedition, Macropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 605,ChurchYear).

The word Easter appears once in the King James Version of the Bible, inActs 12:4. Reputable scholars and reference works point out that the wordEaster in this verse comes from the Greek word pascha, meaning Passover.Modern translations correctly translate this word this word Passoveraseven the King James Version does in other verses (see Matthew 26:2, 17-19; Mark 14:12; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

In addition to rabbits and eggs, another popular Easter custom had preChristian origins: Also popular among Europeans and Americans on Easter isham, because the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-ChristianEuropean culture (The Encyclopaedia of Religion, 1987, p. 558, Easter).


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Easters ancient history

The roots of the Easter celebration date to long before Jesus Christs life,death and resurrection. Various Easter customs can be traced back to ancientspring celebrations surrounding Astarte, the goddess of spring and fertility.

The Bible refers to her as Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians (2Kings 23:13) and, as Vines mentions, the Queen ofHeaven, whose worshipGod condemned (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:24-28).

Francis Weiser, professor of philosophy at Boston College, provides these

facts: The origin of the Easter egg is based on the fertility lore of the Indo-European races The Easter bunny had its origin in pre-Christian fertilitylore. Hare and rabbit were the most fertile animals our fore- fathers knew,serving as symbols of abundant new life in the spring season(Handbook ofChristian Feasts and Customs, 1958, pp. 233, 236).

The Babylonian and Assyrian fertility goddess was Ishtar, from which derivesthe names Astarte and Ashtoreth and very likely the Anglo-Saxon Eostre orGermanic Ostara, goddess of spring, the origin of the word Easter(this alsogiving us the word east, the direction of the sunrise).


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"Though the New Testament contains no reference to an annual feastcelebrating the Resurrection, the practice was well-established by the secondcentury. Early churchmen were divided on whether to hold a feast on 14 Nisan(the date of the Biblical Pesach, which morphed into the name for Easter in

many languages) or on the following Sunday; disputes and excommunicationsensued in this Quartodeciman controversy until the Council of Nicea in 325decided it must fall on a Sunday. Eventually the date was formulated roughly as"the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the vernal equinox."This can range between March 22 and April 25.

Passover-Easter debate/Sunday resurrection-sun rise or sun set

The egg was a sacred symbol among the Babylonians. They believed anold fable about an egg of wondrous size which was supposed to have fallenfrom heaven into the Euphrates River. From this marvelous egg - accordingto the ancient story - the Goddess Ishtar (Semiramis), was hatched. And

so the egg came to symbolize the Goddess Easter


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Associated with Ishtar was the young god Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14), consideredboth divine and mortal. In Babylonian mythology Tammuz died annually andwas reborn year after year, representing the yearly cycle of the seasons andthe crops. This pagan belief later was identified with the pagan gods Baal and

Anat in Canaan(Nelsons New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Gods, Pagan, p.509). It was believed that Ishtar brought about the rebirth or resurrection ofTammuz in the spring, coinciding with the blossoming of nature.

Throughout the Old Testament, God

expressed His anger with His people whenthey served these false gods (Judges2:13-14; 10:6-7; 1 Kings 11:5-11; Ezekiel8:14-18).

h f ( h) l b d h i h
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The Feast of Passover (Pesach) - celebrated the night

when the angel passed over the Hebrew households

in Egypt.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread - commemorated the

first 7 days of the Exodus when the Hebrews left

Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to

add yeast to their dough.

The Feast of Weeks - also called the Pentecost(Shavuot). It marked the end of the harvest and

offering of first fruits.

The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) - the blowing

of a ram's horn, or shofar, to call the people to

prepare for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

Later this day became the Jewish New Year (Rosh

Hashanah).The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - the most

solemn day of the year. On this day, the High Priest

sacrificed sin offerings to atone all the sins of the

people and entered the Most Holy Place to offer

incense.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) - celebrated the

completion of the great fall harvest and remembered

the Hebrews in the Exodus living in tents for 40years.

The Feast of the Last Great Day (Shmini Atzeret) -

marked the conclusion of the festival year.

Of the above, three were considered as "major

feasts": the Feast of Passover (Pesach), the Feast of

Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles

(Sukkot). These are often called "pilgrim feasts"

because all adult males were required to travel to the

sanctuar to take art Deuteronom 16:16 .
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First, through the prophet Jeremiah,

God said, Do not learn the way of theGentiles; do not be dismayed at thesigns of heaven, for the Gentiles aredismayed at them (Jeremiah 10:2).

God is not pleased when people aredouble-minded (James 1:8; 4:8) in

their worship accepting false religionsand customs while professing toworship Him.


