When I first learned these truths, the Holy Spirit led me into truth, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little upset- to go from being so worldly and then not lol… when I was born again everything did change, and I thank God every day for another chance. I stopped celebrating all pagan days, and began to celebrate the feasts of the LORD.
I know this will upset some, maybe lose friends but what’s new there… we are called to be separate from this world and to come OUT of Babylon. We are told to flee evil and abstain from all appearances. So here’s how it started for me. I went on a search for the truth, if this day is pagan then wouldn’t this day also be pagan/ pagan practice? And the answer is yes. I will prove it Biblically and also research. To lighten the mood, we can start with Thanksgiving.
“Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
Jeremiah 10:2 KJV
The concept of a day of thanks did not originate in America. Many other instances can be found in history. The Romans celebrated Cerelia in early October. The festivities were focused on thanking the Goddess of the Harvest Ceres. Ancient Greeks honored Demeter, goddess of the harvest and agriculture, and corn. Celtic Pagans and Angelo Saxon’s had huge celebrations–Lughnasadh and Mabon which were two of the three harvest festivals of the ancient world. Other civilizations had their own version of how the harvest would be celebrated. In England, the autumnal feast was called Harvest Home and was derived from the ancient druidical harvest feast. The druids were one of the groups of people singled out by the Christian church for total destruction. They were considered direct competition to the church and were branded as being openly Satanic in their form of worship.
Harvest Home was a three-day feast that originally began with a special church service followed a communal dinner. The Puritans originally shunned the Harvest Home celebration as well as Christmas and Easter on the grounds that they had pagan origins. The belief that merging pagan celebrations with Christian doctrine for the sake of converting people didn’t sit well with people in later years. Their religious beliefs as well as the austerity and difficulty of their lives in the rather primitive settlement, did not permit them the luxury of celebration. Their severe living conditions required discipline and sacrifice. Yet the creation of a new holiday that specifically thanked their God for the harvest that enabled them to survive the winter, seemed just fine.
Cornucopia – A Cornucopia is a horn shaped basket, usually filled to the point of overflowing with the bounty of the recent harvest. Items such as fresh fruits, dried grains, and other root vegetables were piled around the opening of the cornucopia to demonstrate “plenty.” So much that the cornucopia has been referred to as the “horn of plenty.” The cornucopia dates back to ancient Greece. In an old tale, Amathea the goat, broke off his horn and offered it to Zeus as a sign of reverence. In return for his loyalty, Zeus interred the image of the goat in the night sky, an image we now known as Capricorn. This tale demonstrates an exchange of gratitude and offering, thanks and giving.
Corn – One of the easiest symbols of Thanksgiving to recognize is corn. Native Americans would know it as maize or maiz. Maize played an important mythological role in many tribes and in some, Corn was a respected deity, while in others, corn was a special gift to the people from the Creator. In addition to its importance as a food source, corn also played a ceremonial role in many tribes, with sacred corn pollen or cornmeal being used as ritual adornment and spiritual offering. It is believed that native Americans had been growing corn a long time before the pilgrims arrived in the new world, and they taught pilgrims how to grow corn and help them survive the bitter winter. Corn was from that day forward, a part of the Thanksgiving dinner, and the tradition continues today.
Turkey – Long before the pilgrims sat down to eat with the native American’s who saved them from starving, the turkey was associated with abundance and being thankful. Some tribes viewed the bird as a sacred symbol of abundance and fertility, one which would serve as the sacrificial guest of honor in various ceremonies. Turkey feathers are a prized possession and are an integral part of ritualistic smudging ceremonies. Animal symbolism is considered powerful medicine among natives and should not be treated disrespectfully. Turkey medicine is strongest in the fall and a visit from a turkey means we should be mindful of the blessings bestowed upon us.
A Few Thanksgiving Facts You Might Not Have Known
The official version states that Thanksgiving started in 1621 with a three day feast by pilgrims to celebrate their survival through their first winter in the new world. It was later made a permanent holiday by President Lincoln in 1863.
