Holidays

[christinepro]

What Holidays does everyone celebrate? Do you all just celebrate Jewish holidays? I don't want to celebrate any other holidays but I think that I'll buy my mother a mother's day gift out of respect for her but I don't want to celebrate it.

[Wags]

We celebrate the moedim (Appointed Times - Lev 23) and also Purim and Chanukah.

We also "do" Mothers/Fathers Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day (US & Israel) and Thanksgiving. Although all of those are pretty low key.

[Elisheva413]

What Holidays does everyone celebrate? Do you all just celebrate Jewish holidays? I don't want to celebrate any other holidays but I think that I'll buy my mother a mother's day gift out of respect for her but I don't want to celebrate it.
We celebrate all the Biblical holidays as well as Purim and Hanukkah...we also observe peoples birthdays, our anniversary and to a much smaller extent ma and pa's day. But that is about it.

[DanielRB]

Shalom, all, :wave:

We're pretty low-key about all holidays, though we're starting to observe the Biblical feasts a bit more.

In Messiah,

Daniel

[Torah]

We do Halloween, Valentine day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas, & Easter. [NOT] just joking.:D
I believe Wags summed it up.:thumbsup:

We "do" Mothers/Fathers Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day (US & Israel) and Thanksgiving. Although all of those are pretty low key.:wave:

[stone]

We do Halloween, Valentine day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas, & Easter. [NOT] just joking.:D
I believe Wags summed it up.:thumbsup:


:eek:

lol, you got me. Had me going there for a sec.

[P_G]

I think with most of these things my approach is to view them as secular/cultural holidays. I even hesitate to use the word holiday because of the derivation of it being from Holy Day. Honestly the 4th of July is not a Holy day nor are any of the other ones probably worried about and spoken down of by most messianics.

The ONLY Holy Days are the ones presented by HaShem in the Torah. The rest need to be regarded as man made and no reverence attached to them regardless of what they are.

So that is where I am at with it this year - perhaps next year I will change my mind on it.

PG

[BarbB]

We do Halloween, Valentine day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas, & Easter. [NOT] just joking.:D
....

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_1_116.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZN)

[christinepro]

My children’s' ages are 12, 14, 16, and 18. I tell them about Halloween but I'm going to let them decide if they want to collect candy or not. I think with their ages, I can't be too forceful. As far as Mother's day and Father's day they have pagan origins too. How does one deal with not giving Christmas presents to loved ones?

[BarbB]

Consider Mother's Day and Father's Day to be part of the 10 commandments - honoring your father and mother! :thumbsup:

[DanielRB]

My children’s' ages are 12, 14, 16, and 18. I tell them about Halloween but I'm going to let them decide if they want to collect candy or not. I think with their ages, I can't be too forceful. As far as Mother's day and Father's day they have pagan origins too. How does one deal with not giving Christmas presents to loved ones?

Shalom, Christinepro, :wave:

How do Mother's and Father's Day have pagan origins? From what I understand, these were very recently originated holidays and have nothing to do with paganism, but rather honoring your father and your mother.

In Messiah,

Daniel

[Wags]

How does one deal with not giving Christmas presents to loved ones?

I am assuming that you are referring to family that observes Christmas - you gently and politely tell them about why you won't be giving them gifts.

Some choose to celebrate Chanukah as an alternative to Christmas and give gifts acoordingly. Some choose to celebrate Chanukah becuase it would appear from scripture that Yeshua did so.

[Wags]

From: http://www.holidays.net


The Story of Mother's Day

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter*), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake (http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm), was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.


In the United (http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm) States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary (http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm) of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey (http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm), Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day (http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm) on the second Sunday of May.




The Story of Father's Day

Father's Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. In fact when a "father's day" was first proposed there were no Father's Day cards!

Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father's Day.

http://www.holidays.net/father/images/spacer.gif

[jgonz]

We celebrate the Biblical feasts, plus Purim and Hanukkah.

We also do Thanksgiving, and 4th of July. DH is big on Mother's Day, but I'm not (I've read about it before and it's HUGE around here with all the Mexican/Catholic tradition of celebrating the Mother. :sick: ) He loves to 'honor' me as the mother of his children though, so I let him. ;)

[Elisheva413]

Ok, I had never heard the mother's day stuff..ew:sick: . Golly, it just seems like everything starts off yucky! I guess that is why it is best to stick with His days...He knows what's good for us! I am also glad my family was never big into Ma's day...
Thanks for the info...I think :confused:
TTFN!

[DanielRB]

From: http://www.holidays.net


Shalom, Wags, and thanks for the information :wave:

Although there were "Mother's Days" before the modern one, I do not see a historical connection between the pagan Mother's Days and the one began by Julia Ward Howe...just like I don't make any connection between Shavuot and pagan fistfruit festivals that happen to occur at the same time, or Sukkot and pagan harvest (ingathering) festivals.

