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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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1776
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$14.00
1776
by David McCullough
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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
Advent of the Lamb of God
from InterVarsity Press
for 5th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$20.00
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
from Penguin Random House
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$10.00 (2 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)
American Children Through Their Books
by Sister Monica Kiefer
1970 printing from University of Pennsylvania Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
American Heritage History of the American Revolution
by Bruce Lancaster
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
American Revolutionaries
by Milton Meltzer
from HarperCollins
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Story: The Revolutionaries
Time-Life: The American Story
from Time-Life Books
for Adult
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Anne Bradstreet
by Heidi L. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
by Doug Wilson
3rd edition from Canon Press
Biography for
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Dover Thrift Editions
by Benjamin Franklin
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
World's Greatest Literature
by Benjamin Franklin
from Spencer Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
B. Franklin, Printer
by David A. Adler
from Holiday House
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-US)
$17.00
Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings
Signet Classics
by Benjamin Franklin
Reprint from Signet Classics
Autobiography for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.95
Better December
by Steven Estes
from New Growth Press
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$15.99
Better Than Anything Christmas
by Barbara Reaoch
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$9.99
Beyond Stateliest Marble
Leaders in Action Series
by Doug Wilson
from Cumberland House
Biography for
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Christmas
from Reader's Digest
for 6th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
British are Coming
The Revolution Trilogy #1 of 3
by Rick Atkinson
from Henry Holt and Company
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Broken Way
by Ann Voskamp
from Zondervan
for Adult
in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF)
$22.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Carols for Choirs 1: Fifty Christmas Carols
by Reginald Jacques and David Willcocks, edited and arranged by
from Oxford University
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Carols for Christmas
by David Willcocks
from Metropolitan Museum of Art
for 6th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Celebrating Biblical Feasts
by Martha Zimmerman
from Bethany House
for Adult
in Jewish Holidays & Traditions (Location: HOLIDAY)
$16.99
Christ in Easter
by Charles Colson, et al.
from NavPress
for Adult
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Christ in Easter
by Charles Colson, et al.
from NavPress
for Adult
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carol
Dover Thrift Editions
by Charles Dickens
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$3.00
Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Gramercy Books
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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 from the Heart of the Home
by Susan Branch
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas with Mary Engelbreit: Here Comes Santa Claus
by Mary Engelbreit (illustrator), text by Vitta Poplar
from Oxmoor House
for Adult
in Hospitality (Location: SS-HOS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-US)
$17.00
Colonial Period: 1607-1750
American History by Era Volume 2
by Brenda Stalcup (editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Common Sense
Dover Thrift Editions
by Thomas Paine
from Dover Publications
Political Philosophy for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$4.00
Creating Family Traditions
by Gloria Gaither, Shirley Dobson
from Multnomah Books
for Adult
in Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cricket on the Hearth
Dover Thrift Editions
by Charles Dickens
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.99
Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History
Dover Thrift Editions
by John Grafton, editor
from Dover Publications
Primary Source Documents for 9th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$4.00
Esther's Gift
by Jan Karon
from Viking Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Family Celebrations at Birthdays and for Vacations and Other Holidays
by Ann Hibbard
from Baker Books
for Adult
in Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Feast of Thanksgiving: A Play
by June Behrens, Illustrated by Anne Siberell
from Children's Press
for 6th-Adult
in Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Feasts of Adonai
by Valerie Moody
1st edition from Gibbora Productions
for Adult
in Holidays (Location: HOLIDAY)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Feasts of the Bible
from Rose Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in Jewish Holidays & Traditions (Location: HOLIDAY)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Fighting for Liberty and Virtue
by Marvin Olasky
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Founding Father
Leaders in Action Series
by Stephen Mansfield
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
General Washington's Army
by Marko Zlatich, Illustrated by Peter F. Copeland
2003 Printing from Osprey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Get Ready, Celebrate, Rejoice
by Sue Kirk and Sally Wilke
