How to Stop Celebrating
the World’s Holy Days
Use this link, Bible Topic: Holidays, for information about all three holidays.
When the Lord reveals the evil of pagan holy days, there are always questions about informing family and friends about the change in your life. This short document suggests a few approaches to be wise and righteous before God without being unduly antagonistic or offensive to those who do not yet see the truth (Rom 12:18; I Cor 7:15).
It is not wisdom or zeal to blast those that do not understand your change. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matt 10:16). Paul avoided offence when he could without compromising the truth (I Cor 9:19-23; 10:31-33). He even claimed to be a Pharisee, when he thought the ploy would save him in a religious trial (Acts 23:6-10). And it did!
1. Prepare your defense. Do not wing your presentation. Measure your audience (see #4 below). Choose your approach and gather material to bolster your testimony. This website has documents with plenty of Bible, historical evidence, and links to convince anyone that you are not merely being emotional or over reactive. For example, most people are entirely unaware that Christmas celebrations were against the law in the early days of the U.S. and in Puritan England. Show that your decision is based on thorough study of much information.
2. Do it in October. The best time to discuss holidays is October! Lump them together – Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. Since most can see the pagan origin of Halloween, put the emphasis on this devilish day. You can then tack on Christmas and Easter. By dealing with all three holidays at once, you avoid two more conflicts in the next six months. By choosing October to inform them, you can objectively present the truth before the “Christmas spirit” or spring enthusiasm makes it impossible for most people to even think.
3. Reassure your family. They need to know you still love them, gatherings, feasts, birthdays, giving gifts, etc. Plan a big family event at Thanksgiving. This holiday did not come from pagans; it came from the Pilgrims. The Bible requires and commends thanksgiving, unlike a Christmas tree or Easter egg hunt. It is by carefully presenting your continued love of the family and acceptable gatherings that you can disarm them from thinking you have become a nutcase like the Jehovah’s Witnesses or Worldwide Church of God!
4. Measure your audience. Every audience is different, and you should approach each one differently. If you are dealing with professing Christians, then select a few of the plainest and most powerful Bible verses for your position. If dealing with unbelievers, consider the history and origin of the holidays with articles from encyclopedias, books, or newspapers. If dealing with a civil rights activist, appeal to your right to worship God according to your own conscience, as long as you do not violate the rights of anyone else. Be wise!
5. Accept allowed holidays. Make sure they know you will celebrate allowed holidays such as July 4, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, family birthdays and anniversaries, and so forth. There is nothing in the Bible against these days, in spite of what Russellites claim (the Jehovah’s Witnesses). Abraham threw a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned; the Jews threw a great feast called Purim after defeating their Persian enemies; and Jesus attended an extra scriptural feast (Gen 21:8; Esther 9:28; John 10:22).
6. Reject all cults. Emphasize you are not a Jehovah’s Witness, member of the Worldwide Church of God, groupie of Jim Jones or David Koresh, or an orthodox Jew. You are a Bible Christian seeking to practice Christianity according to the Bible, rather than according to the traditions received from Roman Catholicism or other human sources. Do not go to foolish extremes to avoid incidental contact with the holidays, for the Lord understands that you cannot avoid any and all indirect association with them (II Kgs 5:18-19; I Cor 5:9-10).
7. Affirm Christianity. Declare your total devotion to Jesus Christ, and confess Him as the one and only true God. Remind them that you celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus in the way He ordained, through baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper with wine and bread. Some will think you must not be a Christian, because you are not celebrating the world’s “Christian” holidays. You can settle this confusion by defining true Bible Christianity – the worship of Jesus Christ according to the Bible without any addition of human traditions.
8. Appeal to conscience. For the most stubborn cases, make an appeal to the right of an individual to worship God according to his own conscience. Remind them that you allow them this freedom, and you are simply asking the same for yourself as well. Explain that to celebrate these three holidays has become a matter of conscience for you, which does not allow you to participate without sinning against God and yourself. If appropriate, say to them, “Please do not require me to sin against my conscience and against God.”
9. Be ready to answer. Many will simply hear your appeal and arguments and grant your withdrawal from the holiday activities. However, others will defend themselves and attack your position. If they say, “I do it to the Lord,” answer with Deuteronomy 12:29-32. If they say, “Romans 14:5-6 allows each person the right to holidays,” answer that those were Jewish days from Moses’ Law, not pagan holy days from devil worship. There is much more material to help you answer well in the “Holidays” section of this website.
10. Live above reproach. The greatest testimony with the most power is a righteous life. Shame any person that speaks against you by living a godly and holy life that is known by all (I Pet 2:11-12; 3:15-16). The greater your daily character, the more credible your doctrine and practice. If you have any outstanding character flaws or known sins, then confess them freely to those that know. The goal of every Christian is to let his good works glorify His Father in heaven (Matt 5:16). Do not give anyone an excuse from your life to discount your words.
Use this link, Bible Topic: Holidays, for information about all three holidays.