Biblical Holidays

Matthew 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to make void the law (Torah) or the prophets; I
am not come to make void, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Until the heaven and the earth
pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law (Torah) till all come to pass.
Luke 16:17 But it is easier that the heaven and the earth should pass away than that one tittle of
the law (Torah) should fail. Luke 24:44 And he said to them, These are the words which I spoke
to you while I was yet with you, that all that is written concerning me in the law (Torah) of Moses
and prophets and psalms must be fulfilled. By these pronouncements, showing both the laws

eternal validity and that He Himself is bound by it, our Adonay Yah Shua HaMashiach (Lord
Jesus Christ) was instructing us to continue to observe the law. But most Christians still do not
observe the holidays they are commanded to observe in the Old Testament. These are not
merely Jewish holidays - the Jews celebrate many other holidays not ordained in the
Bible!
Unfortunately, most holidays observed by Christians now-a-days are merely pagan
holidays in disguise! Christmas, Easter, and Halloween are holidays rooted in the worship of the
Roman god Sol Invictus, the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, and the Celtic Samhain end of the
harvest respectively. Furthermore, a more recent Christmas symbol, the Yule tree, comes to us via
the worship of the Norse god Baldur. The Easter symbols, the colored eggs and bunny rabbits, (all
symbols of fertility) come to us via the worship of Ishtar (a fertility goddess). After Christianity
became the official religion of Western Civilization, the Church began adopting the rites and
symbols of the pagan religions it was replacing! In spite of decades of knowing the roots of these
holidays, most modern Christians still observe them!
So what holidays should observant Christians celebrate? Holidays concerning HaMashiachs
(Christs) birth (some time in mid September), death (the day after the Passover supper), and
resurrection (three days later) are all optional! The holidays we are required to celebrate are the
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ones we are commanded by scripture to celebrate. There are seven holidays that Christians,
Jews, and Moslems alike are required to observe. They are the following:

Shabbat (Sabbath) - Exodus 31:15 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is the

Sabbath of rest, holy to Yahuah: whoever doeth work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put
to death. Exodus 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to
you a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to Yahuah: whoever does work on it shall be put to death.

Still a point of heated controversy among Christians, the Sabbath was originally observed on
Saturday. The Roman Emperor Constantine had it changed to Sunday to accommodate
the worshippers of the then popular sun god Sol Invictus (the unconquerable sun)
smoothing their forced conversion to Christianity. Constantine also ordered the celebration
of the birth of Yah Shua (Jesus) to be held on December 25th (the birthday of Sol Invictus)
for the same reason! All those who disputed these changes were exiled or put to death as
heretics.

Rosh HaShanah ("Head of the Year") or Yom HaZikkaron* (Day of Remembrance) a/k/a
Yom Teruah (Festival of Trumpets) September - Leviticus 23:25 And Yahuah spoke to
Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first of the
month, shall ye have a rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. No manner
of servile work shall ye do; and ye shall present an offering by fire to Yahuah. A two-day

festival observed on the 1st and 2nd days of Tishrei in the Jewish religious calendar [the Jews
have two calendars - a religious one (copied from the pagan Babylonian calendar and
nonexistent before the Babylonian captivity) and a secular one]. Rosh Hashanah is the
beginning of the holy New Year. Supposedly the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve,
Rosh Hashanah is also celebrated as the birthday of mankind, highlighting the special
relationship between Yahuah and humanity. However, the official Biblical holiday is called
Yom HaZikkaron (or Yom Teruah). Charity, prayer, repentance, and the sacrifices of
righteousness replace the need to present other sacrifices to Yahuah (replaced by Yah Shuas
perfect sacrifice); but all other requirements are still in effect! *It should be noted here that the
term Yom HaZikkaron is now used by the modern Israeli state to designate their memorial day
honoring their war dead who died during their war for independence.

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) September/October - Leviticus 16:29-31 And this shall be
an everlasting statute unto you. In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, ye shall afflict
your souls, and do no work at all, the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you;
for on that day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you: from all your sins shall ye be
clean before Yahuah. A Sabbath of rest shall it be unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls: it is
an everlasting statute. Leviticus 23:26-32 And Yahuah spoke to Moses, saying, Also on the
tenth of this seventh month is the day of the atonement: a holy convocation shall it be unto you;
and ye shall afflict your souls, and present an offering by fire to Yahuah. And ye shall do no
manner of work on that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before
Yahuah your God. For every soul that is not afflicted on that same day, shall be cut off from
among his peoples. And every soul that doeth any manner of work on that same day, the same
soul will I destroy from among his people. No manner of work shall ye do: it is an everlasting
statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. A Sabbath of rest shall it be unto you;
and ye shall afflict your souls. On the ninth of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye
celebrate your Sabbath? This is a two day holiday in which one is commanded to atone for

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sins against God. As with all other holy days; charity, prayer, repentance, and the sacrifices of
righteousness replace the need to present other sacrifices to Yahuah (replaced by Yah Shuas
perfect sacrifice); but all other requirements are still in effect!

