Throughout the year—both the Church Year and any other calendar year—there are many holidays that have been established over time. Some are truly holy days and others are celebratory in different ways. Some are personally or nationally relevant, and some are simply silly and fun.
It is likely neither good nor bad to either partake or abstain from celebrating the great many holidays of the year. Likewise a person’s righteousness cannot be determined by how they go about honoring even the most holy of days. What matters most though, for the Christ follower, is how holidays are cherished within one’s heart.
If we claim to prioritize the way of Jesus above all else—which all Christ followers must—we must in some way rank internally holy days over other days. And even still, we must remember that many of the days we consider sacred have been arranged by humankind. We must always keep faith in God, through our Lord Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, above all the holidays we have come to adore.
Faith is not the only thing that must remain always above holy days. Our love for humankind must also be above all our holidays. Jesus made clear that even the sabbath day—the original weekly holy day ordained by God—was made for the sake of humanity. (Mark 2:23-28, Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5) If the root holiday from which all others sprout is grounded in humanity, all our other celebratory days should also embrace bringing people together in hope, faith, rest, and love.
The call for those who follow Jesus is to ensure our hearts are in the right place for any holiday we participate in. We can have corny fun with some, deep respect for others, and truly regard those that draw us closer to God and others as sacred days. We must be wary of celebrations that present themselves as sacred, but revolve around divisions we have created or are opposed to the ever-expansive and ever-inclusive work of the Holy Spirit. While we may celebrate those days in an okay fashion of some sort, yet we must not inflate them beyond their earthly relevancy.
May we always keep the way of our Lord Jesus central to our faith and daily lifestyle on holidays and every other day of the year.
Relevant Reformation 