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Halloween

Origins and Traditions


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HalloweenHalloween began two thousand years ago inIreland, England, and Northern France with theancient religion of the Celts (Paganism).


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This day marked the beginning of the dark, cold

winter, a time of year that was often associatedwith human death.


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On the night of October 31, they celebrated

Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts ofthe dead returned to earth.


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People thought that they would encounter ghosts

if they left their homes


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A th i fl f Ch i ti it d i t C lti


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As the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic

lands, in the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV

introducedAll Saints' Day, a time to honor saints

and martyrs, to replace the Pagan festival ofSamhain. It was observed on May 13th.


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During theAll Souls Dayfestival in England, poor people

would beg for soul cakes, made out of square pieces of

bread with currants

Families would give soul cakes in return for a promise to

pray for the familys relatives


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In 834, Pope Gregory III movedAll Saint's Day

from May 13th

to Nov. 1st

. Oct. 31st

thus becameAll Hallows' Eve ('hallow' means 'saint').


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November 2nd, calledAll Souls Day, is the day set

apart in the Roman Catholic Church for thecommemoration of the dead.


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Children still go from house-to-house, but insteadof ale, food, and money, they get candy.


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In 1848, millions of Irish emigrants poured into

America as a result of the potato famine. Theybrought with them their traditions ofHalloween.


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They called Halloween Oidche Shamhna (`Night

of Samhain'), as their ancestors had, and kept

the traditional observances.


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The Irish used to carry turnips with candles in

them to light their way at night and to scare awayghosts..


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When they arrived in America they foundthat pumpkins were both plentiful and easier to carve than turnips.


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Now, Jack-O-Lanterns are used for decorating

peoples homes.


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People have recently started carving less traditional

Jack-O-Lanterns


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Today people go to parties


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Take their kids trick-or-treating.


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And eat lots of candy!


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If you dont give candy to a trick-or-treater


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This could happen to you!


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An article from a prominent Christian magazine suggested that"Christians should embrace the 'devilish' holiday with gustoandlaughter." The author suggests that Halloween presents us with anopportunity to "mock" and "laugh at" Satan and "the forces of evil."

As a loving Father, God commands us to avoid things that can harmus. Concerning the spirit world, notice what God says to His people:

Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek afterthem, to be defiled by them: I am the L o r d your God ( Leviticus19:31).

In addition to this command to avoid practices that pertain to evilspirits, God warned ancient Israel to avoid any kind of occultpractices: There shall not be found among you anyone who

practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens,or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist,or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are anabomination to the L o r d ( Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Paul condemned the sexual immorality that was a common part of the fertility

rites in honour of the goddess Aphrodite (1 Corinthians 6:13, 18; 1 Thessalonians

4:3) (1 Corinthians 10: 19-21)


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On February 14 millions of peopleexchange tokens and messages of

love and affection. Where and howdid the curious customs of Valentine'sDay begin? Does God have anythingto say about such practices?

What is the TRUE HISTORY ofValentine's Day?WHERE did we get Valentine customsand symbols?Does it matter to GOD that wecelebrate the holiday?

Not everyone loves St. Valentine/Saudi-Iran-Pakistan-India

The Business of Love


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Though Valentine hearts and roses are red, retailers and business owners seethe green of MONEY when it comes to celebrating the holiday. Here are somefast facts about the Valentine's holiday*:In the United States Valentine's week is ranked number one in regard to

chocolate candy sales. Sales of chocolate account for more than $345 millionout of the more than $448 million dollars in candy consumers will purchase tocelebrate the holiday.

E-commerce retailers expect to rack up about $650 million dollars sellingfood, candy, flowers and other Valentine's Day related goods.

About 15 million Electronic Valentines (E-Valentines) were sent in 2010.About 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged each year.Teachers receive the most cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, thensweethearts. Children ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 millionValentine's cards with teachers, classmates and family members.

Canadians, in 2007, averaged spending $92.30 on Valentine gifts.U.S. consumers, in 2009, spent an average of $102.50 on Valentine's giftsand merchandise. Total spending on the holiday was expected to reach $14.7BILLION.The 35 to 44 year old age group spends the most money on the holiday,followed by young adults aged 18 to 24. The 55 to 64 year old age groupspends the least money for Valentine's Day.

Lastly, and not surprisingly, men spend nearly TWICE the amount of moneycelebratin the holida than women do.

How did we get Valentine's Day?


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g y

In 313 A.D. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great legalizedChristianity and ended Rome's persecution of Christians. In 380 A.D.Christianity is made the OFFICIAL state religion of the Roman Empire.

