–– Andrew Zekveld

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Introduction

Christmas is a month away, and already the range of emotions, sentiments, and opinions about celebrating Christmas are filling the conversations and plans of some Christians across Africa. A few months later, the Easter celebrations will re-ignite these discussions all over again. Then, forty days later, an Ascension Day Church service will be kept in some scattered Churches across our continent.

Our differences are not only personal, they are also national. In South Africa, the celebration of Ascension Day was removed as a national holiday with the fall of Apartheid in 1994. In Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, Christmas falls on the 7th of January and in Ghana on the 1st of December. In countries with a strong European heritage, you will find Christmas trees and fruit cake on Christmas Day, while the decorations and meals of other countries might vary from region to region within the same country. Though Easter is celebrated in many African countries with more zeal than Christmas Day, it receives no official attention in about a third of African countries.

How should Christians in Africa think about celebrating Christian holidays?

Many Opinions

The range of possible answers to this question seems as broad as the sky itself. From fond childhood memories and family traditions to historical studies and theological nuances, the topic of Christian holidays seems to be both the joyful mountain and the critical valley of Christian thought. 

For Christmas, some preachers will preach that Father Christmas is a lie and there is no way traversing the globe in one night is scientifically possible, while others will explain the incarnation of the Son of Man after a sentimental children’s play presenting the Biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ.

For Easter, some Christians fear that the easter bunny and egg-hunting is occultic, while others curiously re-enact some version of a first-century Passover meal.

About Ascension Day, the least celebrated of these three holidays, we sometimes wonder whether it was not perhaps the one Christian holiday that remained unstained by pagan association.

Three Categories

It would appear that common opinions among Christians regarding Christian holidays fall into three categories.

On the one side of the spectrum we seek to redeem the culture for Christ, and so, if some of the Christian holidays receive national attention, we exploit them for ministry, evangelism, and good works.

On the other side of the spectrum, we seek to maintain a few significant degrees of separation from anything that resembles Paganism and the Occult, and so we denounce these holidays and boycott all religious, traditional, or national celebrations.

Practically, though, many fall into a third category, somewhat of a middle ground. They eagerly participate in many of the traditions with good intentions, but do not hold to any of the strong convictions of the other two groups.

Three Questions

I suggest we press the topic of Christian holidays through the same three-question grid that we use for guidance in all matters of life.

The first question must always be, Does the Bible directly command or forbid the practice? We must do everything Scripture clearly commands, and we must abstain from everything that Scripture clearly forbids. This is the black-and-white, sin-or-righteousness area of Christian living. Scripture seems rather silent on Christian holidays. No clear commandments or prohibitions regarding the practice of Christian holidays—like Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Day—can be found in Scripture, and the only required celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection is in terms of the Lord’s Supper, which all Christians

agree on. At the very least, let us then conclude that it is neither explicitly righteous, nor necessarily evil, to keep, or not keep Christian holidays.

The second question now comes into play, Does the Bible indirectly speak to the matter? Just because no direct commandments or prohibitions in Scripture regarding Christian holidays can be found, does not mean that there are no relevant principles of wisdom and folly. Much can be found in Scripture that directly addresses the concepts, if not the actual holidays themselves. For example, Colossians 2 warns against measuring your spirituality and godliness on your keeping, or not keeping, of Sabbath-like days. 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 10, as well as Romans 14, speak of traditions that are innocent in and of themselves but also have a pagan counterpart. In all those passages there seem to be numerous principles at work rather than commandments. Though all Christians must honour the principles, the actions that result from those principles might differ quite substantially across our various countries and cultures.

Finally, a third question proves useful in thinking about the next Christian holiday. Am I using the day to honour the Lord? The positive chorus of Ecclesiastes reminds all who fear the Lord to enjoy His many blessings, and

to exploit with purposefulness the otherwise meaningless affairs of earthly life.

Conclusion

These three questions, in the correct order, direct our traditions, sentiments, fears, and personal convictions into a Biblical course of thought. If anything, the vast differences in Christian holiday traditions across our continent should make us realise that the celebration of Christian holidays is not a standard of spirituality.