President Franklin Roosevelt made one of the only changes to the holiday’s celebration; changing the date from the late Thursday in November to the next-to-last, in hopes that a longer Christmas shopping window would boost retailers profits. The term Black Friday, being the first shopping day of the Christmas season has it’s origins in the same logic FDR worked with.
The ancient Roman celebration of the harvest is called Cerelia, which is the origin of the word cereal that we use today.
Ben Franklin had proposed the turkey as the official bird of the nation, but eventually the bald eagle won out.
The Christmas classic, “jingle bells” was originally penned by James Pierpont for children celebrating Thanksgiving at his Boston Sunday School. It was so popular that it was repeated for Christmas, a holiday which made the song what it is today.
91% of Americans consume turkey on Thanksgiving.
The very first TV Dinner consisted of a Thanksgiving meal – Swanson Foods found themselves with a surplus of frozen turkey after a slow Thanksgiving one year and a senior executive came up with the frozen meal idea – it debuted at $0.98 for the complete meal, a factor which helped establish a permanent market.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the single largest sales day for tavern and bar sales nationwide.
Just what is Thanksgiving Day? The Church proclaims it a holiday (holy day), for the purpose of giving thanks to God for the many blessings they have received, especially agriculturally. Quoting a 6 year old, after hearing the last line, he said, ‘That’s what we do for the seven days of Sukote (the Feast of Taberna- cles).’ Out of the mouth of babes...Why do we need another fall harvest festival? God has given us Sukot (Lev. 23:33-44). It seems apparent that to keep Sukot, and then to keep, only 30 or so days later, another harvest day of thanks to God, is not only repetitious, but very strange. Thanksgiving Day is an outright copy of Sukote. albeit, a pale copy. The Counterfeiter has struck again. Did you ever wonder why the ma- jority of God’s people don’t keep the days He has designated as holy? The majority are deceived by Satan. The majority also keep Thanksgiving Day. For those of you whom He has called out of Babylon, but keep Thanksgiving Day, this ought to be cause for concern.
Most history books would like to convince us that Thanksgiving Day goes back to only Plymouth Rock in the 1600s. Plymouth Rock was not the first Thanksgiving Day though. Also, have you ever wondered why Canada has a Thanksgiving Day, but on a different date? This pagan feast, honoring the agricultural gods, goes back thousands of years, in one form or another:
‘Thanksgiving Day, in the United States and Canada, a day set apart for the giving of thanks to God for the blessings of the year. Originally, it was a harvest thanksgiving, and while the purpose has become less specific, the festival still takes place late in autumn, after the crops have been gathered.’ Indeed, it is probably an outgrowth of the Harvest- Home celebrations in England. Such celebrations are of very ancient origin, being nearly universal among primitive peoples.’2
‘The first Thanksgiving in the New World however, was not merely a feast, there were prayers and sermons and songs of praise; and three days had gone by before the Indians returned to their forest and the colonists to their tasks.’3
Notice the wording, not the first Thanksgiving, but just the ‘first Thanksgiving in the New World.’
‘In 1789...the Protestant Episcopal Church in America announced the first Thursday in November as a regular annual day for giving thanks.’4
With that Thanksgiving Day on the first Thursday in November, it was very close to Sukote, which gener- ally falls in October.
‘It was not until 1888 however, that the Roman Catholic Church formally recognized the day.’5
Throughout the country, ‘but especially in New England, where the custom originated, the day is looked upon with great reverence.’6
That sounds like a holy day or a day ‘set apart’ to Jesus. This is also what happens for Christmas and Easter.
Moses gave instructions to the Hebrews for the celebrations of their harvest festival, which was called the Feast of Tabernacles.’16
Yeshua (Jesus), observed Sukot (Tabernacles) every year of His life,17 and with good reasons; God gave it to the people Israel as a reminder of the food that He provided for Israel in the Wilderness, and also the ‘present’ harvest and the spiritual Harvest to come, when God would feed His people from His Son.
