A little OT: Christians who celebrate Jewish holidays

Sari · 12-04-2003, 05:01 PM

I've been reading more about this lately, Christians celebrating Jewish holidays. I was wondering if there's anyone who does this and why or why don't you do this? It kinda makes sense to me, because Jesus (being born Jewish) would have celebrated these things, and also, we as Christians learn all about all the miracles associated with Jewish holidays (except Hanukkah -sp?- I think) and we accept that these miracles happened (such as Passover) so why don't we generally celebrate them? Hopefully this post made sense as I'm a little rambly right now

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yistersister · 12-04-2003, 06:02 PM

Sarahbelle,

I will try to make this brief. I was born and raised Assemblies of God. I have a deep faith. About 5 years ago my dh and I took 3 days off from work and our only intent was to spend time in the scriptures and break through spiritually with our walks with God. You have to understand that we were the "typical" christians. We celebrated christmas, "harvest", easter and believed all the tenants of what we were taught. Anyway, we started reading from Genesis. We found some interesting things in the "old testament". It became VERY clear to us that God wanted us to celebrate HIS festivals. Almost concurrently, totally unrelated, we found out the origins of our american holidays. After much prayer, we decided what was best for us was to turn our backs on the american holidays and celebrate Gods festivals. We have not looked back since and I cannot explain the deep awe I have every year and each festival. No, I have not given up my faith in Jesus, in fact it has deepened. We have been attending a Messianic synagogue ever since.

This is our experience and walk. Hope this answered your questions.

~Debby

MyJourney · 12-04-2003, 06:39 PM

Sarabelle,

Being a Jew, I can give you a hand with the miracles that are celebrated on our holydays.

Regarding Hannuka, we light candles (starting at one and ending at eight) over a period of eight days. We do this to commemorate the miracle of the oil jug. Which is why we also eat lots of fried foods on that holiday.

What happened was the Maccabis drove the ancient greeks out of Judea, and wanted to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem to the lord. One of the signs of a pure and functioning temple (and in modern times for a synagogue) is a light that is always burning. In ancient times this was an oil lamp.
The problem was that once the temple had been purified and rededicated they found that they had only enough oil for one day, yet getting oil from the Galilee took eight days.

The miracle was that the oil replenished itself for eight days until the fresh supply came.

One last comment, this is a relatively new holyday, and does not appear in the old tesament.

Sorry for being so long winded,
Oshrat

Chigal · 12-04-2003, 08:47 PM

Hi Sarabelle,

I'm Jewish, but we have Christians in my family, my aunt married a very nice Catholic and all my cousins are Catholic. We celebrate Christmas at their house and Hannukah (spelling doesn't matter, it's an indirect translation in English) at ours. There are many Christians who are looking back to their "roots," so to speak. We do have a shared past. Technically speaking, Jesus' Last Supper was a Passover feast, so in a way, you do celebrate it. Kuzi is right, Hannukah is not in the Old Testament, as in the five books of Moses, it's considered to be a writing, not a scripture. You'd have to look in the book of Maccabees for the whole story about Judah and his bunch.

GracefulAng · 12-13-2003, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sarabelle
I've been reading more about this lately, Christians celebrating Jewish holidays. I was wondering if there's anyone who does this and why or why don't you do this? It kinda makes sense to me, because Jesus (being born Jewish) would have celebrated these things, and also, we as Christians learn all about all the miracles associated with Jewish holidays (except Hanukkah -sp?- I think) and we accept that these miracles happened (such as Passover) so why don't we generally celebrate them? Hopefully this post made sense as I'm a little rambly right now .

Hi Sarabelle,

Though I am Christian, I have full respect for Jewish people and their culture and faith. I had wondered the same (about Christians who celebrate Jewish holidays), and I found it interesting. Anyone else???

Hi Kuzi,

Having noticed your signature, I would like to know how did you got PCOS under control without any meds?

I would be grateful to hear your tips.

God bless you all,

Ang

Stacie M · 12-13-2003, 03:10 PM

My question as a Christian has always been WHY DON'T WE CELEBRATE MORE JEWISH HOLIDAYS???

I am glad to see I am not the only one thinking this way. Jesus was a Jew. We are a religion that would not exist were it not for the Jews. Why did we turn our back on Jewish holidays (Passover esp)? Our histories are one in the same.

I have never fully understood why Christians will watch "The Ten Commandments" w/o ever linking it to Judaism. I am actually surprised to find out that in my area, many Christians do not know that we come from the same line, that Abraham is not just a Christian figure, but a Jewish one as well. That the Ten Commandments are not just for Christians, but were laws given to the Jewish people.

I sometimes feel like I should be a Messianic Jew (that is the correct term isn't it??). I believe there is also a group "Jews for Jesus".

I hope my statement don't sound too bossy or mean. I find the Jewish faith/culture/history to be FASCINATING and AMAZING. I have the deepest respect for them and their beliefs, and (this may not sit well with some Christians) I believe I will walk with them in heaven as they are God's chosen people.

I heard a Rabbi on TV doing an interview and a audience member asked him if he thought that Christians would be in heaven and he said YES. He said that we have the same God, we are just taking a different path to get to Him. I was quite surprised at the statement and it only deepened my respect for Jews.

NOTE: I am editing this to add that my statement about Messianic Jews was not meant in the sense that I would want to "convert" Jews to Christianity, rather I would like to be a Christian who still learns and celebrates the Jewish faith as well.

StaciieM

Sari · 12-14-2003, 01:41 AM

StaciieM, I'm glad to see we are thinking along the same lines. I also saw an interview with a rabbi, and he said in his mind, the different religions are just different ways to God, and Judaism is the way for the Jew and Christianity is the way for the Christian, etc, so he does not think Christians have to convert to Judaism or give up their ideals to go to heaven, etc.

