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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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63 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), In-Stock Books & Materials
Advent and Christmas In Family Worship
by Doug & Amy Hayes
from Home Fires Publishing
for Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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
Better Than Anything Christmas
by Barbara Reaoch
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-Adult
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$9.99
Chanukah in Chelm
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Kevin O'Malley
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Alphabet
by Robert Sabuda
from Orchard Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carol Miracle
by Luise Putcamp
from Abingdon Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Christmas Carol: A BabyLit Colors Primer
BabyLit
by Alison Oliver, Jennifer Adams
Brdbk from Gibbs M. Smith
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$11.99
Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher
by Robert Kraus, illustrated by Vip
from Purple House Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
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 Is Here
by Lauren Castillo
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$12.99
Cranberry Christmas
by Wende & Harry Devlin
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.99
Easter Bunny, Are You for Real?
by Harold Myra, illustrated by Dwight Walles
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Thanksgiving
by Jean Craighead George
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99
First Thanksgiving Feast
by Joan Anderson
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gift of the Magi
by O. Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Golden Christmas Treasury
by Rick Bunsen (editor)
from Golden Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hardest Word
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
He is Risen
by Patti Rokus
from Zondervan
for Preschool-1st grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
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
Letters from Father Christmas
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Revised from Mariner Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$25.00
Lion in the Box
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
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)
Morris's Disappearing Bag
by Rosemary Wells
from Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Nativity
by Julie Vivas
from Voyager Books
for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, Douglas Gorsline (illustrator)
from Random House
for Preschool-1st grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$2.00 (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 Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Nine Days to Christmas
by Marie Hall Ets
from Dover Publications
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1960 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.95
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)
Papa Panov's Special Christmas
by Leo Tolstoy, illustrated by Hannah Thibaudeau
from Memoria Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.90
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
by Tomie dePaola
from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Pilgrims' Party
A Really Truly Story
by Sadybeth & Anson Lowitz
from Lerner Publishing Group
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
by Robert L. May, Barbara Shook Hazen (Adapter), illustrated by Richard Scarry
"I" Printing from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Samuel Eaton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$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)
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-3rd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.99 $5.00 (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
Savior is Born
by Patti Rokus
from Zondervan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99
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)
Thanksgiving Door
by Debby Atwell
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
That's Not Santa!
by Leonard Kessler
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Thirteen Days of Yule
by Nonny Hogrogian
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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
Twelve Days of Christmas
by Jan Brett
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Twelve Days of Christmas in Oregon
by Susan Blackaby, illustrated by Carolyn Conahan
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of the Seasons
by Angela Wilkes
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Valentine Bears
by Eve Bunting
from Scholastic Press
Valentine's Day for Nursery-1st grade
in Holidays / Church Calendar (Location: HOLIDAY)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Very First Christmas
by Paul L. Maier
from Concordia Publishing House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$10.99
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)
When Washington Crossed the Delaware
by Lynne Cheney
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.50 (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: BIBR-FAWO)
$24.99
Wipe Your Feet, Santa Claus!
by Konrad Richter, illustrated by Jozef Wilkon
from North-South Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Yankee Doodle
by Steven Kellogg (illustrator), text by Edward Bangs
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
by Gloria Houston
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
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