"He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law;" Daniel 7:25
Christian Calendar Dates
a Replacement Calendar
Christmas
Palm Sunday
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Whit Sunday
Problems with pagan elements (syncretism)
As mentioned elsewhere, the events in Jesus' life and ministry are not generally celebrated on the days they actually happened.
It is difficult to see how this could be done if you consider the different calendars involved and the way the days of the week shift every year.
(See Calendars )
Sadly, many features on the Church calendar are tainted by pre-Christian, pagan celebrations. ( Syncretism is the mixing of two religions - mixing paganism into Christianity) Christianity abandoned the Biblical Feasts or Appointed Times (Moedim).
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
Beware of confusing church dates with pagan dates. - See Halloween for details of the Highcross Quarters.
See Gap to chart the Church's progress over the centuries.
Some readers have taken the comments on Jewish and Christian Holidays to indicate that wildolive advocates that the Christian return to a state of being "under Law" and under compulsion to celebrate Jewish holidays. This is not the the case, for three reasons.
1. Torah does not mean "Law" but "teaching". Celebrating the feasts in Torah is a joy, not
a legal obligation.
2. The feasts are "the Feasts of the Lord", not "the Jewish
Feasts".
3. Wildolive does not condemn Christians who celebrate the Christian holidays.
As someone said, "A ship at sea collects barnacles. You do not scrap the ship - you scrape off the barnacles."
When a Christian celebrates the birth, death and resurrection of our saviour it is a wonderful thing. But if our understanding of spiritual truths is formed by a traditional celebration, and that tradition is in error, it should be challenged and something better sought.
Easter
Easter should be associated with Passover, but Passover is fixed at 14th Nisan in the Hebrew calendar which is Lunar, meaning it is always a Full Moon.
Our Easter was fixed by the increasingly anti-Semitic church to fall (on our solar calendar) on the Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. (see "Jesus in the Feasts of Israel" by Richard Booker)
See Holy Week for a detailed calendar of events.
So, in spite of the calendar differences, we do know that the day of Jesus resurrection was the first day of the week (Sunday) following the Passover.
This day (during the feast of unleavened bread) was the Feast of Firstfruits, which is extremely appropriate since that is the day Jesus became "the first fruits of them that sleep", proving that we too may have life beyond the grave.
Whilst celebrating Jesus' ressurrection is central to our faith (after Communion as Jesus personally called us to celebrate) the name, "Easter" is derived from a pagan spring / fertility deity who appears variously as Eostre, the Saxon goddess of dawn with a hare's head (the origin of Easter bunnies), Ishtar from Ninevah, introduced into Britain with the Druids, Astarte the queen of heaven from Babylon, whose worship involved sexual depravity! (The egg figures prominently in the worship of Easter - Astarte was said to have sprung from an Egg which fell from Heaven into the Euphrates) .
In Exodus 23 v13 one of the commandments (mitzvot) of YHVH says, "Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips."
Why not call that day "Ressurrection Sunday?
Even the fast of Lent (introduce in the sixth century) was borrowed from Babylon. and a similar fast was observed by the Egyptians in commemoration of Osiris. A similar fast is still observed by the Yezidi in Kurdistan, who worship Malak Tawus (the "Peacock Angel" - Lucifer). (linked site no longer available)
The "Easter" weekend is the high point of the Christian calendar but...
If the day of Jesus' death was a Friday, he could hardly be said to have spent three days and three nights in the tomb as he promised (the sign of Jonah - Matthew 12:40) if he died just before the end of the Friday.
When Jesus said that the only sign that would be given to the people was the sign of Jonah, he meant at least the full seventy two hours; complete and authentic death and burial.
In Bible and in the Jewish calendar today, each day starts at sundown. (See Genesis 1:13 So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.) So since Jesus died at three in the afternoon, one day would bring us to Saturday afternoon and another day to Sunday afternoon.
In the first century, the spirit of one who died was believed to stay near the body for three days (72 hours), and possibly re-enter the body (the equivalent of modern day occurrences of people pronounced dead waking up in the mortuary) . This appears to be the reason for Jesus delaying going to Lazarus until he had been dead for three days. (Certainty that he was dead)
John's account of the death of Jesus records (chapter 19 v31) that "it was the day of preparation and the next day was to be a special Sabbath". This does not mean that this event took place on Friday since the Passover day (which started at sunset) was a "special Sabbath", not a Saturday. (see Num 28 v16-25) Study the timing of these events shows that Jesus died on the Wednesday, at the same time as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. This is very profound but a little difficult, as it meant that Jesus appeared to have celebrated the Passover meal a day early.