‘Even before biblical times the ancient people of the Mediterranean Basin held festivals at harvest time in honor of the earth mother. The goddess of the corn (‘corn’ being the European term for any grain; Indian corn [American corn], is called maize), was always one of the most important deities in the hierarchy of the gods, and her child was the young god of vegetation.’18
‘The ancient Semites called the earth mother Astarte...The Phrygians called her Semele...The Minoans had an earth mother for each district. All these local deities were absorbed by the Greeks into the one great goddess, Demeter.’19
Astarte and Semele are also known as the Queen of Heaven and are fertility goddesses. In different coun- tries the name of the goddess would change, but her functions would remain similar, if not identical. ‘Thanksgiving Day’ was more than just filling a ‘horn of plenty,’20 thanking the goddess, eating food and playing sports:
‘Besides eating, feasting, etc. the married women practiced special rites. Under the cover of night, the women spent the next day bathing nude in the sea and dancing and playing games on the shore. Then they fasted, sang songs, then feasted, sang, and had general gai- ety. All this lasted over a period of several days.’21
‘The Roman harvest festival...was called the Cerelia, after Ceres, the Roman goddess of the corn.’22
‘With the acceptance of Christianity as the official religion of Rome and the conversion of the barbarians who had invaded the crumbling Empire, these pagan rituals were frowned upon and even forbidden by law. However, the peasants clung to them with a tenacity which has made the word ‘pagan’ (originally meaning simply ‘a villager’), a syn- onym for ‘heathen.’ As late as the sixth century...St. Benedict...found the local peasantry worshiping Apollo in a sacred grove. Even after conversion, old habits and beliefs died hard, and the church was too busy...to trouble with minor heresies.’23
‘The benevolent earth mother...blended with the equally benevolent mother of Christ.
memory of local deities fused with the Christian tales of saints to provide patrons for villages, and the white robed goddess of grain lived on in various guises. To those who live close to the soil, the harvest has an emotional and religious significance...their gratitude finds expression in rites in honor of the being who they feel is most closely re- lated to fruitfulness; a being of warm earth, rather then cold heaven.’24
‘Even today a half pagan belief in the corn mother still survives among the peasants in many parts of Europe.’25
‘The Pilgrims undoubtedly brought memories of such English harvest home celebrations with them when they came to the new world. They had also witnessed ‘thanksgiving’ cer- emonies during their sojourn in Holland...The Pilgrims themselves would have denied that the Thanksgiving feast in honor of their first harvest in 1621 was evoked by memo- ries of the profane practices of the old world; however, all revolutionaries, political or re- ligious, once their goal is accomplished, turn back to the patterns of the society in which they have been reared, and the Pilgrims, at the time of the first Thanksgiving, were no exception.’26
Abraham Lincoln declared on Oct. 3, 1863, after Thanksgiving had become a national holiday, that all in the United States should ‘set apart’ and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.27
‘The day is fixed by proclamation of the president. It is an annual festival of thanks for the mercies of the closing year, celebrated by prayers and feasting.’28
‘The earliest harvest Thanksgiving in this country was held by the Pilgrim fathers at Ply- mouth Colony in 1621. But long before the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving dinner, harvest festivals were observed in this country. Among the North Dakota tribes, the corn spirit was known as the ‘old woman who never dies.’29
‘In Peru, the ancient Indians worshiped the ‘Mother of Maize’ and tried every year to per- suade her to bring in another good harvest. In Europe, the Austrians also had a ‘Corn Mother’ doll, fashioned from the last sheaf of grain cut in the field and then brought home to the village in the last wagon.’30
It’s interesting that God uses the first sheaf to dedicate the forthcoming crop (Lev. 23:5-12), while Satan draws attention to the last sheaf for next year’s crop! Also, Yeshua is the First Fruits or First Sheaf of the Resurrection from the dead: ‘But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.’ (1st Corin. 15:20)
‘In Upper Burma, the friends of the household are invited to the barn for a feast when the rice has been piled in the husks on the threshing floor. After a prayer to the ‘father and mother’ for a good harvest next year, ‘then, much as we do, the entire party celebrates this year’s harvest with a feast.
