The word holiday comes from an Old English word meaning “holy day” and was originally used to refer to days of religious observance. However, today the word typically refers to a vacation day, and most holiday celebrations are anything but holy. Many of the holidays celebrated today have existed in some form for hundreds of years. Like us, the earliest Christians had to decide which holidays and festivals to observe and which to avoid.

Easter

The central holiday in the early church was Easter (originally called Pascha, meaning Passover). Pascha was the celebration of the Christian Passover (Jesus’ resurrection) rather than the Jewish Passover. The observance of Easter dates to apostolic times:

• “When the blessed Polycarp was visiting in Rome, . . . Anicetus [bishop of Rome] could not persuade Polycarp to forego the observance [of Easter on the date of Nisan 14, rather than on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox], for these things had always been observed by John the disciple of our Lord, and by other apostles with whom he had been conversant.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “We ourselves are accustomed to observe certain days. For example, there is the Lord’s Day, the Preparation [Good Friday], Pascha [Easter] and Pentecost. . . . He who considers that ‘Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us’ [1 Cor. 5:7], and that it is his duty to keep the feast by eating of the flesh of the Word, never ceases to keep the paschal [Easter] feast. For Pascha means a ‘passover.’ So he is ever striving in all his thoughts, words, and deeds to pass over from the things of this life to God.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “They will assemble together at Easter, that most blessed day of ours. And let them rejoice!” – Commodianus (c. 240)

The early Christians observed Easter by fasting beforehand. The length of the fast varied between regions. Some people fasted only the Saturday before Easter, some fasted Friday and Saturday, others fasted the entire week, and a minority fasted for 40 days. (The 40-day fast was not required in the early church, but it eventually developed into what is now known as Lent.) Irenaeus writes of this fast:

• “The controversy concerns not only the day, but also as regards the form itself of the fast. For some consider themselves bound to fast one day, others two days, others still more. In fact, others fast forty days. . . . And this variety among the observers [of the fasts] did not have its origin in our time, but long before in that of our predecessors. Some of our predecessors, perhaps not being very accurate in their observance of it, handed down to posterity the custom as it had been [introduced], through simplicity or private fancy. Nevertheless, all these churches lived in peace with one another. . . . In fact, the difference of the fast establishes the harmony of our faith.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)

As noted in the earlier quotation from Origin and other writers, early believers also observed Good Friday and Pentecost as well as the weekly Lord’s Day (Sunday). These four days (Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, and the weekly Lord’s Day) were the only days of observance in the early church.

Christmas

Interestingly, the early Christian writings prior to AD 325 make no reference of celebrating the birth of Christ. One reference exists as to the possible time of year of His birth:

• “There are those who have calculated not only the year of our Lord’s birth, but also the day. They say that it took place . . . on the twenty-fifth day of Pachon [May 20]. . . . Others say that He was born on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth day of Pharmuthi [April 19 or 20].” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)

According to a fourth-century liturgical calendar, the earliest recorded Christmas celebration took place in Rome on December 25^th of AD 336 and spread to the rest of the Roman Empire by the end of the fourth century.

Why did fourth-century leaders choose to observe Christ’s birth in December, when the early Christians thought that He was born earlier in the year? Interestingly, mid-December was when the Saturnalia, a Roman festival in honor of the pagan deity Saturn, was held. The Saturnalia had been celebrated since the fifth century BC and involved feasts, gift-giving, candles, wreaths, gambling, and human sacrifice. The early Christians had nothing to do with this festival, as Tertullian wrote:

• [Addressing pagans:] “On your day of gladness, we [Christians] neither cover our doorposts with wreaths, nor intrude upon the day with lamps. At the call of public festivity, you consider it a proper thing to decorate your house like some new brothel. . . . We are accused of a lower sacrilege because we do not celebrate along with you the holidays of the Caesars in a manner forbidden alike by modesty, decency, and purity.” – Tertullian (c. 197)
• “The Saturnalia, New Year, Midwinter festivals, and Matronalia [the Roman equivalent of Mother’s Day] are frequented by us! Presents come and go! There are New Year’s gifts! Games join their noise! Banquets join their din! The pagans are more faithful to their own sect. . . . For, even if they had known them, they would not have shared the Lord’s Day or Pentecost with us. For they would fear lest they would appear to be Christians. Yet, we are not apprehensive that we might appear to be pagans!” – Tertullian (c. 200)

By the fourth century, the institutional church began observing “Christian” holidays at the same time that pagan feasts were held in order to counteract their influence. However, this practice was counterproductive. As believers relaxed the Biblical standards of separation from the world, Christianity became diluted with pagan traditions. The light that once shone brightly began to assimilate the darkness of the world around it.

Other holidays

As seen in the above quotations, the Roman Empire had many different festivals, including the New Year’s celebration, various Midwinter festivals, and the Matronalia (the equivalent of Mother’s Day). Yearly celebrations also included the Minervalia (a celebration to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and art), the Lupercalia (a fertility festival that later morphed into Valentine’s Day), and the Septimontium (a festival in honor of the seven hills of Rome).

