Bible Dictionaries
Christian Festivals

Holman Bible Dictionary

Religion finds its highest human expression in special moments of celebration or worship. These normally are spread through the year. The Israelites celebrated three harvest festivals as the major moments of their religious year (Exodus 23:14-17 ). Each festival celebrated a historical action of God to deliver Israel. The early New Testament church separated itself from Judaism. This left a void in its worship calendar. Through the years, the church developed times of worship to celebrate the specifically Christian acts of salvation. Among these Christian festivals are Advent, Christmas, Easter, Epiphany, Holy Week, Lent, and Pentecost. Along with these the church celebrated the Lord's Day on the first day of each week. See articles on each of these festivals and Church Year .