Of course, most American Christians do not follow the rituals described above. Yet, does that make Thanksgiving Day right for them to observe? Is it acceptable for Christians to celebrate Christmas as long as they don’t have a tree or yule log? Of course not.
God would not have His people to cling to any vestiges of practices that portray gods or spirits in food to be worshiped. We, who are coming out of worshiping the Lord in the ways of Babylon, do not need to cling to a poor copy of what our God has given us in Sukote. Our need to thank the Lord for His Provision has already been ordained by God in the Feast of Tabernacles. Alexander Hislop writes that the Druids of the British Isles (the priests of their times), had their ‘Midsummer fires and sacrifices’ which were intend- ed ‘to obtain a blessing on the fruits of the earth’ whether for May Day (the first day of May), or for ‘those of the last of October...a thanksgiving for finishing the harvest.’40
Does Man have the right or the authority to ordain holy days of thanks to God, especially when God has provided holy days for giving thanks to Him? Yahveh answers whether or not Man can make his own reli- gious days, in counter-distinction to His, whether in ignorance or rebellion, when we see that the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel, set up a day of festivity in the 8th month, the 15th day (approximately about the time Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the United States). The Feast of Tabernacles occurs in the 7th month on the 15th day and lasts for eight days. It generally falls around mid-October. In the book of 1st Kings 12:26–13:5 Scripture records that Jeroboam set up a feast to rival the Feast of Tabernacles, which was held in Jerusalem:
‘And Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘Now the kingdom will return to the House of David. If this people go up to sacrifice in the House of Yahveh at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, King of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, King of Judah.’
“Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem! Behold your gods, Oh Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”
‘And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan, and this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.’
‘And he made shrines on every high place, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the Sons of Levi.’
‘And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered sacrifice upon the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places, which he had made. So he offered sacrifice upon the altar, which he had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had de- vised of his own heart, and ordained a feast unto the Sons of Israel, and he offered sacriFice. Christians keeping pagan days ‘to Christ’ doesn’t surprise God. He knew it was going to happen, but it is offensive to Him and sin for Christians because it’s not only a pagan way of worshipping the God of Is- rael, but also, Christians don’t worship Him in the days that God has ordained; in this case, the Feast of Tabernacles. Thanksgiving Day was not acceptable to God 3,000 years ago. How could it be different today?
Joshua was instructed to keep all the instructions (i.e. Mosaic Law) that God gave to Israel, so that he and his sons after him would be blessed by Yahveh forever, doing what was good and right in the Eyes of Yahveh his God:
‘When Yahveh your God has annihilated in front of you the nations that you are to dis- possess, and when you have dispossessed them and made your home in their country, be careful you are not caught in a trap. Do not imitate them once they have been destroyed.
in front of you, or go inquiring after their gods saying, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I will go and do the same.’”
‘This is not the way for you to behave towards Yahveh your God. For Yahveh detests all this and hates what they have done for their gods; even burning their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods. Whatever I command you, you must be careful to do. You shall not add to, nor take away from it’ (Deuteronomy 12:28-32).
Thanksgiving Day originated in the darkness of the ancient past, and falls into the same category as two other pagan-Christian holy days: Easter and Xmas. Thanksgiving is not a day to thank Jesus for all the blessings He has given to us. The Church is oblivious to its marriage with paganism because it thinks it can baptize those pagan days, ‘in the name of Jesus,’ and everything is alright then, but it’s not alright with God.
Following Messiah Yeshua means that He wants to change us, from the inside-out. We all come to Him with many things we learned growing up, like Thanksgiving Day, but there comes a time when we hear the Truth and need to separate from those ways and choose His Way. Christians who want to know and walk in God’s Truth must separate themselves from all pagan days and ways and walk in the Light of the God of Israel, for He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous Light (1st Peter 2:9-10).41 We must follow Him, not a sanitized form of paganism. When we celebrate God’s holy days we reflect to ourselves and the world the true God who provides for our every need, including our food. He has provided holy days of thanksgiving for us. When Christians celebrate Satan’s pagan holy days, ‘in honor of Jesus,’ they not only sin against Jesus, but present a distorted and perverted picture of the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
What makes a holiday “pagan”?
