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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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73 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), Hardcover
'Twas the Night Before Christmas
by Matt Tavares
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Amazing Peace
by Maya Angelou, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Animals' Christmas Carol
by Helen Ward
from Millbrook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Babar and Father Christmas
by Jean De Brunhoff
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Babushka
by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bee My Valentine
by Miriam Cohen, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bugle, A Puppy in Old Yorktown
by Mary Andrews, Illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Christmas Alphabet
by Robert Sabuda
from Orchard Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from William Heinemann
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Christmas Carol (abridged)
by Charles Dickens, abridged and illustrated by Mercer Mayer
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
Christmas Carol Miracle
by Luise Putcamp
from Abingdon Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Christmas Cat
by Efner Tudor Holmes, Tasha Tudor (Illustrator)
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Christmas in Noisy Village
by Astrid Lindgren, illustrated by Ilon Wikland
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Christmas in the Barn
by Margaret Wise Brown
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Christmas Is Here
by Lauren Castillo
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$12.99
Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P. J. Lynch
20th Anniversary from Candlewick Press
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Christmas Story
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Cranberry Christmas
by Wende & Harry Devlin
First Edition from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Cranberry Halloween
by Wende & Harry Devlin
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Crippled Lamb
by Max Lucado
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Crippled Lamb
by Max Lucado
Reprint from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Donkey's Dream
by Barbara Helen Berger
First Edition from Philomel Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Easter Egg
by Jan Brett
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
from Barnes & Noble
for Preschool-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
George Washington: America's Patriot
Heroes of History for Young Readers
by Renee Meloche
from Emerald Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
Gift of the Magi
by O. Henry
from Picture Book Studio
Realistic Fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Gingerbread for Liberty!
by Mara Rockliff, Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
He is Risen
by Patti Rokus
from Zondervan
for Preschool-1st grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99
I Spy Christmas
by Jean Marzollo, Walter Wick (Photographer)
from Cartwheel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Look and Find Books (Location: PIC-LOOK)
$14.99
Jolly Old Santa Claus
from Ideals Publications
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Lion in the Box
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Little Golden Book of Holidays
by Jean Lewis, Illustrated by Kathy Wilburn
from Western Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Littlest Angel
by Charles Tazewell, Illustrated by Sergio Leone
Reprint from Ideals Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Living Nativity
by Helen and David Haidle
from Honor Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Long Ago on a Silent Night
by Julie Berry, Illustrated by Annie Won
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99
Mission Accomplished
by Scott James
from New Growth Press
for All ages
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Morris's Disappearing Bag
by Rosemary Wells
from Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
1st edition from Turner Publishing, Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore
from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Checkerboard Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Cheryl Harness
from Random House
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-1st grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas with DVD
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Nutcracker
by E. T. A. Hoffman, Scott Gustafson (Illustrator)
from Barnes & Noble
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
O Come, All Ye Faithful
by Bobbie Wolgemuth, Joni Eareckson Tada, Robert & Bobbie Wolgemuth
First Edition from Crossway Books
for Preschool-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Off to Plymouth Rock! with CD
by Dandi Daley Mackall
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Peter and Lotta's Christmas
by Elsa Beskow
from Floris Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of George Washington
by David A. Adler
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Picture Book of Paul Revere
by Alexandra Wallner, David A. Adler, John Wallner
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
02nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
1986 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.00
Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
1986 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.00
Prancer
by Stephen Cosgrove
from Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Santa's Surprise Book
by Joan Potter Elwart, illustrated by Florence Sarah Winship
1974 printing from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Santabear's First Christmas
by Barbara Read, illustrated by Howard B. Lewis
from Santabear Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Saving the Liberty Bell
by Megan McDonald, Illustrated by Marsha Gray Carrington
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
Something Better Coming
by Megan Saben, illustrated by Ryan Flanders
from Literaritea Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Story of Christmas
by Kathryn Jackson, illustrated by Augie Napoli
from Golden Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Holly & Ivy
by Rumer Godden, Illustrated by Barbara Cooney
from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Story of the Nutcracker
by Robert Mathias
from Crescent Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve
by Pam Munoz Ryan, Illustrated by Dennis Nolan
from Hyperion Books for Children
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
This Way to Christmas
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Maginel Wright Barney
from Harper & Brothers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Thomas Jefferson
by James Cross Giblin
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Time to Keep
by Tasha Tudor
Reissue from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Tomie dePaola's Book of Christmas Carols
by Tomie DePaola
First Edition from Putnam Juvenile
for Nursery-4th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
When Christmas Comes
by Doris Whitman, illustrated by David K. Stone
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
When Joy Came
by Pauline Palmer Meek; illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Golden Books
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
When Washington Crossed the Delaware
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Who Is Jesus?
by Kate Hox, illustrated by Joe Hox
from New Growth Press
for Preschool-5th grade
in Family Worship (Location: BIB-FAWO)
$24.99
Yankee Doodle
by Gary Chalk
from DK Publishing
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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