It wasn't this whole current awakening, but a process of having our eyes opened over many years for us. I do see it as part of the whole process.
You know, the Bible does include the "holidays" Feast Days that God designed for His people. Sometimes called Jewish Feasts, in truth, they tell the whole story of Messiah. Walking through the Feasts, from Passover, (Doesn't every Believer know that He was the Passover Lamb?) which was prophetic of His first coming, through Tabernacles and the Fall Feasts which are prophetic of His second coming, and represents the coming Marriage Feast of the Lamb, draws us more closely to past and future aspects of Messiah's work on our behalf.
There are thousands of people around the world now returning to these ancient paths, following Jesus/Yeshua ever more closely, though in your own local area it may seem like a "weird" unusual thing.
It IS possible to give gifts to family/friends anytime you want! It is not necessary to wait for a specific "holiday" of any kind.
We ended celebration of Christmas, and yes, threw out all the related "stuff" with a sense of great relief! (and Easter) twenty years ago when both aspects became clear to us:
the addition of things NOT in the Word, per Biblical directive not to add or take away
and 2) that the things that were added actually incorporated or imitated pagan practices.
No one alive today made these changes.
Though most people that make this change find greater intimacy with Messiah,
(I have surveyed hundreds of people who have made this change) they are often misunderstood and meet great criticism from those that do not yet understand. Always learning more about standing firm in Messiah.
Once you know, it is not possible to close your eyes again and remain intellectually and spiritually honest, in my opinion.
This has been our path. We started following the Biblical Feasts and the others fell aside. Tabernacles in the Fall is our big celebration. It was likely during that Feast that Jesus was born.
My kids can feel the sting when their friends share about their Christmas haul. I tell them that I give them gifts all thru the year. I don't hide them in the closet all year long and then one morning, finally bring them all out. I give them as they have needs or interest--like a bike in the spring or a book on bees when they start asking questions about them all of the sudden.
I also noticed early on that some of my kids can't handle too much at one time and it really showed with gifts. The more gifts they got for a birthday, the more miserable and crabby they were. I started cutting back and they were happier. Weird but true.
We do have some traditions we keep in the winter to boost morale, mainly based on food. Winter is cold, wet, and dark in our area so we do need something to look forward to. We don't have extended family nor many friends so don't get the chance to socialize which is one thing missing in our lives. The friends we do have are soooooo busy during the holidays that we actually don't see them.
For me, I never really liked all the decorations, they often just seemed artificial. Knowing that they were made by Chinese slave labor made them even more unappealing.
It wasn't this whole current awakening, but a process of having our eyes opened over many years for us. I do see it as part of the whole process.
You know, the Bible does include the "holidays" Feast Days that God designed for His people. Sometimes called Jewish Feasts, in truth, they tell the whole story of Messiah. Walking through the Feasts, from Passover, (Doesn't every Believer know that He was the Passover Lamb?) which was prophetic of His first coming, through Tabernacles and the Fall Feasts which are prophetic of His second coming, and represents the coming Marriage Feast of the Lamb, draws us more closely to past and future aspects of Messiah's work on our behalf.
There are thousands of people around the world now returning to these ancient paths, following Jesus/Yeshua ever more closely, though in your own local area it may seem like a "weird" unusual thing.
It IS possible to give gifts to family/friends anytime you want! It is not necessary to wait for a specific "holiday" of any kind.
We ended celebration of Christmas, and yes, threw out all the related "stuff" with a sense of great relief! (and Easter) twenty years ago when both aspects became clear to us:
and 2) that the things that were added actually incorporated or imitated pagan practices.
No one alive today made these changes.
Though most people that make this change find greater intimacy with Messiah, (I have surveyed hundreds of people who have made this change) they are often misunderstood and meet great criticism from those that do not yet understand. Always learning more about standing firm in Messiah.
Once you know, it is not possible to close your eyes again and remain intellectually and spiritually honest, in my opinion.
This has been our path. We started following the Biblical Feasts and the others fell aside. Tabernacles in the Fall is our big celebration. It was likely during that Feast that Jesus was born.
My kids can feel the sting when their friends share about their Christmas haul. I tell them that I give them gifts all thru the year. I don't hide them in the closet all year long and then one morning, finally bring them all out. I give them as they have needs or interest--like a bike in the spring or a book on bees when they start asking questions about them all of the sudden.
I also noticed early on that some of my kids can't handle too much at one time and it really showed with gifts. The more gifts they got for a birthday, the more miserable and crabby they were. I started cutting back and they were happier. Weird but true.
We do have some traditions we keep in the winter to boost morale, mainly based on food. Winter is cold, wet, and dark in our area so we do need something to look forward to. We don't have extended family nor many friends so don't get the chance to socialize which is one thing missing in our lives. The friends we do have are soooooo busy during the holidays that we actually don't see them.
For me, I never really liked all the decorations, they often just seemed artificial. Knowing that they were made by Chinese slave labor made them even more unappealing.