(Un)Holy Days
The church of Christ officially does not celebrate religious holidays. There is no Christmas pageant with the kids cutely flubbing their lines. There is no glorious Easter celebration with trumpets and lilies. In fact, every Easter Sunday, we were treated to a sermon explaining why true Christians don't celebrate Easter because it has its origins in pagan holidays (never mind the fact that Christianity itself is a blend of Jewish and pagan traditions). And around this time of year, we started getting lectures about how Christmas really isn't Jesus' birthday because we don't know for certain when he was born. In this regard, the CoC is very close doctrinally to the non-Christian sects, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons, and is completely out of step with the rest of Christianity (which it rejects as being apostate anyway).
Despite the church's official stance, many people in the church do have a Christmas tree and presents and they let their kids hunt Easter eggs and have a basket full of candy on Easter Sunday. But they hide it from the more conservative members for fear of offending them. My parents never had qualms about us celebrating these holidays at home, but we were told that there was no religious significance to these holidays. They were merely cultural expressions, like Thanksgiving and Memorial Day.
The first time I attended an Easter Sunday service, I was blown away. It was so beautiful that I just sat there and cried. I had also participated in Lent that year, and to have those 40 days culminate in such a gorgeous celebration was deeply moving. For the first time in my life, I truly felt like a Christian, in the largest sense of the word. I felt joy to know that, on that day, Christians all over the world were celebrating together, and I felt such relief at being free to feel that joy without holding back or worrying that I was doing something wrong or offensive. By rejecting Christian holidays, the CoC cuts itself off from the rest of the Christian world and is the poorer for it. I can never go back to such poverty of spirit after having had a taste of something far better.
Despite the church's official stance, many people in the church do have a Christmas tree and presents and they let their kids hunt Easter eggs and have a basket full of candy on Easter Sunday. But they hide it from the more conservative members for fear of offending them. My parents never had qualms about us celebrating these holidays at home, but we were told that there was no religious significance to these holidays. They were merely cultural expressions, like Thanksgiving and Memorial Day.
The first time I attended an Easter Sunday service, I was blown away. It was so beautiful that I just sat there and cried. I had also participated in Lent that year, and to have those 40 days culminate in such a gorgeous celebration was deeply moving. For the first time in my life, I truly felt like a Christian, in the largest sense of the word. I felt joy to know that, on that day, Christians all over the world were celebrating together, and I felt such relief at being free to feel that joy without holding back or worrying that I was doing something wrong or offensive. By rejecting Christian holidays, the CoC cuts itself off from the rest of the Christian world and is the poorer for it. I can never go back to such poverty of spirit after having had a taste of something far better.
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