The Christmas tree and Easter bunny are not the only things that make Christmas and Easter pagan, and removing them would not make either celebration "Christian". And likewise, removing the cornucopia, or traditions like "breaking the wish bone", would not change the history or intent of Thanksgiving. What truly makes a holiday pagan is its history and origins, regardless of its decorations or activities.
The history and origins of Thanksgiving (why it's pagan)
The Pilgrims did not start Thanksgiving, in fact the Pilgrims have almost nothing to do with the origins of Thanksgiving at all and were not associated with the holiday for well over 200 years after the "first thanksgiving". So where did Thanksgiving come from? The answer is a little complicated, but the bulk of it came from a pagan harvest celebration called Harvest Home, (also called harvest thanksgiving) which originated in England. This was combined with the religious act of "days of thanksgivings" that were practiced in the Church of England. (and still are today) Both the Pilgrims and the Puritans (which are two entirely separate groups, the "Pilgrims" were Separatists, not Puritans) practiced the act of setting aside a religious day of worship to "give thanks to God".
But the one key difference between the harvest thanksgiving and a religious one, is that the harvest thanksgiving was an annual celebration during the harvest season (autumn) and a religious thanksgiving was set aside any time of year, in response to divine intervention. Eventually these two events, along with other influences, merged into a single annual autumn celebration that combined religious worship services, large family gatherings, dances and a large meal. Until some time in the early 20th century, the harvest home and Thanksgiving celebrations were one and the same. News reports and stories from the late 19ths and early 20th century seem to indicate that our modern Thanksgiving is more harvest home than a Puritan thanksgiving, the first being a joyous celebration, the later a solemn church service.
... on Thursday last, the rural feast of the in-gathering, the harvest-home; not the half somber New-England Thanksgiving, but a joyful service of praise to God for the blessings of the year, modeled after the church festivals of this character, common in the rural districts of England.
Harvest Home Amid the Golden Woodlands
October 15, 1871 The New York Times (source)none
The cornucopia, the Christmas tree and Easter bunny of Thanksgiving
The cornucopia, a common symbol of Thanksgiving, originated from Roman and Greek mythology, from the horn of the Greek god Amalthea. But this symbol has spread all over the world, including England. The Masons used the cornucopia in ceremonies and openly recognized it as a pagan symbol. The cornucopia is on money in many countries dating back thousands of years, it's on country and state flags, it's the logo for the world's oldest central bank and can be found in architecture and art dating back to Jesus' time on earth. It is also prevalant on the Roman denarius, possibly even the exact coin mentioned by Jesus in scripture (Matt 22:19-21). There is more detailed and clearly traceable pagan history of the cornucopia than the Easter bunny or the Christmas tree.
Does Thanksgiving "alter or replace" the meaning of God's festivals?
We already know what God's festivals are and what they mean, our perspective is one based on understanding and knowledge. But what about the rest of the nation? Does Thanksgiving "replace" or "alter the meaning" of God's holy days for everyone else?
Dear Lord, our God and Saviour! ... THAT the American People shall have an annual Thanksgiving Festival after the ingathering of their harvests is now a settled matter. Every State and Territory has, in some way, signified its willingness to adopt this venerable custom, which we recognize in the Jewish “Feast of Weeks ,” as appointed by Jehovah for His Chosen People.
Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1859none
Well did that patriot divine, Rev. Charles Wadsworth, exclaim, in his last Thanksgiving sermon- “Thanks be unto God for this American Pentecost! Never were the bonds of our beloved brotherhood so revealed in their strength! Never before did so many sister States keep lovingly together this feast of harvest. It is the gathering of the one great household with offerings of praise to the one common temple- the central Salem of peace- the God of love.”
Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1860none
Sarah Hale holds the unofficial title of the "The Mother of Thanksgiving", she is given credit for almost single handedly marketing the idea of a nationally observed Thanksgiving to state governors and US presidents in a campaign that lasted decades. Based on her words, yes, thanksgiving "alters and replaces" God's festivals, especially for those that do not know the meaning of God's holy days.
