Christian Holidays
Holidays that we observe today have years of traditions that bring back fond childhood memories for most of us. And we look forward to them every year because of the good feelings we get from them. Especially Christmas and Easter. Have you ever wondered where we get some of the traditions that we use on the holidays?
The early church had a hard time getting off the ground. If it was not
persecution from the Jewish leaders who denied Jesus was the son of God, It was
from the ruling government of Rome that denied the God of the Israel. There was a lot of persecution to believers in those
days.
In the 3rd century when Constantine was Emperor of Rome, he had a vision that caused him to believe
in Jesus. There are many web sites (and many versions) that go into detail of his conversion. He is the
one that legalized Christianity. And based on who's version you read, explains how Pagan worship and
Christianity were combined.
On one hand, some believe that the early church fathers, in an attempt to draw people away from their pagan worship, tried to "convert" their pagan practice into "Christian" ways of worship.
Some believe that in an effort to create harmony Constantine took the pagan worship practices and combined it with the Christian faith so that everyone would live in harmony.
Easter is the weekend that we observe with Jesus being crucified and raised from the dead. We have bunnies that hide colored eggs. Why do we call it "Easter" instead of Resurrection day? Why is Easter celebrated around the spring equinox and not around Passover which is when he was crucified?
Christmas is the time of year that we observe the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus. How did we come to decide December 25th to use as his Birthday? And how did trees, mistle toe, gift giving, etc ... all come into being?
I have an inquiring mind. And with the internet, research is so easy. And if your like me you will be fascinated to learn the history behind our traditions for Christmas and Easter. I have found that our traditions go back much further than when we think. Much, much further.