Like most Christians, I enjoy and celebrate holidays and holy days.
Thanksgiving is on November 24, a time for family gatherings, gratitude, fun, and good eating with turkey, cornbread dressing, pies, cakes, and other delicious foods.
The origin of the Thanksgiving feast and gathering was to give thanks for the harvest, family, and other blessings during the year.
In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated as a national holiday; it isn’t a biblical holy day, but it has religious ties and historical significance.
Holidays and holy days aren’t synonymous.
What’s the difference?
The difference between a holy day and a holiday is much more than the spelling of the words.
Holy days are holy festivals designated and commanded by God. Holidays are designations by faith-based culture, society, or government that may or may not have religious ties or biblical significance.
The Passover, The Feast of Weeks, or the other five holy days found in Leviticus 23 aren’t a part of the Christian holiday tradition or celebrations. However, Christmas, a celebration of Jesus’ birth, and Easter, the celebration of His death and resurrection for our salvation, are religious holidays Christians observe.
Probably the most typical holy day Christians observe is the Sabbath. In the fourth commandment, the Bible says, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.”
And in Exodus 31:13 (KJV), God says, “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.”
We acknowledge Him who sanctifies us by keeping the Sabbath day holy as God commanded.
Before reading this verse, I’d never considered the Sabbath a sign.
Keeping the Sabbath, a day of rest, is a sign that we reverence and trust God for who He is, His provisions, and His protections. As God rested after the six-day creation, we also rest on the seventh day to honor Him.
Is there any doubt God knows what we need and gives it to us?
We need a day to rest, praise, worship, and thank Him who keeps us. We cram so much in those six days.
Before you know it, it’s Sunday!
I relish my Sundays.
Like furniture polish, Sunday is a time to renew and refresh my mental, physical and spiritual being through praise and worship.
And didn’t we miss church and our church family during the earlier parts of the pandemic? Like many of you, I did too!
The Sabbath isn’t a holiday but a holy day unto God.
Thank God for the Sabbath day!
And although they’re not biblically commanded, thank God for the holidays of rest and celebration!
Holiday or holy day, every day is a day to reverence God and give thanks.
Here’s a thought to remember:
“It is not happy people who are thankful.
It is thankful people who are happy. Author Unknown
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
And may your Sabbaths be holy!
Be well.