Thanksgiving is a holy day (holidays are holy days)
The Pilgrims did not consider Christmas a "holiday", they called it a "holy day". Only in recent times has there been a distinction made between holiday and holy day. Even our modern dictionaries consider them synonymous. (dictionary.com/holiday) To the Pilgrims, Puritans and common language of 200 years ago, there simply is no difference between them when referring to a day set aside from work.
Thanksgiving Day (as a national celebration) was instituted with the intent, and by design, to be a holy day, not an ambiguously labeled "holiday". There is no uncertainty about this, as we have primary historical references that prove this intent.
A holy day is added to our days of rest from worldly labors; a third joyful anniversary is sealed for the American Republic.
Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1865none
Besides the Sabbath, [New Haven Colonists in 1643] recognize but two holy days throughout the year, the Fast Day in the Spring, and the Thanksgiving Day in the Autumn.
The Christian Recorder, January 1866none
...consecrate the last Thursday in the month
Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1861none
Christians of any nation or creed could meet together, this happy, hallowed festival
Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1861none
The last Thursday in November, let it be consecrated
Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1865none
'Tis the holy spirit of Thanksgiving Day. ...That all may offer up, in one grand melody, that glorious hymn to the Creator, “Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good-will towards men.”
Godey's Lady's Book 1872none
This belief is still held today.
"The day of our ship's arrival ...shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God." In response, the men fell to their knees in prayer. And with this humble act of faith, the settlers celebrated their first Thanksgiving in the New World.
President Bush, 2007 Radio Addressnone
To clarify any possible misinterpretations, or misunderstandings about viewing Thanksgiving as a holy day in itself and a replacement or copy of God's holy days.
Thanks be unto God for this American Pentecost!
Rev. Charles Wadsworth quoted by Sarah Hale, Godey's Lady's Book 1860none
The first Thanksgiving on record - since the Feasts of Tabernacles, for those were the Thanksgivings of the Jews
Godey's Lady's Book 1870none
An annual religious festival observed in the United States, particular in New England, suggested by the Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles, or feasts of ingathering at the end of the year.
The Christian Recorder, January 17, 1889none
We will have a glorious time at Thanksgiving!...All our family will then be gathered together, like the Jews at the feast of Tabernacles.
The Merchant Farmer, Godey's Lady's Book 1839none
These were the Passover; The Feast of Pentecost; and, The Feast of Tabernacles. Then He commanded them to keep annually a Holy Day, called The Day of Atonement. All these days and feasts which we have named, were ordained and kept by the expressed command of God, from which we draw our warrant, to have and to hold days of thanksgiving
Bishop Campbell, The Christian Recorder 1870 (emphasis added)none
It must be clearly understood, without any doubt what so ever, that the generations of the past had no confusion about the intentions or meanings of Thanksgiving or what a holy day was intended to be. There are many more sources that confirm that the idea of a "holiday", in it's current form, is a relatively new concept in an ever increasing secular world.
The Pilgrims preemptively rejected Thanksgiving Day (as a holy day)
It is recorded that the Pilgrims did set aside time to give thanks to God, not as an anniversary, but only in response to an event they deemed providential. They did not proclaim any annual days as "holy". Here is an excerpt from the writings of John Robinson, the religious leader of the Pilgrims. Robinson clearly stated that they should reject all man-made holy days, this would include Thanksgiving.
OF HOLY DAYS.
IT seemeth not without all leaven of superstition, that the Dutch reformed churches do observe certain days consecrated as holy to the nativity [Christmas], resurrection, and ascension of Christ [Easter], and the same also (as it commonly comes to pass where human devices are reared up by the side of Divine institutions) much more holy than the Lord's-day [sabbath], by him himself appointed.
