how does the biblical holiday's coinside with agriculutre?
155437
All the holidays corresponded with the seasons.  Biblical holidays were originally pagan and the pagans believe that one should celebrate the seasons and their changes and believe that what the seasons offer should be held sacred in holiday.  The biblical holidays are not their own.  They were used and borrowed to make it easier for the pagans to convert.  They were being run out of their religion and this is what the church did to make it easier and less conspicuous.
756842
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks, traditionally to God, for the things one has at the close of the harvest season. In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday in October. In the United Kingdom, Thanksgiving is another name for the Harvest festival, held in churches across the country on a relevant Sunday to mark the end of the local harvest, though it is not thought of as a major event (compared to Christmas or Easter) as it is in North America, where this tradition taken by early settlers became much more important. Other European countries, such as Germany, also have harvest-thanks (Erntedank) celebrations which are perceived to be rather minor and mostly rural holidays
155907
The name Easter, used in many lands, is not found in the Bible. The book Medieval Holidays and Festivals tells us that “the holiday is named after the pagan Goddess of the Dawn and of Spring, Eostre.” And who was this goddess? “Eostre it was who, according to the legend, opened the portals of Valhalla to receive Baldur, called the White God, because of his purity and also the Sun God, because his brow supplied light to mankind,” answers The American Book of Days. It adds: “There is no doubt that the Church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them. As the festival of Eostre was in celebration of the renewal of life in the spring it was easy to make it a celebration of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus, whose gospel they preached.”\n\nThis adoption explains how in certain lands the Easter customs, such as Easter eggs, the Easter rabbit, and hot cross buns, came about. Concerning the custom of making hot cross buns, “with their shiny brown tops marked by a . . . cross,” the book Easter and Its Customs states: “The cross was a pagan symbol long before it acquired everlasting significance from the events of the first Good Friday, and bread and cakes were sometimes marked with it in pre-Christian times.”\n\nNowhere in Scripture do we find mention of these things, nor is there any evidence that the early disciples of Jesus gave them any credence. As the book Curiosities of Popular Customs says: “It was the invariable policy of the early Church to give a Christian significance to such of the extant pagan ceremonies as could not be rooted out. In the case of Easter the conversion was peculiarly easy.
1110815
Fruits of their harvest (corn, etc) was used during a time where not necessarily did people have "money" their harvest was their currency.  And even if that could be "sold" for "money", if they gave up their first fruits of their harvest, they are in essence giving up money as well.  \n\nCash began as more people were working in fields that didn't produce a harvest. \n\nThey money given to the church goes to multiple things.\n\n-Keeping the bills paid (this is the ministry staff, office staff, electricity, water, etc).\n-Community Outreach (which includes food banks, soup kitchens, etc).\n- Local, National and International Missions programs.\n- Organizations that the church supports.\n\nand the list can go on and on.\n\nWithin some denominations/churches there is a committee who determines where the money is spent, how much, etc.  In other churches they vote as a congregation (majority rules at a specific %) as to where the money goes.\n\nWhen people who tithe say they are giving their money to "God" they are.  While it goes directly to the church to use, they are giving it to be used for God's purposes within the world.  Since God himself has no need for actual money in a bank acct. for his personal use.
307362
It's not just from Paganism. It's about nature, and the yearly cycle. Think about it - harvest time is when there's more than enough food, so often people share it with the less fortunate. The food keeps for a limited time though, so in winter - at Yuletide - there's a big feast to use up the perishables that won't last until Spring. \n\nThen in Spring there's Eastre - at a time when birds are laying lots of eggs, and various plants are beginning to produce edible parts for the first time since the previous year. So people can finish off the emergency rations instead of saving them.
151883
Most of the holidays celebrated today have a pagan origin, which means that they aroused from false religions.  These false religions used these celebrations to do bad things, like the worship of false gods and idols.  Many of the holidays today are an excuse for people to eat and drink in excess and commit acts of immorality, which, obviously, are things God condemns.