These actions not only enabled the teachings of Christianity to spreadunhindered within the empire, it encouraged non-Christians to convertto the once-persecuted religion.

The pagans, however, who adopted Christianity as their religion didnot entirely abandon the traditions and practices they held before

their "conversion." One of these traditions brought into the churchwas the fertility celebration known as the Lupercalia:

"Yet the vestiges of superstition were not absolutely obliterated,and the festival of the Lupercalia, whose origin had preceded thefoundation of Rome, was still celebrated under the reign of

Anthemius." (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by EdwardGibbons, Chapter 36, Part 3)

Western Roman Emperor Anthemius ruled the empire from 467 to472 A.D. Mr. Gibbons goes on to state:

"Aft th i f th I i l it (R ) th Ch i ti till
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"After the conversion of the Imperial city (Rome), the Christians stillcontinued, in the month of February, the annual celebration of theLupercalia; to which they ascribed a secret and mysterious influenceon the genial powers of the animal and vegetable world. "

Twenty-four years after the death of Emperor Anthemius a "christianized"form of the festival of Lupercalia was officially adopted by the church as a dayto honor a saint - St. Valentine:

"As far back as 496 A.D., (Catholic) Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia onFebruary 15 to St. Valentine's Day on February 14." (Customs and Holidays

Around the Worldby Lavinia Dobler).

"Early Christians were happier with the idea of a holiday honoring the saint ofromantic causes than with one recognizing a pagan festival.

In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius named February 14 in honor of St. Valentine as thepatron saint of lovers.

February 14th as the day to honor Saint Valentine stayed on the Romanchurch's Calendar of Saints until 1969 A.D. The day was removed from thecalendar by Pope Paul VI.
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What was the festival of the Lupercalia?

The Lupercalia festival was partly in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who

(according to legend) nursed the infant orphans Romulus and Remus.Roman legend states that Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome in753 B.C. The pagan festival was also in honor of the Roman god Lupercuswho was considered the god of shepherds. Lupercus was Rome's equivalentto the Greek god Pan.

The link between the Lupercalia, fertility, and romance in general is clearlyevident in the festivities that occurred during the celebrations:
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"To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Romanpriests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulusand Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been caredfor by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, forfertility, and a dog, for purification.

"The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in thesacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women

and fields of crops with the goat hide strips. Far from being fearful,Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because itwas believed the strips would make them more fertile in the comingyear.

"Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in thecity would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors wouldthen each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for theyear with his chosen woman. These matches often ended inmarriage." (Valentine's Day, History Channel web site, retrievedJan. 10, 2011)

Red RosesR d id t b th f it fl f V th R dd


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Some Christians see nothing wrong with holidays like Valentine's Day, NewYear's Day and Halloween despite their pagan origin.. They might have oncebeen used to worship God, are now deemed completely secular. And sincewhat God actually forbids is using pagan customs to worship Him, we are free

to practice pagan worship customs if they are not now used for worship.

Red roses were said to be the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddessof love. Red is also a color that signifies strong feelings.

DovesDoves are symbols of loyalty and love because they mate for life and share

the care of their babies.

CupidIn Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love.Today, Cupid is frequently shown shooting his bow to inspire romanticlove.

Valentine HeartIt is unclear where the familiar heart shape originated. One possibilityinvolves the now-extinct North African plant silphium. The city-state ofCyrene had a lucrative trade in the plant, which looks just like the heartshape used today. Though mostly used for seasoning, it was also used for

birth control.

But, does it MATTER?


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,

Does it matter that an ancient festival used to worship pagan gods andpromote fertility was adopted by the church and used to worship the God ofthe Bible? Does God really CARE what customs are used to worship and honorHim or what holidays we celebrate?

Notice the following warning God gave to Israel:

"When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you goto dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed toyourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyedfrom before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'HOWDID THESE NATIONS SERVE THEIR GODS? I ALSO WILL DO LIKEWISE.' "

"You shall NOT worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abominationto the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods . . . " (Deuteronomy12:29-31, NKJV)

Note that the issue in this passage is NOT the worship of other gods. Thewarning is to not adopt CUSTOMS used to worship or honor other gods inorder to serve and worship the true God.

Valentine's day and its symbols are rooted in the worship of false gods andhas no Biblical basis. Those who celebrate the holiday and consider

themselves believers in the God of the Bible need to take a prayerful look atno lon er observin the holida .


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Philipians 4:8

Romans 14: 17,18I Corinthians 10:31Hebrews 13:21

CONCLUSION

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