However, historical records show that there were two rival calendars in use at that time and the one used by the Essenes was a day ahead of the more widely accepted Sanhedrin one. Leviticus calls for determination of the start of the month by the first sighting of the New Moon in Jeruslaem while the authorities used a calculated calendar that could be worked out far ahead.
The man Jesus told his disciples to look for (Luke 22:10) was an Essene a devout order of men who clung to Torah rather than instructions of the Sanhedrin that they considered corrupt. How do we know he was an Essene? - these men had to collect their own water, which was normally women's work. Therefore that Jesus and his disciples celebrated a day earlier than the priests.
Since Jesus died on the same day as the Passover lambs, the time of day becomes significant. Jesus was crucified at the third hour (nine in the morning) and he died at the ninth hour (three in the afternoon). On that same day, in the Temple, half a mile away, the slaughter of the Passover lambs started at the third hour and ceased at the ninth hour when the High Priest entered and with his arms outstretched said, "It is finished" At the same time Jesus, with his arms outstretched on his cross, cried out "It is finished!" and died.
Thus the slaughter of Passover lambs was finished at the same time as the sacrifice of The Lamb of God!(from the ministry of Neil Cohen of Christ Church Jerusalem.)
Palm Sunday
Jesus' entry to Jerusalem on 10th of Nisan that year, was not necessarily a Sunday for the reasons explained above. But the event occurred as Jesus entered Jerusalem to be tested by the religious authorities on the day as the Passover lambs were to be taken into the homes of the people to be inspected to ensure they were free from blemish, and thus suitable to be sacrificed.
The traditional greeting to pilgrims coming up to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) for Passover was "Baruch haba bashem Adonai" (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 118 v 26). This took on a special significance when Jesus entered Jerusalem. (His name Yeshua means "The Lord is Salvation"). (Hosanna does not mean Praise God - it is a Greek transliteration of "Hoshia na" Save us now!
See also Christian Myths concerning Palm Sunday.
Whitsun - Pentecost
The Feast of Weeks, or ShaVu'Ot falls fifty days after Passover; not necessarily on a Sunday. Obviously if Easter does not fall at Passover, Pentecost will not fall on Sha vu Ot. Pentecost / Whitsun appears to have attracted less corrupting influence from the world, and has almost been forgotten in Britain since the Spring Bank Holiday has taken its place as a public holiday. This seems to leave the Church more free to celebrate the GOD's gift of His Holy Spirit to his people. However, a look at The Feast of Sha vu Ot shows that there is more depth of meaning to this holy day in its Hebrew roots. It is worth noting that Pentecost was not the birthday of "the Church" - see The Olive Tree for an explanation.
Please note this page previously said that the Council of Nicea fixed Christmas and Easter. This was incorrect. The council did not fix Christmas and merely brought the Eastern church date of Easter in line with the Western church. Unfortunately it would seem the church was unified on a dating that took the church another step away from its Jewish roots.
Christmas
There are differing opinions about the day of Jesus' birth and the Bible gives no record of the date of Jesus' birth, which suggests that of all the things our GOD wants to keep in mind, this date is not one.
Various church fathers proposed various solutions and the Western Church apparently settled on 25th December, while the Eastern church settled on mid January.
Wildolive does not claim that the Christmas holiday has Pagan roots, but it could be said to be unfortunate that Christmas landed on the pagan midwinter solstice festival of sol Invictus (unconquered sun) and the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia; December 17-21st. There may have been pragmatic reasons for this but it taints the celebration of our Saviour's birth with pagan symbols and customs. Just consider the symbols of winter, snow, fires, candles, fir trees, holly, mistletoe and feasting in the images on your Christmas cards; and even our Christmas songs.
There are, however, reasons to believe Jesus was born in the season of the Feast Tabernacles. This would fit in with the prophetic significance of so much of his life and ministry, as it was this time that he left his home in Heaven and came to live in the frail shelter of a human body. (See Sukot)
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist was of the priestly division of Abijah/ Aviyah. (See Luke 1 v5 and also 1 Chronicles chapter 24; esp. v10) Each division was responsible for serving in the Temple for two weeks in the year. As a member of the eighth division he would have served around June.
