— Why Protestants Should Consider Celebrating Church Holidays —
Dear friend,
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
- Hebrews 10:24-25 -
Yesterday was Easter, the Anglo Saxon name for Resurrection Day, or as commonly called around the world – pascha. Taken from the word for the Passover sacrifice, “pascha" makes its way into many languages to describe the highest Christian holiday of the year. We call it Easter – not because the holiday has pagan origin – but because the paschal celebration fell in the month of Eostre for people of Anglo-Saxon origin. Eventually this Christian holiday picked up the name of the month, much like the Christian day of worship picked up the pagan name of its day (Sunday – named for the Roman god of the sun).
Every Holy Week the Every Woman a Theologian team works hard to provide resources, reels, freebies, and books teaching the history of our rich Christian heritage. Easter is a special time to do this! We have the privilege of sharing Christ's final days of ministry, His death and resurrection. But Holy Week is not the only time we do this. There are many other church holidays who deserve attention, too.
To be Protestant is, simply put, to not be Catholic or Orthodox. The word “protestant” comes from the term “protest” – the people who protested the Catholic Church during the Reformation. Any denomination formed after the Protestant Reformation is considered Protestant by origin even if it did not spawn directly from the work of Luther, Calvin or Zwingli. The work of the Reformers laid the groundwork for the advent of the Baptists, Anabaptists, Missionary Churches, Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals and so many more. The initial break from Catholicism in 1517 led to the wildfire spread of the gospel and individual expressions of that gospel through differing denominational practices (as an aside, “denomination” means “out of the name”, which simply means “Christian by another name”).
At the time of the Reformation the Catholic Church (and Orthodox, in the east) observed a series of church holidays centered on the life of Christ and the church. Holidays such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter/Pascha, Pentecost and All Saints Day brought the church together in unity of celebration. These holidays originated with a common goal: the worship, adoration, and exaltation of Christ. Sometimes this was done through discipleship and baptism (Lent and Easter); sometimes through lament, fasting, and feasting (Advent and Christmas). In addition to these major holidays, however, the RCC added countless saints' days to the calendar. These sometimes included rigorous fasting rituals which, to the Reformers, burdened individuals with works to earn God's grace.
Luther cut the church calendar down to the major holidays and biblical saints days (e.g. Saint Stephen). The Anglican Church (which developed later, born partially out of Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon) followed a similar holiday structure. These Protestant churches kept the holidays that developed in the early church but did not follow all the Catholic saints days and fasting rituals.
Most Christians followed these holidays. Exceptions would be the Puritans (descended from the work of Calvin), Baptists (descended from John Smyth et al) and Anabaptists (descended from Menno Simons et al). Fun Fact: Baptists did not fully accept Christmas until the late 1880s and did not accept Easter until approximately 1915-1930 (more on this history on my IG highlight from last week).
I share this short explanation of church holidays for three reasons:
We must debunk the pervasive lie that these holidays are “popish” or “pagan”. None of the Christian holidays were developed to mimic pagan ones. Nor are they “owned” by the Catholic church; Protestants have celebrated them from 1517 on. Instead, these holidays are evidence of the evangelistic efforts of the early and medieval churches who would often bring the Christian holidays into a culture and actively replace pagan holidays with the biblically Christ-centered option. Evidence of this continues in the Wiccan-Pagan community, who often accuse Christianity of “taking over” their holidays (there are seven Wiccan festivals throughout the year and the Christian holidays, which closely mirror the Jewish calendar, fall nearby. Watch for a newsletter about that in the future!).
The church calendar is for ALL believers. These holidays are not just for Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopals. They are for ALL Christians. I attend an evangelical, essentially-Baptist church. Our family follows a Lutheran/Anglican Church calendar! You do not have to attend a liturgical church to observe our heritage of holidays centered on Christ.
These holidays connect us deeply to our history, our community, and our Savior. Each holidays is deeply centered on an aspect of the life of Christ (his birth, resurrection, baptism) or the church (Pentecost and the giving of the Spirit, All Saints Day and the lives of the Christians before us). Through them we learn our legacy and history, something many Protestant Christians know very little about. We also have a chance to spend weeks and days diving deep into the respective parts of Jesus life in a rhythmic manner throughout the year. Imagine how rich it is to be guided by the church calendar for your celebrations rather than what is simply cultural! That's what we have access to in the holidays.
Next up: Pentecost. I will keep teaching on the holidays each year, explaining the story behind them and the joy of integrating them into your home life. Because trust me, friend: following a year defined by the story of redemption rather than the materialism of our culture is a much more peaceful way to live.
Our team has been brainstorming what would be the most engaging, helpful, and FUN to produce for you in this email list, and we came up with a slightly altered schedule for your weekly emails from me!
Mondays: This newsletter. I will continue to send a blog-style devotional and some important updates, links and announcements on Monday!
Wednesdays: Three tips on a special topic. For instance, “three tips for teaching your child to pray”, “three tips for sharing your faith”, or “three tips for loving your local church”.
Fridays: Phy's favorites. We will move this out of the newsletter and make the Friday email a spot for all my favorites, both from our shop and from others as well. These might be spiritually relevant ("my faves for quiet time") or could be lighthearted (my makeup, clothing, or homeschool favorites).
We hope this new schedule is a blessing to you!
What to Expect on Social Media This Week
Since the massive ice storm that devastated our county, we've been struggling to keep our heads above water and get back into a normal routine. Our spare moments are taken up containing to clean up the farm or help with recovery for our neighbors.
That said, this week's social media routine on IG/FB should return to normal before we take a few weeks' break due to travels in May (I will see some of you in Pigeon Forge, TN for Teach Them Diligently the first week of May, and more the next week at INCH in Lansing, MI!).
Monday: Ask Anything Monday on IG
Tuesday: Deep Dive from AAM (I choose one question to discuss)
Wednesday: Day in the Life
Thursday: Leadership / What I'm Working On
Friday: Friday Follows / Flashback to old reels
If you like parenting/lifestyle content, you can join my IG subscription for private IG stories. (Some people seem to have trouble subscribing due to a “waitlist”. I have no control over this and it bums me out, but some people have had success circumventing it by updating the app!)