A day to honor Mothers or Fathers does not seem inherently pagan to me. However, I can respect someone's choice not to observe it.

In Messiah,

Daniel

[P_G]

You know Holidays will always be some kind of issue especially for us.

I take this example in my own life for this year.

I have a daughter who lives 4 states away and she is comming up to visit for the first Sunday after Peshach. Only she calls that day Easter. Me I like to call it Justification Sunday but regardless she comes up to visit.

As well I have 2 other daughters both who live in small apartments near us and my son and guess what they will all be around that day too. In fact they sort of all plan on comming over along with my grandchildren.

Now I suppose I could do the right thing and lock the doors, close the blinds and shut out the lights and sit hunkered down in the parsonage. I am sure that would teach everyone a serious lesson. :)

Or I could pop a turkey in the oven and get out the left over matzoh stuffing from Passover and maybe some green beans and stuff and open the doors wide and invite them in and sit down and have a nice meal with my family and you know maybe even make enough extra to invite that strange little reclusive man who lives across from us over for a meal too. (I am pretty sure he has no family)

I could turn thier minds to the gospel and to the torah. You know I proibably could put on some nice messianic/christian music softly in the backround and possibly even put in a Veggie tales tape for the kids to watch. Maybe I will even give that man from across the way a bible.

I know it is proably massively un-messianic for me to take the second choice and many will think less of me for it. But know what I think thats what I am going to do.

The point here is that we can be pretty offensive to other people if we want to be. And bleive you me that is not great way to tell people about what we believe and why. I guess what I am saying is you don't need to go nuts with these secular days dressed up in a scriptural outfit.

I look at how Shaul dealt with his new Goim converts and the others around him. I look at the lesson Kefa had to learn about eating with Goim. These guys were pretty smart I think I will do the same

PG

[Wags]

Shalom, Wags, and thanks for the information :wave:

Although there were "Mother's Days" before the modern one, I do not see a historical connection between the pagan Mother's Days and the one began by Julia Ward Howe...just like I don't make any connection between Shavuot and pagan fistfruit festivals that happen to occur at the same time, or Sukkot and pagan harvest (ingathering) festivals.

A day to honor Mothers or Fathers does not seem inherently pagan to me. However, I can respect someone's choice not to observe it.

In Messiah,

Daniel


I had never heard of the origins of either day being pagan before until I went looking. I have to agree that the modern day celebration doesn't seem to be connected. And like I previously posted we make it a point to honor our parents on those days. And hubby gives me mother's day cards from all my kids - two and four legged ones alike. :D

[christinepro]

You know Holidays will always be some kind of issue especially for us.

I take this example in my own life for this year.

I have a daughter who lives 4 states away and she is comming up to visit for the first Sunday after Peshach. Only she calls that day Easter. Me I like to call it Justification Sunday but regardless she comes up to visit.

As well I have 2 other daughters both who live in small apartments near us and my son and guess what they will all be around that day too. In fact they sort of all plan on comming over along with my grandchildren.

Now I suppose I could do the right thing and lock the doors, close the blinds and shut out the lights and sit hunkered down in the parsonage. I am sure that would teach everyone a serious lesson. :)

Or I could pop a turkey in the oven and get out the left over matzoh stuffing from Passover and maybe some green beans and stuff and open the doors wide and invite them in and sit down and have a nice meal with my family and you know maybe even make enough extra to invite that strange little reclusive man who lives across from us over for a meal too. (I am pretty sure he has no family)

I could turn thier minds to the gospel and to the torah. You know I proibably could put on some nice messianic/christian music softly in the backround and possibly even put in a Veggie tales tape for the kids to watch. Maybe I will even give that man from across the way a bible.

I know it is proably massively un-messianic for me to take the second choice and many will think less of me for it. But know what I think thats what I am going to do.

The point here is that we can be pretty offensive to other people if we want to be. And bleive you me that is not great way to tell people about what we believe and why. I guess what I am saying is you don't need to go nuts with these secular days dressed up in a scriptural outfit.

I look at how Shaul dealt with his new Goim converts and the others around him. I look at the lesson Kefa had to learn about eating with Goim. These guys were pretty smart I think I will do the same

PG Agreed!

[DanielRB]

I had never heard of the origins of either day being pagan before until I went looking. I have to agree that the modern day celebration doesn't seem to be connected. And like I previously posted we make it a point to honor our parents on those days. And hubby gives me mother's day cards from all my kids - two and four legged ones alike. :D

That's very sweet, Wags! :)

My wife will get a card from each of her children this year, even though one is still in utero (though if she comes a few weeks early, I'll have her sign it herself... ;) )

In Messiah,

Daniel

[BrEnDiNo99]

We do Halloween, Valentine day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas, & Easter. [NOT] just joking.:D
I believe Wags summed it up.:thumbsup:

We "do" Mothers/Fathers Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day (US & Israel) and Thanksgiving. Although all of those are pretty low key.:wave:


your a stinker ha ha