When Mary visited Elizabeth, who was in her sixth month (Luke 1 v34-39), this would have been December. This means that Yeshua (Jesus) was probably born in September or October, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.
(Thanks to Rufus Barnes writing in the newsletter of the Messianic (Christian Education Trust 1998)
Also, Sukkot was the time of year for taking census in Judea. This could be another tie-in with Sukkot and the census mentioned in the gospel account of the birth of Yeshua.
If you look for the likely date of Sukkot in 7BCE (speculating, since we only know Jesus was born before zero AD) using a computer simulation (www.cybersky.com) you will get a picture like this. It shows the necessary full moon and the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which would have been very bright (being full moon). We know this conjunction would have been deemed significant by the magi. You will also notice that it is slightly east of south (at this time of night), seen from Jerusalem. Remember the magi went to Jerusalem and enquired for the newborn king of the Jews and followed the star from there to Bethlehem (to the South). Just thought you might find this interesting.
Some believe the 25th December (or 6th January) belonged to the church first, and was hijacked by the Romans. Try an internet search like "was Jesus born on 25th December" This should yeild some sites supporting this (Catholic) doctrine.
But was the Star of Bethlehem actually a star or planets at all?
"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.'" (Matthew 2:1-2)
Dr David Reagan offers this Supernatural possibility.
The longevity of the star rules out a comet or a meteor. The star had to appear each night for several months in order to lead the magi all the way
from Persia in the Far East. The possibility of a super-nova or a planetary alignment is ruled out by the fact that the star constantly moved , leading
the magi first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem where the star hovered over the house where Mary and Joseph had moved to with the Christ Child
(Matthew 2:9-11)
The renowned Messianic Jewish scholar, Alfred Edersheim, has proposed another solution to the mystery. He points out that the Greek word translated
"star" really means "radiance." The "star" could therefore have been what the Jews called the "Shekinah"
— that is, a physical manifestation of the glory of God in the form of a supernatural radiance.
The Jews experienced such a phenomenon in the wilderness of Sinai when for 40 years they were led about by a pillar of cloud in the day that became a
pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). When the radiant cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud hovered, they pitched their tents and settled down
(Numbers 9:15-23)
This Shekinah later resided in the Holy of Holies after the Temple of Solomon was built (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). Ezekiel describes how the
Shekinah departed from the Temple in stages before God allowed the Temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians.
The Shekinah is mentioned in the New Testament as being present at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9), at His transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and
at His ascension (Acts 1:9).
Considering the radiant and maneuverable qualities of the Shekinah that are demonstrated in these scriptures, it is very likely that the
"star" which led the magi was really the Shekinah Glory of God.
Harvest Festival
Harvest festival in the Autumn/Fall is an excellent response to the LORD's abundant goodness to us and a chance for us to reflect that the source of our food is the land and God's maintenance of seedtime and harvest. No problem, as long as pagan symbols are not allowed to creep in (corn dollies?) - but why not celebrate it next year as Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering, and see all the added richness in the pictures of Jesus' first and second comings? (see Christmas, above)
Halloween
All Hallows was probably a misguided attempt by the church, around 800 AD, to overwrite the Pagan, Druid feast of Samhain which marked the end of Summer with fires and animal and human sacrifice. (The corresponding feast for the beginning of Summer is Beltane, which falls on May 1st and involves may poles, dancing, flowers and fertility rites) The celebration of departed saints is all but forgotten but the symbols of death, fear, evil, witchcraft and Satan are still with us in Trick or Treat, hideous costumes and Jack O'Lantern pumpkins, which children are often encouraged to take part in. These dates are the most important on the calendar of the various sects of practitioners of witchcraft.
See Halloween - logosresourcepages.org on halloween provided a full explanation of Halloween and other dangerous forces.
Sunday
Shabbat, The Saturday Sabbath was observed by the early church and was kept in Britain until around the twelfth century. The celebration of a Sunday Sabbath (even as "resurrection day" ) was never commanded in scripture. The Sabbath of the fourth commandment was another victim of the state controlled church's desire to cut loose from Jewish roots. Shabbat was given to the LORD's chosen and faithful people, into which we Gentile believers have been grafted, as a day of rest. Since the church rejected the Saturday Shabbat it has become the the sign that marked out the Jews for persecution down through the ages.