Sukkot (Booths) September/October - Leviticus 23:33-36 And Yahuah spoke to Moses,

saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is
the feast of booths seven days to Yahuah. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation:
no manner of servile work shall ye do. Seven days ye shall present an offering by fire to
Yahuah; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall present an
offering by fire to Yahuah: it is a solemn assembly; no manner of servile work shall ye do.
Leviticus 23:39-43 But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the
produce of the land, ye shall celebrate the feast of Yahuah seven days: on the first day there
shall be rest, and on the eighth day there shall be rest. And ye shall take on the first day the fruit
of beautiful trees, palm branches and the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and ye
shall rejoice before Yahuah your God seven days. And ye shall celebrate it as a feast to
Yahuah seven days in the year: it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations; in the
seventh month shall ye celebrate it. In booths shall ye dwell seven days; all born in Israel shall
dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I caused the children of Israel to dwell in
booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahuah your God. Beginning the

5th day (which should be on a full moon) after Yom Kippur, this is a joyous festival in which
two days are sabbatical (no work on the first or last days). Booths (simple three-walled
structures) are constructed of materials resistant to the wind. Health and weather permitting,
people celebrating this festival are to eat and sleep in these structures. Although the fruit of
trees (apples, nuts, oranges, pears, etc.) are emphasized, this festival also celebrates the harvest
and meals are expected to reflect the bounty of that years harvest. As with all other holy days,
charity, prayer, repentance, and the sacrifices of righteousness replace the need to present other
sacrifices to Yahuah (replaced by Yah Shuas perfect sacrifice), but all other requirements are
still in effect!

Pesach (Passover) March/April - Leviticus 23:5-8 In the first month, on the fourteenth of the

month, between the two evenings, is the Passover to Yahuah. And on the fifteenth day of this
month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahuah; seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread.
On the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: no manner of servile work shall ye do. And ye
shall present to Yahuah an offering by fire seven days; on the seventh day is a holy
convocation: no manner of servile work shall ye do. Always on a full moon, this is by far the

most famous of the Biblical holidays. The last supper of our Lord was the Passover seder (which
is why Good Friday should always be on the second day of Passover! Yah Shua (Jesus) was
the Lamb of God and so was sacrificed so that Yahuahs wrath would pass over us when
judgment was made. The afikomen in the Passover seder represent the Holy Trinity [the first matzo
represents the Father, the second (which is broken) represents the Son, and the third represents
the Holy Spirit]. Indeed, the Passover seder itself is symbolic of Yah Shuas anointing! Because
of our Lords perfect sacrifice, the only offerings we now need to make to Yahuah during these
holy days are charity, prayer, repentance, and the sacrifices of righteousness.

Lag b'Omer (Counting the Sheaves) - Leviticus 23:15-16 And ye shall count from the morning
after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven weeks;
they shall be complete; even unto the morning after the seventh Sabbath shall ye count fifty
days; and ye shall present a new oblation to Yahuah. This is a period of partial mourning.

During these holy days, every prayer should begin with the count of days since Passover. As
with all other holy days, charity, prayer, repentance, and the sacrifices of righteousness replace

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the need to present other sacrifices to Yahuah (replaced by Yah Shuas perfect sacrifice), but
all other requirements are still in effect!

Shavuot (Pentecost) or Hag HaBikkurim (Festival of the First Fruits) May/June

Leviticus 23:17-22 Out of your dwellings shall ye bring two wave-loaves, of two tenths of fine
flour; with leaven shall they be baken; as first-fruits to Yahuah. And ye shall present with the
bread seven he-lambs without blemish, yearlings, and one young bullock, and two rams: they
shall be a burnt-offering to Yahuah with their oblation, and their drink-offerings, an offering by
fire of a sweet odour to Yahuah. And ye shall sacrifice one buck of the goats for a sin-offering,
and two he-lambs, yearlings, for a sacrifice of peace-offering. And the priest shall wave them
with the bread of the first-fruits as a wave-offering before Yahuah, with the two he-lambs; they
shall be holy to Yahuah, for the priest. And ye shall make proclamation on that same daya
holy convocation shall it be unto you: no manner of servile work shall ye do: it is an everlasting
statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your
land, thou shalt not in thy harvest entirely reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy
harvest shalt thou not gather: thou shalt leave them unto the poor and to the stranger: I am
Yahuah your God. This holiday begins exactly 50 days after the end of Passover. This is a time

of giving the Gospel to all that will hear. Just as the Apostles [fired by the Ruach HaKodesh
(Holy Ghost, Spirit)] spoke in tongues unknown to them spreading the Gospel to all the
foreigners who heard them (Acts 2:4-13), this is the time when we should all make a greater
effort to spread the Gospel to strangers. And as with all of the other holy days, charity, prayer,
repentance, and the sacrifices of righteousness replace the need to present other sacrifices to
Yahuah (replaced by Yah Shuas perfect sacrifice), but all other requirements are still in effect!

The problem we are all presented with is the exact date on which the last six holidays are to
be observed. Following the Hebrew calendar we can quickly find the correct date. To this extent,
this writer has found Calendar Converter at http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/ to be
most helpful. Chabad.org and many other websites can give the reader the precise date on any given
year without having to perform a conversion. The web address for Chabad.org is:
http://www.chabad.org/calendar/holidays_cdo/aid/672022/jewish/Holidays.htm. May we all be
blessed and obedient in our Lord Yah Shua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ)!
This writer has been asked, What is a sacrifice of righteousness? What first came to mind
was the old saying, No good deed ever goes unpunished! Being righteous usually requires some
sort of sacrifice. Standing up for the rights of the oppressed often means receiving punishment
from the oppressor. It may even mean receiving punishment for defending someone you dont even
like! Even the mere refusal to take part in unjust actions against another person can result in
punishment. Punishment could range from something as mild as a friend or family members anger
to severe physical pain, disfigurement, or even death. Indeed, some righteous people have even had
to watch their entire family tortured and murdered before being killed!

Hallelu Yahu'ah Sabaoth!

Hallelu Yah Shua HaMashiach!
Hallelu Ruach HaKodesh!
Hallalu Yah!
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