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Holidays

Celebration isintrinsic to human nature. As God's image bearers we are compelled to celebrate—just as He did when He called His creation good, just as He did when He exalted His Son on top of a mountain, just as the angels and elders do around His throne. God even commanded celebrations in His name, providing the Jews specific instructions for feasts and holidays.

With the coming of Christ things changed a bit. God's people were no longer required to hold specific holy days above all others, because that was a feature of the Law that Christ fulfilled in our place and freed us from. The apostle Paul summarizes in Romans 14:5: One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

That's not to say there aren't good reasons to observe certain holidays, especially those memorializing key events or elements of the Christian faith. We look to the Sabbath, or Lord's Day, as our day of worship, and the Christian calendar is a good guide to those days traditionally observed by the Church, with special emphasis on Advent and Christmas, Easter and Lent, and Pentecost. If you're so inclined, there are a bajillion saint days in honor of famous and lesser-known champions of the faith.

Many will argue that Christians should celebrate none of these holidays. The point isn't that the events commemorated aren't central to the Christian faith, but that their formalized celebration by the Church was simply a "christianization" of similar pagan holidays in the Roman and Near Eastern worlds. For instance, Christmas as observed on December 25th is really a Christian version of the Roman Saturnalia, a festival devoted to the sun; Easter is named after the Babylonian fertility goddess, and celebrates her union with the god Tammuz.

The similarities between the Christian holidays and their pagan counterparts are indeed fascinating. However, we take this as affirmation of God's sovereignty, not as a reason to avoid holiday celebrations. Through His death and resurrection, Christ redeemed all things and reclaimed them in His name.

"All things" includes holidays. Indeed, what Christ has done and what He gives us should be celebrated every day of the year, but to choose specific days for observance can help re-center our all-too-often selfish existences on Him. We do need to be careful not to simply accept worldly standards for our holidays (the commercialization of Christmas, the nonsense Easter bunnies, etc.), but we need to be equally sure we aren't refraining from genuine celebration just because those standards exist. God has given us all cause for joy, and it's our duty and pleasure to thank Him.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here. 

 

