Holy Days and Celebrations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah)

I decided to quote from the Names of God (NOG) translation here.

Leviticus 23:23-25:
"Yahweh spoke to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams' horns. Don't do any regular work. Bring a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh.'"

The original name for this holy day isn't Rosh Hashanah, but it is more commonly known by that title these days. The Biblical title is Yom Teruah, which implies a feast of trumpets, or rather, shofars.

The Tanakh includes Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah, but rabbinic tradition has added elements to it. It appears that it wasn't originally celebrated as the new year.

Some Christians celebrate this holy day because, just like religious Jews, Christians want to praise God for His creations too!

Answer: Passover

Exodus 12 describes Passover. The entire chapter provides details, but I will quote a few verses from the Living Bible translation.

Exodus 12:1-5:
"Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'From now on, this month will be the first and most important of the entire year. Annually, on the tenth day of this month (announce this to all the people of Israel) each family shall get a lamb (or, if a family is small, let it share the lamb with another small family in the neighborhood; whether to share in this way depends on the size of the families). This animal shall be a year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, without any defects.'"

According to Exodus, Passover, not Yom Teruah, is the start of the Hebrew new year.

The Hebrew Tanakh, which Christians call the Old Testament, has seven main holy observations in it. They are,

1. Passover
2. Feast of Unleavened Bread
3. Feast of Firstfruits
4. Feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost)
5. Feast of Trumpets (also known as Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah)
6. Day of Atonement
7. Feast of Tabernacles (also known as Booths)

Answer: Halloween

Just like many other holidays, Halloween itself doesn't appear in the Bible. With that said, some elements associated with it, such as demons and witches (some people dress-up as both) are certainly in the Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments condemn occult activities, such as witchcraft, also known as sorcerery, as sinful. For examples, see Leviticus 19:31, 2 Kings 21:6, and Revelation 21:8.

Halloween has very interesting origins. Many of its traditions date back to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, which also featured occult practices. Halloween--or All Hallows' Eve--is actually part of the Roman Catholic calendar and is the eve of All Saints' Day. At the same time, the modern celebration of Halloween is often quite secular (and, might I add, scary). The History Channel's website states that Halloween had become secular in America by the 1920s and 1930s.

While Halloween, or at least a version of it, is still sometimes considered a Christian holiday, certain Christians, especially Protestants, believe that it is anything but Christian. Such Christians believe that Halloween promotes the occult because it is similar to the original Samhain. Many Christians consider beings like ghosts and vampires to also be demonic. This is why some Christians call Halloween "the devil's day".

Christians who oppose the secular and pagan parts of Halloween often hold "harvest festivals" or "Halloween alternative" festivals at their churches. The churches' carnivals still include candy and costumes, but the costumes normally avoid anything that promotes witches, monsters, ghosts, etc.

The lake of fire (hell) and the unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) aren't common Halloween themes, as far as I'm aware, but I included them in the question because they are very scary New Testament concepts.

Answer: Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day likely has both pagan and Catholic roots. The History Channel's website states some people claim that Catholics celebrate St. Valentine's Day in February to remember St. Valentine's death.

In addition, the website points out that there are others who claim the Roman Catholic Church sought to Christianize the pagan Lupercalia, an ancient Roman festival. Lupercalia celebrated fertility and was associated with Faunus, a god. Lupercalia was celebrated on February 15. In the fifth century, the pope chose February 14 for Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day became very associated with romantic love in medieval Europe; especially in England and France.

According to Genesis 2, God created romantic and/or sexual love through His creation of womankind. He had already created Adam, the man. In Genesis 2:18, for instance, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him" (from the Names of God translation).

Romance and marriages are sprinkled throughout the Old and New Testaments, but the Song of Solomon is by far the most romantic Bible book.

Song of Solomon 6:4-9 says,

"You are beautiful, my true love, like Tirzah,
lovely like Jerusalem,
awe-inspiring like those great cities.

Turn your eyes away from me. They enchant me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats moving down from Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep,
sheep that come up from the washing.
All of them bear twins, and not one has lost its young.

Your temples behind your veil are like slices of pomegranate.
There are 60 queens, 80 concubines, and countless virgins,
but she is unique, my dove, my perfect one"
(from the Names of God translation).

Answer: Thanksgiving

Philippians 4:6 in the New American Standard Bible:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Most other translations also say "thanksgiving".

The Living Bible doesn't use the exact phrase, but the idea is still there:
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank him for his answers."

The Bible doesn't include Thanksgiving as an official holiday, but Thanksgiving does have Christian origins. In 1620, the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England and came to America; to an area that is now called Massachusetts. Many of the Pilgrims were Christians--Puritans, in fact--but they didn't agree with everything that the Church of England (the Anglican church) taught.

The Pilgrims wanted to be free to attend a church of their choice and therefore worship God in their own way. Eventually, they shared a feast with the Wampanoag (Native Americans), which is considered the first Thanksgiving.

Answer: Christmas

Christmas observes Jesus Christ's birth, and most people celebrate it on December 25, but the Bible doesn't give the exact time or date for His birth, so His real birthday is unknown. Orthodox Catholics, who are also called Orthodox Christians, use the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar, so their date for the celebration is different.

According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin and informed her that Yahweh (God) chose her to be the earthly mother of His Son. Luke 1:38 implies that she accepted the offer.

