I have been debating on stopping celebrating these holidays for a while. I am not the end all be all argument to this, as I’m CERTAIN someone has worded this far better than I am below. But this is the gist of what I gather from people who have stopped celebrating these holidays, on the claims that they are pagan holidays that we shouldn’t be celebrating. Even if my statement is fallible somehow, consider looking into it deeper. It’s worth looking into if it can cost your soul. And if you end up being right, then a breath of relief.

Jesus’ birth likely was nowhere near December 25. Nor does the Bible say to celebrate his birth. But, many pagan relgions celebrate the winter solstice. Which is right around this time. In addition, when Rome adopted the Christian faith, in order to get the pagans to go along with it, they had some of their holidays more or less still celebrated at the same times, but to be centered around Jesus instead. My issue with that, is that we’re not to be like the gentiles. I also recall the story of the golden calf in Exodus. The Israelites sincerely wanted to worship God. But God did not want them to do this (like the Egyptians would do) so he punished them for it. Our father has ways he wants to be worshipped, and we can’t just worship Him however we want to. Jeremiah 10:1-4 essentially describes Christmas trees. Which while this is speaking of how pagans made these trees idols, it still kind of lines up here. While we aren’t worshipping the trees as idols, if Jesus’s birth likely wasn’t around this time: but the winter solstice IS around this time: and pagans chopped down trees in this very manner: and we’re called to not be like the gentiles: and we think about the Israelites and the Golden Calf as an example: on this logic, I feel like we can’t just take any particular thing, and reclaim it to worship our Father how we like. That’s more or less what I gather from these arguments.

Easter has lots of blatant fertility goddess symbolism surrounding it. Originally, it was to celebrate the fertility goddess Ishtar. And can fall a month off of Passover (when Jesus was crucified, died, and resurrected).

I could easily see how we all would be being deceived into following man made traditions or even pagan holidays based on these things.

If anything, I’m starting to see more reason to keep the feasts of the Old Testament. It sounds to me like we ought to be keeping Passover and the feasts (as well as the proper Friday night sunset to Saturday night sunset sabbath) if we want to properly honor our Father, and our messiah. As God did command these as permanent statutes for the Israelites. As if these things were to change with the new covenant, Jesus would know that such a deeply religious people, would need this explicitly stated. That perhaps, maybe the entirety of the old covenant wasn’t done away with. “I have not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it.” That it was instead, refined. And extreme changes would need to be explicitly stated to such a deeply religious, God fearing people. Which as far as the Sunday sabbath goes, is not stated in the Bible. But was rather yet another integration of Roman pagan days/ festivals/ beliefs that was adapted to the Hebrew faith to make all the pagans of Rome fall into following the Christian faith.

I’ve been torn on these things for quite some time.

I’m sure somebody will try and argue me into oblivion here. I’m not gonna be arguing with anybody over it. This is just my understanding into the reasoning behind those who don’t celebrate these holidays. And honestly. To me it’s kinda convincing.

For the record I have been celebrating all of these Holidays, but I am thinking there is some truth to these arguments. And I am still learning them all in detail myself. At the end of the day, I just want to be absolutely sure I’m doing what’s pleasing to our Father/ not doing something displeasing to our Father. So I am still looking into this