Does all this matter ? - Syncretism and all that
See also "Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence" by Nehemia Gordon; chapter 5; "Spiritual mixing of Seed." He throws light on important issues of what can go wrong if we are casual with words and to whom we express our worship. The Old Testament examples can be extended to the present time.
Just before Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses gave them commandments ( mitzvot ) from the LORD including the following from Deuteronomy 12 v1-3, These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live in the land. Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. Subsequent scriptures contain examples of the consequences of neglecting this command. Why did the church expect to escape the consequences of accommodating pagan customs? (See particularly 2 Kings chapter 17 v 29-41. This is also the root of the enmity between the Jews (Judeans) and the Samaritans.)
It is sad to note that, on 5th August 2002, Dr Rowan Williams Archbishop of Wales and next Archbishop of Canterbury (Head of the whole Anglican Church) was inducted as an honorary white druid (Druids are reconstructing the pre-Christian pagan religion of Britain, but are also involved in celebrations of celtic art) Dr Williams was inducted at a ceremony in St David's Pembrokeshire, in the middle of a standing stone circle, clad in white druid robes and standing before ivy clad microphones. Dr Williams dismissed suggestions he was dabbling with paganism, but Christians must make up their own minds. Anglicans in Africa who are battling pagan religion may find his stance difficult to accept.
If we are not willing to accept that some of our Church dates are inaccurate we miss some amazing truths that are involved in the significant dates and times. It may not be terribly wrong to celebrate an event on the wrong day, but perhaps it is unwise to assert that it is the"Right" day. We claim to preach "The Truth" to a world which is short on truth, but if we are found to be clinging to wrong doctrines it seriously undermines what we say. This will be especially true if we attempt to share our beliefs with Jews, who will see when our story does not fit with scripture. Much of the nonsense that was talked about the Millennium might have been avoided if we acknowledged that Jesus was not born at zero on the Gregorian calendar.
In the Torah our GOD instituted the feasts HE wanted His people to observe - Leviticus (Vayikra) 23 begins, "YHVH said to Moshe (Moses), "Tell the people of Isra'el: The designated times of YHVH which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times.
In Deuteronomy ( D'varim) 12 v32 YHVH said, "Everything I am commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it or subtract from it. Our GOD gave his people seven feasts and the seventh day Shabbat (Leviticus 23). If we are redeemed and grafted into Israel (Romans 11) surely these feasts are there for us to celebrate. Where did our saviour or his apostles say that these holy days had been done away with or needed replacing? If you look at them you will find that they point to our saviour, Yeshua the Messiah and provide a most excellent way to celebrate what he has done for us. (see Feasts of the Lord )
To summarize, there are seven feasts grouped into three pilgrimages
| Feast | known as | Prophetic of |
| Pessach
Passover
Passover, Seder Night Unleavened Bread Firstfruits |
Redemption | Seder Night - The Last Supper
and Crucufixion of Yeshua, Lamb of God
Unleavened Bread - The burial of Yeshua Firstfruits - The ressurection of Yeshua (The firstfruits of them that sleep) |
| Shavuot
(Pentecost or Weeks ) Firstfruits Mantan Torah - The giving of the Law |
Revelation | The sending of the Holy Spirit |
| Sukkot
Tabernacles
Yom Teurah Trumpets Yom Kippur Day of Atonement Sukkot Tabernacles - and Ingathering - fruit harvest |
Rejoicing | Trumpets
A call to self examination and repentance - The last Trumpet
Day of Atonement Restoring oneness with God - Judgement Day Tabernacles, Rejoicing for God�s keeping - Ingathering (Heaven at the end of the age) |
The Feasts are called in Hebrew, Mo'edim, which actually means "times" or "appointed times." They are God's appointed times to celebrate; not just Jewish feasts.
Can we get our heads around the possibility that our God, the God of Israel, could be calling us to celebrate HIS feasts and let go of our traditional church feasts, or maybe just cling less tightly to them?
There is certainly plenty to celebrate in these Feasts of The LORD and Shabbat .
I believe our God wants us to be aware of the truth of history and that he plans to restore to us blessings from our roots in Israel. We may be wise to loosen our grasp on some of our traditions in case we find ourselves at fault like the religious people of Jesus' day, to whom he quoted Isaiah 29 v13. He said, "You have let go of the commands of GOD and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7 v8)
Updated 21/05/25
Click the banner below to go to the site map and choose another page