866204
In the way longa ago it was considered celtic or even satanic.  Today it is just a time for children of all ages to dress up and have some fun.  Others participate in giving candy to children that come to the door in a costume.  I personally love to see the children all dressed up and smiling. In Mexico and maybe some other spanish countries They refer to it as the Day of the Dead. They believe the spirits are more apt to walk the earth and they even leave food out for them and light candles.\n\nI hope that helps you understand more
680485
Medieval celebrations revolved around feast days that had pagan origins and were based on ancient agricultural celebrations that marked when certain crops should be planted or harvested. \n\nWheat and rye were sown from Michaelmas (September 29) to Christmas. Spring crops would be planted from the end of Christmas through Easter. Christmas, Easter, Pentecost (or Whitsunday) would be celebrated with a feast of the Church, and would be followed by a week of vacation. Lesser celebrations such as:\nCandlemas (February 2), \nHocktide (end of the Easter week), \nMayday, the Rogation Days, Ascension (all in May), \nMidsummer, or St. John's Day (June 24), \nand the Lammas, or Feast of St. Peter, \n-would all be marked with feasts. Michaelmas marked the beginning of winter and the start of the fiscal year for tradesmen. \n\nBy November, feed was often too scarce to keep animals through the winter, and became known as the "blood month" when meat was smoked, salted and cured for consumption during the long winter ahead. The month began with All Hallows (later, All Saints) Day, followed by St. Martin's Day (November 11). \n\nMedieval society celebrated the grandest feast during the dreariest time of year. The two-week period from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Day (January 6) transformed into the longest vacation for workers. The Lord of the manor or castle often gave bonuses of food, clothing, drink and firewood to servants. Houses were decked with holly and ivy, and giant Yule logs were brought in and burned throughout the two-week celebration. New Year's took place during this time and added to the festivities, and "First Gifts" were often exchanged on this day. \n\n"Plow Monday" took place the day after Epiphany, and freemen of the village would participate in a plow race, to begin cultivation of the town's common plot of land. Each man would try and furrow as many lines as possible, as he would be able to sow those lines during the coming year. Children would play the role of "Fool Plow" and go from house to house asking for pennies. Those who refuse would find the ground in front of their door plowed up. \n\nEaster, as Christmas, was a day for exchanging gifts. The castle lord would receive eggs from the villagers and in return, provide servants with dinner. May saw celebrations of love, especially on the 1st. Villagers would venture into the woods to cut wildflowers and other greenery for their homes to usher in May and hope for a fertile season.
915829
we don't celebrate these things becase they aren't bible based teachings. the only account of birthdays in the bible were bad. plus birthdays are associated with spiritism which is shunned in the bible. with holidays most of these have a pagan origin. next time one us come to your door as a favor for me ask them your questions and really listen to their answer.
368525
Eighth-century Catholic scholar Venerable Bede claimed that the word was derived from the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, “Eostre.” \n\nIn his book The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop claimed a connection between Easter and the Babylonian goddess Astarte.\n\nEaster Eggs: Since the eating of eggs was formerly forbidden during Lent, “decorated eggs,” claims The Encyclopedia Americana, “could symbolize the end of the penitential season and the beginning of joyful celebration.” \nHowever, reference works agree that the egg was a symbol of life and fertility among idolaters. Says the book Celebrations: “Eggs were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Persians of that time gave eggs as gifts at the vernal equinox.”\nThe more pertinent explanation for eating eggs on Easter is that found in The Catholic Encyclopedia: “The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring." (Vol. 5, pp. 225-227)\nConcerning the Easter bunny, this same religious authority states: “The Easter Rabbit lays the eggs, for which reason they are hidden in a nest or in the garden. The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility.\n\nEaster Hares and Rabbits: \nIn Europe, the hare has long been a traditional symbol of Easter. (In North America, the animal is a rabbit—a close relative of the hare.) Yet The New Encyclopædia Britannica explains that the hare was “the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt.” \nThus when children hunt for Easter eggs, supposedly brought by the Easter rabbit, “this is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a fertility rite.”—Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, volume 1, page 335.\n\nSunrise Services: Says The Book of Festivals and Holidays the World Over: “It was a common belief among the early Christians that on Easter morning the sun danced in honor of the Resurrection and people rose long before the sun to see the feat. Perhaps this ancient belief is the inspiration for the many sunrise services that take place on Easter morning in all parts of the United States and Europe.”\nBut says Walsh’s Curiosities of Popular Customs: “This idea of the sun dancing on Easter Day may easily be traced back to heathen customs, when the spectators themselves danced at a festival in honor of the sun, after the vernal equinox.”\nThe book Celebrations adds: “Sunrise services are not unrelated to the Easter fires held on the tops of hills in continuation of the New Year fires, a worldwide observance in antiquity. Rites were performed at the vernal equinox welcoming the sun and its great power to bring new life to all growing things.”\n\nWater Rites: The belief that running water on Easter morning is especially blessed is common. However, Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics reminds us: “Since water is one of the essential factors in the preservation of life and the growth of the crops, it naturally plays a conspicuous part in rainmaking ceremonies and other seasonal rites among primitive people.”\n\nThe Blessing of the New Fire: A Catholic rite, in preparation for the Easter vigil, in which a fire is started from a flint rock. Says Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics: “The new fire probably took rise from a pagan custom to which, when adopted by Christians, a gospel symbolism was attached.”\n\nHam Dinners: Ham on Easter is a long-standing custom among many Catholics. However, the custom is a relic of English bigotry. The American Book of Days says that the English had a habit “of eating a gammon of bacon on that day to show their contempt for the Jewish custom of not eating pork.” William the Conqueror, according to the book Celebrations, changed the bacon to ham to suit his liking.\n\nEaster in Ame
243115
:}\nOne day of fasting from meat,   Friday to recall good Friday on a weekly basis in the same way that a change of the worship day from the sabbath to Sunday recalls the Resurrection on a weekly basis.
364514
LC is correct. The Bible does NOT say which day of the week is the day of rest, just that G-d rested on the seventh day.\n\nTraditionally, Jewish people have their 7th day on Saturday, Christians on Sunday. \n\nSince nowhere in the Bible does it clearly state what day of the week it was, as long as you celebrate and set aside one of the seven days of the week as a day of rest, I don't think G-d really has much of an opinion on which day you pick.\n\nI can't believe some people get so hot under the collar about stuff like this. Is their faith in G-d so shaky that it cannot stand the challenge that others are more comfortable relating with G-d in a different way?
280385
:}\nEaster is based on the calculation used for the Jewish Old testament Passover. It is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, which occurred three days later.\n\nPassover was originally set according to the Jewish Lunar calendar which had only 30 days per month and required adjustments to keep pace with the solar year. For the sake of consistency and the desire to cause Easter to always fall on a Sunday, the church made several attempts to approximate the date to be used.  The date now used was decided on at the Gregorian calendar reform in 1582\n\nThis websites gives a calculator for computing the date for any given year. The main point is that Jesus is our Passover (1Cor.5:7), Jesus is the resurrection and the life (Jn.11:25). The point is not to worship Him on any one day or any particular time, but to worship Him on all days and at all times, and not to worship the day we have chosen to represent His work (Gal.4:10).\n(Gal.4:10).