from Standard Publishing Company
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Give Me Liberty
Leaders in Action Series
by David Vaughan
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$17.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Greatest Gift
by Ann Voskamp
from Tyndale House
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$19.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
History of Human Society: Pioneer America
The History of Human Society
by John R. Alden
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Hosanna in Excelsis
by David & Barbara Leeman
from Moody Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$15.99
How the Irish Saved Civilization
by Thomas Cahill
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in Europe (Location: HISMC-EUR)
$17.00
How to Cook Everything: Holiday Cooking
by Mark Bittman, illustrated by Alan Witschonke
from Wiley Publishing
for Adult
in Miscellaneous Cookbooks (Location: COOK-MIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Jewish Literacy
by Joseph Telushkin
from William Morrow & Company
for 11th-Adult
in World Religions, Cults and Sects (Location: XAP-WRCS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
John Adams
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
from Soli Deo Gloria
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Jonathan Edwards
by Stephen J. Nichols
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Joshua Barney
by Ralph D. Paine
from Century Co.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Journey into Christmas
by Bess Streeter Aldrich, illustrated by James Aldrich
from Appleton-Century-Crofts
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of Samuel Rutherford
Puritan Paperbacks
by Samuel Rutherford
1891 Reprint from Banner of Truth Trust
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Letters of Benjamin Franklin
by Benjamin Franklin
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 10th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Washington
by Anna Reed
from New Leaf Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99
Lover's Posy
by Celia Haddon
from Michael Joseph
Valentine's Day Poetry for 6th-Adult
in Poetry Anthologies (Location: POET-ANTH)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Making of George Washington
by William H. Wilbur
2nd edition from Unknown Publisher
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Man Born to be King
by Dorothy L. Sayers
from Classical Academic Press
Drama for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.95
Marriage to a Difficult Man
by Elisabeth D. Dodds
from Audobon Press
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Did You Know? - Book and CD
by Mark Lowry
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 6th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Engelbreit: Christmas Ideas
by Mary Engelbreit
from Meredith Press
for 9th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mayflower
by Nathaniel Philbrick
from Penguin Putnam
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Medieval Celebrations
by Daniel Diehl & Mark Donnelly
from Stackpole Books
for 6th-Adult
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Miles Standish: The Puritan Captain
by John S. C. Abbott
2022 Reprint from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mission Accomplished
by Scott James
from New Growth Press
for All ages
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
by Jonathan Gibson
from Crossway Books
for 6th-Adult
in Family Worship (Location: BIB-FAWO)
$26.40
Of Plymouth Plantation
by William Bradford
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$14.95
Preparing for Easter
Reissue from HarperOne
for Adult
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99
Purpose of Christmas
by Rick Warren
from Howard Books
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Rabble in Arms
by Kenneth Roberts
from Down East Books
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.95
Rabble in Arms
by Kenneth Roberts
from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Revolutionary Period: 1750-1783
American History by Era Volume 3
by Bruce Thompson (Book Editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Revolutionary War: America's Fight for Freedom
by Bart McDowell
1983 Printing from National Geographic
for 6th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Saint Patrick
by Jonathan Rogers
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
$12.00
Saints and Strangers
by George F. Willison
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Skipping Christmas
by John Grisham
First Ediition from Doubleday & Company
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Yorktown as told by Conrad Shultz
by W. Walter Van Baman
from Privately printed
History in Verse for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Traitor and the Spy
by James Thomas Flexner
1st edition from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Uncommon Soldier of the Revolution
from Eastern Acorn Press
for 9th-Adult
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Understanding Jewish Holidays and Customs
by Sol Scharfstein
from Ktav Publishing House
for 9th-Adult
in Jewish Holidays & Traditions (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
War of the Revolution
by Christopher Ward
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
War on Christmas
by Bodie Hodge
from Master Books
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$14.39
Wild Bells
by Missy Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 5th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$19.99
Wild Hope
by Gayle Boss, Illustrated by David G. Klein
from Paraclete Press
for 6th-Adult
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Winter Fire
by Ryan Whitaker Smith, excerpts from G.K. Chesterton
from Moody Press
for 9th-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$24.99
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