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414 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
by Catherine O'Neill Grace
from National Geographic
for 4th-6th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
18 Penny Goose
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Sally M. Walker
from HarperCollins
Realistic fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
by Charles Dickens
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-Adult
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys
by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Margot Tomes
from Betterway Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Abigail Adams
A Discovery Book
by Helen Stone Peterson, illustrated by Betty Fraser
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Advent and Christmas In Family Worship
by Doug & Amy Hayes
from Home Fires Publishing
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Advent Coloring Calendar
Clr Csm from Paraclete Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$11.99
Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution
by Jamie Aramini
1st edition from Geography Matters
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Adventures of the American Revolution
by Susan Olasky
from P&R Publishing
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
America America America
by Kenneth Seeman Giniger (Editor), Illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
America in the Time of George Washington
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
America's Ethan Allen
by Stewart H. Holbrook; illustrated by Lynd Ward
9th printing from Houghton Mifflin
Picture Book Biography for 4th-6th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
American History for Young Students I
by Michelle Miller
from TruthQuest History
History Curriculum for 1st-5th grade
in TruthQuest History (Location: HISCUR-TQ)
American History Stories Volume 2
by Mara L. Pratt
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
American Revolution
America at War Series
by Alden Carter
from Grolier Publishing
Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.95 $5.00 (4 in stock)
American Revolution
Revolution!
by R. G. Grant
from Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Twins of the Revolution
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
from Salem Ridge Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Amon's Adventure
by Arnold Ytreeide
from Kregel Publications
Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$18.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.99
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
by Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Answering the Cry for Freedom
by Gretchen Woelfle, Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
from Calkins Creek
for 4th-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$19.99
Arrow Over the Door
by Joseph Bruchac
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Ashes
Seeds of America #3
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Bartholomew's Passage
by Arnold Ytreeide
from Kregel Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$18.99
Battle for Long Island and New York
by Susan Lee
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Battle of Valcour Bay
Triangle Histories: The Revolutionary War
by Scott Ingram
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Battle of Yorktown
by Thomas J. Fleming
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Bells of Christmas
by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Lambert Davis
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 3rd-8th grade
in Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Benjamin Franklin, American Genius
by Brandon Marie Miller
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
from HarperCollins
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Andrew Clausen
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 4th-6th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$21.99
Betsy Ross: Designer of our Flag
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Ann Weil, illustrated by Al Fiorentino
from Bobbs-Merril Co
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Better Than Anything Christmas
by Barbara Reaoch
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$9.99
Biographies of the Revolution - Set
by Rick & Marilyn Boyer
from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Master Books History (Location: HISCUR-MB)
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yesterday's Classics
Christmas/Advent for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.95
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Houghton Mifflin
Christmas/Advent for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Christmas
by Neil Philip
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 4th-8th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Book of Christmas Carols
by Jane Lydbury
from Prentice Hall
for 2nd-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Boston Tea Party
by James E. Knight
Other Printing from Troll Associates
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Boston Tea Party
from Troll Communications
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.99
Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cavalier and Puritan Fashions - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tom Tierney
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Costume & Fashion Coloring Books (Location: COL-FAS)
$4.99
Chains
Seeds of America #1
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Child's Christmas
by Evelyn Sharp (illustrated by Charles Robinson)
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Child's Christmas in Wales
by Dylan Thomas, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from New Directions
for 2nd-4th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Child's Christmas in Wales
by Dylan Thomas, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Holiday House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Children Just Like Me: Celebrations
by Anabel Kindersley, Barnabas Kindersley
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Illustrated Jewish Bible
by Laaren Brown & Lenny Hort
Revised Edition from DK Children
for 1st-6th grade
in World Religions, Cults and Sects (Location: XAP-WRCS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration
by James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, et al.
from NavPress
for Preschool-4th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Around the World
by Mary D. Lankford
from Mulberry Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Christmas Around the World - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Joan O'Brien
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Holiday Coloring Books (Location: COL-HOL)
$3.99
Christmas Camera
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Christmas Carol
Little Unicorn
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Walt Sturrock
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Christmas Carol (adapted)
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Stephen Krensky
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-7th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Christmas Carols
by Karl Schulte (selected and arranged by), illustrated by F. D. Lohman
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carols for a Kid's Heart
by Bobbie Wolgemuth, Joni Eareckson Tada
from Crossway Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Christmas Compass
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Christmas Crafts
from HarperCrest
for 3rd-6th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Doll
by Elvira Woodruff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Christmas Donkey
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters
by Fredrick & Patricia McKissack
from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1995 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
Christmas Star
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Christmas Stories
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Christmas Stove
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Christmas Tree Hessian
by Cora Cheney, illustrated by Edith Ballinger Price
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Christmas Trees
A New True Book
by Kathy Henderson
from Children's Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas With Anne and Other Holiday Stories
from Delacorte Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Cobblestone Magazine: Thomas Jefferson
from Cobblestone Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$1.25 (1 in stock)
Colonial Kids
by Laurie Carlson
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Colonial America (1690-1765) (Location: HISA-17COL)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Colonies - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
Coloring Book of the American Revolution
by Harry Knill
from Bellerophon Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
Concise Illustrated History of the American Revolution
from Eastern Acorn Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Countdown to Christmas
by Bill Peet
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Crispus Attucks: Boy of Valor
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Dharathula H. Millender
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
Cromwell's Head
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Crossing
by Jim Murphy
from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636
by Paul Erickson
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Declaration of Independence
History Speaks
by Douglas M. Rife
from Teaching & Learning Company
for 4th - 8th Grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Declaration of Independence
by Carole Marsh
from Gallopade International
for 2nd-4th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Declaration of Independence
Documenting U.S. History
by Elizabeth Raum
from Heinemann-Raintree
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: American Revolution
by Stuart Murray
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Donkey Who Carried a King
by R.C. Sproul
from Reformation Trust Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Down Ryton Water
by E.R. Gaggin
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Down Ryton Water
by E. R. Gaggin
from George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Early American History for Intermediate Grades (really old)
by Rea Berg
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Old Edition History & Geography (Location: OHIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Early American History for Intermediate Grades - Guide
by Rea Berg & Rebecca Manor
3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$29.95
Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-9th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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