@Tooky
@jesusgirl4ever
@Ariel

Very well said, all of you. I try not to start arguments, and I saw none beginning. 🙂
I myself am not at all Jewish. 😛 ikr I celebrate some ofthe Jewish holidays, yet it isn't in my background, except possibly from Germany, but I really have no idea.

I do realize that there is nothing wrong with celebrating the birth or resurrection of Yeshua. However, the feasts in the Bible were "ordained" i suppose, for that purpose. History always repeats itself. My mom and I (can't speak for my dad or really any other siblings), believe that Yeshua was actually born and resurrected on normal feast days. Days that the Israeli celebrated ever year. I am not too well versed in the facts, but this is the gist of it.

Also, the Bible does say (and I wish i remembered where) that we are NOT to follow the traditions of Man. That would be the pagan backgrounds to the Christmas stuff and Easter stuff that people take such a delight in. I have nothing against the people who do, and indeed I treat them no lesser for it. I respect the veiws of all, and do not force any on anyone. --Charlemagne should have learned that.-- XD

Hmm. According to some, even our modern Pesach (passover) table has some mistakes. :shrug: Oh well. As it has been said, I do not think these will keep us out of heaven. And that is what matters. 🙂 And, I believe we will be taught the whole truth as we celebrate at the Fathers table. Which will be an amazing experience!

Easter does line up with Passover, that much is confirmed. In fact ,it kind of bugs me that it doesn't line up with Easter in the Western calendar. I know it has to do with lunar cycles and different calendars etc,etc,etc but if it's not going to be on the same week every year we might as well just follow the Jewish calendar for it like it's supposed to be.

Last day for Secret Santa sign up! Sign up no matter which holiday you celebrate or don't celebrate! Presents for everyone 😀

Hmm, interesting discussion. I would think along the lines with Jaygee. I would think that if we were to celebrate the old feasts, one might say we would have to continue living under the law, and practicing sacrifices as well. These were all Jewish things to remind them of what God had done for them. It's neat if you are able to celebrate them, though.

Just an interesting note that made me think. I had someone at work tell me they didn't celebrate Christmas because they are not a Christian. That was an interesting statement to me because I know most people celebrate it as a holiday without thought to what it may actually mean.

True, Always, most people celebrate Christmas no matter what their religion. Both it and Easter seem to have entered pop culture, and most people have forgotten where they actually come from.

@always narnian
Interesting. So they only look at the christian aspect of christmas? I mean, despite all the not-christian stuff there is to it? Well, I guess there is every type of person out there. :p

@jesusgirl4ever
Yeah. That is why my family has chosen both of those holidays off-limits. Wait..... I think aside from jewish holidays, birthdays are the only ones we celebrate. Which is fine, after all. I have 6 siblings. XD
So I am not sure if there are any other popular holidays aside from christmas and easter....... except independence day. That one is big, and pretty much the only awesome thing about summer. 😛

I might as well also bring up culture differences too. Christmas is not in the Bible nor are we told to celebrate Christ's birth, and yet the Western world in particular makes it quite a big deal. Of course, this doesn't mean that one can't celebrate Hanukkah or Purim or Rosh Hashanah or what-have-you outside of a Jewish culture or family (or, conversely, that one necessarily shouldn't celebrate Christmas). Even for those not opposed to observing Jewish holidays, some may consider doing so just as "un-normal" as, say, celebrating Chinese New Year with only the most appropriate foods and the giving of money in little red envelopes to children (yes, I know, the Jewish holidays are so much richer in every way, but so far as culture goes, I think the point still stands).

When I have celebrated Jewish holidays as part of church or in my family, it has brought more meaning to the Bible. I think it is a good thing. But I think it is hard for most Christians to really connect to the Jewish holidays because they are so tied to heritage (and because they aren't traditionally done in churches).

Christmas, Easter, and All Saints Day were placed on those dates in European churches to keep people from going to the pagan holidays that were at those times. I don't know about Valentine's Day. I'm kind of surprised that these holidays have caught on in other cultures. For example, I've read that Japanese people often celebrate Christmas and Valentine's Day, even though only 1% of the population is Christian.

@Pev: I don't know that Jesus was necessarily born on or around a feast day, though I'm 98% sure it wasn't in December. 😉 (There are a few arguments for this, but the one particular argument I found for myself is that shepherds will take their flocks to the more desert-y areas in the winter as the rain allows grass to grow; then in the summer, the sheep will graze closer to home. Bethlehem has grass enough for grazing. And I'm assuming the shepherds weren't some distance out in the desert when they received the news. Also, winter rains. I'm assuming Rome wasn't stupid enough to mobilize an entire country for a tax program when the winter rains would be pouring down. 😛 )
As for all of the non-Christian stuff that clutters Christmas and Easter, yeah, it is unfortunate, to put it lightly. Gotta wonder how these things started (some most innocently!) and then blew up out of proportion. Just goes to show what man will do to distract from God and try to fill on his own that void meant for God.

@Ariel Absolutely! And I am at a loss of words for everything has already been said.

@hermit Yeah. My family just doesn't believe the end justifies the means. In other words, the heart justifies the actions.

@Pev: Haha, it's all good. And it was a nice little discussion too. Don't think I've really had one on the topic. 😀

@Ariel no problem. I like discussing it as long as no one gets heated, and no one blames anyone. 😛

Always a must in any discussion! They're literally no fun otherwise. 🙂

Ugh, I've been coughing a fair bit today. Kinda feels like my chest is dry or something. I'm not parictularly sick, but man, I've forgotten what a cold feels like. 😛

Oh, wow! I hope you start to feel better, Ariel! 🙂 (By the way, have you tried drinking watered-down lemon juice with honey and shredded ginger? That will usually clear me up if I'm feeling sick.)

@Ariel: Oh gosh. Not another person. My Band Teacher gets that every year right around now. She just picked it up again.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I did drink a few cups of honey-lemon water (I don't do ginger), which felt lovely. And a couple cups of of vanilla rooibos tea, which I like to put honey into even though I don't need it as a sweetener. 🙂
I'm really not all that sick. I seem to cough most in my car. Why, I've no idea. But when I had a sore throat, my mind was very, very slightly out of it for some reason. But I haven't had a cold in at least two years, so it's weird to have one, even if it is comparably mild. And I'm super-thankful it's not what my supervisor has. Her efforts to cough up a lung over the past three weeks are impressive.

@Ariel: OH MY GOODNESS

I AM SORRY FOR YOUR SUPERVISOR, BUT I COULDN'T HELP LAUGHING XDXD