The early Christians taught that believers should have nothing to do with these festivals:

• “You Christians have your own registers, your own calendar. You have nothing to do with the joys of the world. In fact, you are called to the very opposite – for ‘the world will rejoice, but you will mourn’ [John 16:20].” – Tertullian (c. 212)
• “Compare the festivals that are observed among us (which have been described above) with the public feasts of Celsus and the pagans. Would you not say that ours are much more sacred observances than those feasts in which the lust of the flesh runs riot and leads to drunkenness and debauchery?” – Origen (c. 248)
• “Nowadays, you will find more doors of heathens without lamps and laurel wreaths than of Christians. . . . If it is for an idol’s honor, without doubt an idol’s honor is idolatry. Yet, even if it is for a man’s sake, . . . let us again consider that all idolatry is worship done to men.” – Tertullian (c. 200)
• “We must now address the subject of holidays and other extraordinary festivities. We sometimes excuse these to our wantonness, sometimes to our timidity – in opposition to the common faith and discipline. The first point, indeed, on which I will join issue is this: whether a servant of God should share with the very nations themselves in matters of this kind – either in dress, food, or any or in any other kind of festivity. . . . ‘There is no communion between light and darkness’ [2 Cor. 6:14], between life and death. Or else, we should rescind what has been written, ‘The world will rejoice, but you will grieve’ [John 16:20]. . . . When the world rejoices, let us grieve. And when the world afterward grieves, we will rejoice.” – Tertullian (c. 200)
• “Christians have no acquaintance with the festivals of the Gentiles.” – Tertullian (c. 198)
• “It would follow as a consequence that we could take part in public feasts, if it were proved that the public feasts had nothing wrong in them and were grounded upon true views of the character of God. . . . However, the so-called public festivals can in no way be shown to harmonize with the service of God. Rather, on the contrary, they prove to have been devised by men for the purpose of commemorating some human events – or to set forth certain qualities of water, earth, or the fruits of the earth. Accordingly, it is clear that those who wish to offer an enlightened worship to the Divine Being will act according to sound reason and not take part in the public feasts.” – Origen (c. 248)
• “What less of a defilement does he incur on that ground than does a business . . . that is publicly consecrated to an idol? The Minervalia are as much Minerva’s as the Saturnalia is Saturn’s. . . . Likewise, New Year’s gifts must be caught at. The Septimontium must be kept. And all the presents of Midwinter and Feast of Dear Kinsmanship must be exacted. The schools must be wreathed with flowers. . . . The same thing takes place on an idol’s birthday. Every ceremony of the devil is frequented. Who will think that these things are befitting to a Christian teacher?” – Tertullian (c. 200)
• “We may not join in their feasts, which are celebrated in honor of demons.” – Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390)

Halloween

Halloween originated as a pagan, demonic festival of the ancient Celtics known as Samhain (pronounced “SAH-win”). Like Christmas, the pagan traditions were brought into the Roman Catholic church as early as the eighth century, and the day was renamed “All Hallows’ Eve” (because it was the day before All Saints Day, when the dead in Christ were to be remembered).

Samhain was the Celtic new year festival celebrated at the end of the harvest season before wintertime, and the Celts believed that the ghosts or spirits of the dead haunted the earth during the festival. People sacrificed food, animals, and even humans in order to appease the spirits, believing that spirits that were not “treated” would “trick” the people who were unkind to them.

As part of the pagan Samhain festival, people went door-to-door in costumes to collect food, cross-dressed, practiced divination, and tried to communicate with the spirits of dead relatives. Common sights were skulls, masks, and face painting. Participants harvested the bulbs of root vegetables such as turnips, carved grotesque faces in them, placed candles inside, and set them on windowsills, believing that these “lanterns” would ward off evil spirits.

The Samhain festival was pagan, wicked, and demonic – an open door to Satan himself. The similarities to Halloween are appalling. Far from being an innocent night of fun and games, Halloween is an invitation to the demonic realm and something that Christians have NO business being part of.

Tertullian told of a Christian who invited demonic activity into her life by going to the theater, a venue very similar to the modern-day theater:

• “The Lord Himself is our witness that we have the case of the woman who went to the theater and came back demon-possessed. In the exorcism, when the unclean creature was upbraided for having dared to attack a believer, he firmly replied, ‘And in truth I did it most lawfully, for I found her in my domain.’” – Tertullian (c. 197)

How much more damage is done when a believer participates in a festival of ghosts, witches, and spiritism – a festival to Satan himself? Is it any wonder that the modern church is so ineffective, when it endorses the very activities that it claims to be warring against?

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

Conclusion

The early Christians were part of a secular society that opposed nearly all of their values and practices. Believing that Scripture teaches separation from the world, the early Christians took no part in the secular festivals. Instead, they observed Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, and the weekly Lord’s Day. “This world and the next are two enemies,” wrote the author of Second Clement. “We cannot therefore be the friends of both.”

Where does this leave 21^st century Christians, living in a culture that is also very opposed to Biblical values and practices? Should we stop celebrating Christmas, Mother’s Day, and other national or cultural holidays? Should we continue celebrating them but make some changes? Should we observe only Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost?

Lord, how do You want my family and I to celebrate these holidays? What changes do You want us to make?