Within the Christian community, Christmas is somewhat controversial. Technically speaking, the Bible doesn't mention Christmas. In the fourth century, the Roman Catholic Church created Christmas when they decided that they wanted to celebrate Christ's birth. They chose December 25 as the date in an attempt to Christianize the several pagan winter festivals that were already in existence. Ancient polytheistic Romans actually celebrated the birth of their god Mithra on December 25.

While a number of Christians from different denominations are saddened by the secularization of the holiday in America and long to "Keep Christ in Christmas," other Christians feel like the celebration has pagan origins and therefore don't celebrate it. In my view, Romans 14:5-10 are extremely relevant verses for this issue.

Romans 14:5-10:

"One person decides that one day is holier than another. Another person decides that all days are the same. Every person must make his own decision. When people observe a special day, they observe it to honor the Lord. When people eat all kinds of foods, they honor the Lord as they eat, since they give thanks to God. Vegetarians also honor the Lord when they eat, and they, too, give thanks to God. It's clear that we don't live to honor ourselves, and we don't die to honor ourselves. If we live, we honor the Lord, and if we die, we honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this reason Christ died and came back to life so that he would be the Lord of both the living and the dead.

Why do you criticize or despise other Christians? Everyone will stand in front of God to be judged"
(from the Names of God Bible)

However, there is controversy regarding what the correct interpretation of these verses should even be. Some argue that Romans 14 refers only to Jewish subjects like the Sabbath and therefore doesn't justify holidays like Christmas.

Answer: Epiphany

In Roman Catholicism and a few other denominations, such as Anglicanism and Lutheranism, followers celebrate Epiphany on January 6. It primarily celebrates the Magi (wise men) visiting Christ.

January 5, called Twelfth Night, is the eve of Epiphany and is also the ending of the twelve days of Christmas, which are December 25 through January 5. Wait, so, this means that the songwriter didn't just make up the idea! The twelve days of Christmas are real.

Christians disagree on Christ's exact age when the Magi visited Him. There are some who do believe that He was a baby, but there are many who believe that He was a toddler. The Bible doesn't say. It states that King Herod ordered all male children who were two years or younger to be killed (see Matthew 2) because he was furious with the Magi. This technically means that Jesus could have been *anywhere* from newborn to two years old. Regarding the shepherds though, Luke 2 clearly states that the shepherds visited the newborn Jesus, who was in a manger.

Answer: Hanukkah

The Tanakh (what Christians call the Old Testament) doesn't specifically mention Hanukkah. The Jewish Talmud and Mishnah mention it though, as does John 10:22-24, which I have quoted from the Living Bible translation.

"It was winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the Dedication Celebration. He was at the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon's Hall.

The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, 'How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.'"

While more commonly known as Hanukkah and/or the Festival of Lights, another name for it is the Feast of Dedication. It celebrates the belief that God performed a miracle involving a menorah in or around the year 166 BCE. According to tradition, the menorah only had enough oil to burn for one day, but it miraculously burned for eight days.

Answer: Palm Sunday

While there is no command in the Bible to celebrate Palm Sunday, the Bible definitely includes the ideas behind Palm Sunday. Christians of many different denominations observe and value this day.

According to Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus asked two disciples to bring Him a donkey. He then rode into Jerusalem on the donkey and people shouted "Hosanna!", which is a declaration of praise, but it is also a cry for salvation. At the time, those Jewish people thought that Jesus was going to save them from the Romans. They weren't so concerned with spiritual saving. Rather, they believed that the Messiah was going to bring a political revolution. When they realized that Jesus had other plans, the very same people shouted "Crucify him!" only a few days later (see Matthew 27).

Christians believe that Palm Sunday's events were the fulfilment of Zechariah 9:9's prophecy, which states,

"Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem!
Look! Your Melek [king] is coming to you:
He is righteous and victorious.
He is humble and rides on a donkey,
on a colt, a young pack animal"
(from the Names of God translation).

Answer: Resurrection Sunday (Easter)

John 20 provides details about Christ's resurrection.

One thing (there are many, though) that separates Christianity from other religions is that Christianity teaches that Jesus was not only born and crucified, but that He resurrected. Without faith in the resurrection, Christ's birth, life, and teachings wouldn't actually mean much to Christians.

In fact, 1 Corinthians 15:14-17 from the Living Bible gives the following message:

"And if he [Jesus] is still dead, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is empty, worthless, hopeless; and we apostles are all liars because we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, and of course that isn't true if the dead do not come back to life again. If they don't, then Christ is still dead, and you are very foolish to keep on trusting God to save you, and you are still under condemnation for your sins . . ."

Most Christians, regardless of denominations, choose to observe Christ's resurrection because of its importance. Catholicism and a few, but obviously not all, Protestant denominations also observe Lent, which is a time of fasting and repentance before Easter.

Etymologically, "Easter" seems to have a connection to a Germanic goddess of spring and fertility called "Eostre". Some Christians prefer to call it "Resurrection Sunday" over "Easter" for this reason.

Now, here's some interesting information (I hope). In Christianity's early years, Christ's followers, who were primarily still Jews, didn't exactly celebrate Easter. They continued to celebrate Passover, but they did so differently than the Jews who didn't believe in Jesus did. 1 Corinthians 5:7 also states that Jesus is the Passover Lamb for Christians. Passover was traditionally on Saturdays*, but over time, Christians began to observe their version on Sundays. This eventually led to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday. However, since the Passover observed Christ's sacrifice on the cross just as much (if not more) than it did His resurrection, then it seems that the Christian Passover was like an early celebration of Good Friday too.

*Correction: Passover occurred on Saturdays at times, but it could also occur any other day of the week.