755690
the holiday is called Sukkot. very cool holiday. it is on the 15th of tishri. you can read about sukkot here:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkot
406099
This year Passover was Nisan 14 (after sunset April 12, 2006) so it's too late to celebrate the Passover, or Lord's Evening Meal, unless you intend to prepare for next year or follow up on the next full moon.\n\nThe Apostle Paul “received from the Lord” instructions as to the Memorial commemoration of the Last Supper, corresponding to Passover. There are also accounts by three Gospel writers, one of whom was present when Jesus instituted this celebration. (1 Corinthians 11:23; Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19, 20) These accounts say that Jesus first took a loaf, prayed, and then broke it and distributed it. What was that loaf? Correspondingly, what is used today? What does it mean or represent?\n\nOn hand were items from the Jewish Passover meal, one being unleavened bread, which Moses called “unfermented cakes, the bread of affliction.” (Deuteronomy 16:3; Exodus 12:8) This bread was made with wheat flour without using leaven, salt, or seasonings. Being unleavened (Hebrew, mats·tsah´), it was flat and brittle; it had to be broken to eatable size.—Mark 6:41; 8:6; Acts 27:35.\n\nJesus used unleavened bread in the Lord’s Evening Meal, so Jehovah’s Witnesses today do likewise. Regular Jewish matzoth serve this purpose if they are not made with added ingredients, such as malt, onions, or eggs. (Matzoth containing those supplements would hardly match the description “bread of affliction.”) Or the congregation elders may have someone make unleavened bread from a dough of wheat flour and water. If wheat flour is not available, unfermented bread can be made with flour from barley, rice, corn, or another grain. The dough is rolled thin and baked on a lightly oiled cooking sheet.\n\nSuch bread is appropriate because it does not contain leaven (yeast), which the Bible uses to represent corruption or sin. Paul counseled concerning an immoral man in a congregation: ‘A little leaven ferments the whole lump. Clear away the old leaven, that you may be free from ferment. Christ our passover has been sacrificed. Let us keep the festival, not with leaven of badness and wickedness, but with unfermented cakes of sincerity and truth.’ (1 Corinthians 5:6-8; compare Matthew 13:33; 16:6, 12.) Unleavened bread is a fitting symbol of Jesus’ human body, for he was “loyal, guileless, undefiled, separated from the sinners.” (Hebrews 7:26) Jesus was there present in his perfect human body when he said to the apostles: “Take and eat this [bread], it means my body.” (Matthew 26:26, A New Translation of the Bible, by James Moffatt) Partaking of the bread means that a person believes in the benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice in his behalf and accepts it. More, though, is involved.\n\nJesus used another symbol: “He also took a cup, and after thanking God he gave it to them saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; this means my blood, the new covenant-blood, shed for many, to win the remission of their sins.’” (Matthew 26:27, 28, Moffatt) What was in that communal cup that he passed, and what does it mean for us as we strive to discern what we ourselves are?\n\nWhen Moses initially outlined the Passover feast, he mentioned no beverage. Many scholars believe that wine was introduced into the Passover much later, perhaps in the second century B.C.E. In any event, the use of wine in this meal was common in the first century, and Jesus did not object to it. He used the Passover wine when instituting the Memorial.\n\nSince the Jewish Passover occurred long after the grape harvest, Jesus would have been using, not unfermented juice, but red wine that could easily represent his blood. (Compare Revelation 14:20.) Christ’s blood did not need to be augmented, so plain wine is appropriate, rather than wines fortified with brandy (such as port, sherry, or muscatel) or having spices or herbs added (vermouth, Dubonnet, or many aperitifs). We need not, though, become worried over how a wine was processed, whether some sugar was
88564
it depends on the theme - thansgiving or easter etc...
166279
Examine the Biblical account regarding the "gift of the Magi". You will find it recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 2. There is no mention of any birthday celebration, nor is any specific time given, though obviously it was some time after Jesus’ birth. In verse 1, Matthew calls the visitors “astrologers [Greek, ma´goi] from eastern parts,” hence pagans with no knowledge of Jehovah God. The star these men followed led them, not directly to Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem, but to Jerusalem, where King Herod ruled.\n\nWhen this wicked ruler heard them inquiring about “the one born king of the Jews,” he sought out the priests to find exactly “where the Christ was to be born” so that he could have the child killed. The priests answered by quoting Micah’s prophecy that located Messiah’s birthplace in Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) Herod hypocritically instructed his visitors: “Go make a careful search for the young child, and when you have found it report back to me, that I too may go and do it obeisance.” The astrologers went on their way, and the star “went ahead of them, until it came to a stop above where the young child was.” Notice that he is described as a “young child,” not as a newborn baby.—Matthew 2:1-10.\n\nAs befitted Oriental magnates visiting a ruler, the pagan astrologers fell down and “presented [the young child] with gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew adds: “However, because they were given divine warning in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another way.”—Matthew 2:11, 12.\n\nFrom this brief Scriptural account, some people might attempt to find support for their Christmas gift giving. Nevertheless, Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore explains that the current custom of giving gifts finds its roots in the Saturnalia gifts that Romans offered their poor neighbors. “The early church . . . cleverly transferred its significance to a ritual commemoration of the gifts of the Magi.” What a contrast this is to the true worshipers—such as the humble shepherds—who simply praised God at Jesus’ birth!