So, do you think Jewish dietary laws should apply to Christians as well? I don't see why we don't follow them ourselves. A lot of Christians quote a verse in the Bible where Jesus says (and this is not a Bible quote, just to the best of my memory) Don't worry about what you put in your mouth. Some others say that Jesus meant don't worry so much about the ritual cleanliness, rather than the general dietary guidelines. Am I rambling? It's kinda late here LOL.

Moonshoot · 12-14-2003, 02:23 AM

This very interesting and makes me feel so much better. DH is Jewish and we have a 13 month old DS. We decided to expose him to both religions before we were married, but now that it is becoming a reality it is a little harder.

Stacie M · 12-14-2003, 04:12 AM

Sarabelle...I don't know. These are the same things I wonder myself. I like the "idea" of following the laws (although as picky of an eater as I am, I am sure I would really hate it LOL). I see your point though. At what point as Christians did we abandon ALL of the customs of the Jewish faith and lifestyle? If Jesus is the Savior that is foretold of in the old testament, why do we throw out so much of the old rather than embrace it??

It is just SOOO confusing for me! I am SO glad to see I am not the only Christian who wonders about these things.

Shoot The moon- Good luck! I think it is WONDERFUL that you are going to expose your child to both. I am sure there will be difficult times, but try to remember that it will be worth it someday. You will prob. raise a intelligent and caring son who will be VERY open and comfortable about religion. So many Christians have anti-semetic (sp?) views and so many people misunderstand the relationship between Jews and Christians. After all, we share half of the Bible! We have Abraham. We have Jerusalem. I think I would DEFINATELY focus on the similarities and common grounds in the religions as a good starting point with your son.

It is kind of the like the song..."Father Abraham, had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you, so lets just praise the Lord!"

StaciieM

Sari · 12-14-2003, 11:47 AM

I have read that the Catholic church made a lot, if not all, of these changes in order to separate themselves from Judaism. Granted, the people who said this could be anti-Catholic, I don't know if they are or not. It appeared to me they were looking at historical events and documents and that's how they came to their conclusion. Things that were changed include changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, dietary laws, and the hierarchy of the church. It's very interesting to read the different points of view, and me personally, I am always worried about what is the "right" thing to do. I am not "anti-Catholic" per se, but I do recognize that they did purposely change some of the traditions, and I'm not sure if that is right or wrong - not trying to bash Catholics here.

SoulDoctor · 12-14-2003, 05:05 PM

Why don't I celebrate more Jewish holidays? Perhaps because I am a Christian and not a Jew...that may be a hint. It is great to get to know what they are and how they were celebrated in the Bible. But as far as honoring them and celebrating them, we don't have to. We are reborn in Christ and we celebrate different things than what Jews will.

carmella · 12-14-2003, 05:43 PM

Hi Sarabelle- Just a little tid bit of Catholic teachings for you... Catholics changed the Sabbath from Sat to Sun because Jesus rose from the dead on Easter SUNDAY. Thus it was changed. We also aknowledge Passover not only at Palm Sunday (which tells us the story of how Jesus was going to the last Supper,Passover) But in each Mass we recreate the words said during Jesus' last passover celebration. I did not take your comments as bashing Catholics, I just thought you should be informed. Also I agree w/ the Rabbi you heard speak, there will probably be all forms of religions in Heaven, but that is all up to God.

GracefulAng · 12-14-2003, 07:10 PM

Is that right, Passover starts on Thursday?

God bless you, Angela

Sari · 12-14-2003, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoulDoctor
Why don't I celebrate more Jewish holidays? Perhaps because I am a Christian and not a Jew...that may be a hint. It is great to get to know what they are and how they were celebrated in the Bible. But as far as honoring them and celebrating them, we don't have to. We are reborn in Christ and we celebrate different things than what Jews will.

SoulDoctor, I find it interesting that you feel Christians don't have to follow Jewish traditions. Just out of curiosity, do you feel that Christians need to follow the 10 Commandments, considering that they were given to the Jews?

carmella, thank you for the info. I guess the question I have in my mind as far as it being right or wrong for the Catholic church to change the day of the Sabbath, is this...do we (as humans) have the right to change the day of the Sabbath? We are supposed to observe it and keep it holy, so why do we feel like we should be able to change it?

Again, not trying to bash anyone or any religion, I am just genuinely interested in this. Sorry if my questions seem offensive to anyone.

Stacie M · 12-14-2003, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sarabelle
Just out of curiosity, do you feel that Christians need to follow the 10 Commandments, considering that they were given to the Jews?

BRAVO! My thoughts exactly Sarabelle!

And Carmella, I hope you were not offended. I am sure she did not mean her comments offensively, rather more questioning. As a protestant there are MANY things I do not know about the Catholic Church, but I do try to learn new things. I am sure there are things that Catholics don't know about the protestant churches as well, just as MANY MANY Christians don't know much about the Jewish faith and culture.

Also, SoulDoctor...your comments were a little harsh "Why don't I celebrate more Jewish holidays? Perhaps because I am a Christian and not a Jew...that may be a hint." I don't think Sarabelle was trying to cause trouble (neither was I), but ask questions. Your comment was very abrasive and not warranted. We never said that all Christians SHOULD be celebrating Jewish holidays, but were merely discussing the idea. After all, Jesus was a Jew and celebrated the Jewish holidays. Although, it is very possible that I misinterpretated her comments and you did not mean them to sound so rough.

StaciieM