And for this, first we are taught by Moses, thus speaking unto the people of Israel in the name of the Lord: "Verily, my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you,"Exod. xxxi. 13, that it appertains unto God alone (and to no man, or angel) as to sanctify whether person, or thing,so to institute the signs, or means of sanctification, of which number holy days are. I add, if the Lord as Jehovah,and the God of his people Israel, Exod. xx. 8, and supreme lawgiver, do ordain the sanctification of a day in the decalogue, how far should God's servants be, either magistrates from taking this honour of God unto themselves by commanding a holy day ; or subjects by observing it, to give the same unto any other save God alone ?
2. It was not the least part of Israel's defection, first in the wilderness, afterwards under Jeroboam, that they ordained a feast to Jehovah, whom they represented to themselves by the golden calves which they had made.
3. Seeing that every first day of the week, called by John,the Lord's-day, is consecrated by Christ himself and his apostles to the memorial of Christ's resurrection, and God's solemn worship ; it seems too much for any mortal man to appoint, or make an anniversary memorial, and the same most solemn and sacred, of the same resurrection, or so to observe it.
Lastly. That you may see it was a man, from whom this device came, and so erred, as one saith, (not to meddle with the uncertainty either of the day of the month, or month of the year in which Christ was born, as it is most certain on the contrary that this twenty-fifth of December cannot be the time), what good reason, I would know, can be rendered.-why a day should be consecrated rather to tho birth, circumcision, and ascension of Christ, limn to his death, seeing that tho Scriptures everywhere do ascribe our redemption and salvation to his death, and passion in special manner?
The Works of John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers Vol 3
By John Robinson, Robert Ashton- Chapt: 5, page 43,44none
( Read more: The Pilgrim leaders on religious anniversaries and holy days)
The Pilgrims understood that Christmas and Easter were "holy days" not holidays, and that they were based on superstition. They even point out the illogical reasoning behind Christmas' timing and deftly refer to the scriptures where Israel created their own celebrations to God ( 1 Kings 12:32-33) which ultimately lead to their demise. ( 1 Kings 13:33,34 )
Christmas is a deceitful holiday because it purports to honor Jesus' birth and Easter because it falsely honor's Jesus' resurrection. Thanksgiving is deceitful because it represents a false harvest. If you have access to a UCG song book, turn to page 113, you may be surprised to find a pagan harvest song "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come". Which is a song for the harvest home. The scripture quoted at the top is Exodus 34:22 "You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks..." the same harvest festival Sarah Hale stated may be replaced with Thanksgiving, using the same scriptures. In 1971, Tomorrow's World magazine featured the cornucopia on the cover for the lead store on Thanksgiving. This would not have happened if people knew the cornucopia was as pagan as a Christmas tree. How many baptised members of God's people are decorating their homes this year with pagan symbols, and are unaware?
...beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise? You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Deut. 12:30-32none
Thus says the LORD, "Do not learn the way of the nations..."
Jere. 10:2none
Scripture is clear that we are not to imitate or copy the religions of the world, and commanded us saying "You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God." (Deut. 12:31) Thanksgiving day is not God's harvest celebration or holy day, it is the nation's harvest celebration and holy day.
"I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,"
Deut. 12:30-32none
Under what authority do we have to add to his appointed feasts? God gave us his holy feast days as time for us to gather with his family, to rejoice and give honor, thanks and glory to him. Are Purim and Hanukkah different? Yes, in one distinct way, they are not harvest festivals that claim the same meaning and purpose as God's holy harvest festivals.
Historical analysis of Thanksgiving
It seems impossible to find the complete truth about the origins of Thanksgiving in any one particular place. There are many historical aspects to understand about the history of Thanksgiving, like who the Pilgrims really were, why the King of England punished people for not keeping thanksgivings he proclaimed, how the Puritans persecuted the Pilgrims, how the forefathers dealt with the religious conflicts with proclaiming thanksgivings, why Lincoln did not get credit for starting Thanksgiving after his first proclamations and much more. You can read a moderately complete analysis and recounting of Thanksgiving's history here: congregationsofgod.org/thanksgiving
Honestly, with all of these pagan days, it’s a celebration of man and it causes a lot of chaos and anxiety- overspending, overeating- none of which consists of denying oneself or of self control. Worldly people who have not the Spirit will say “oh, it’s just a day!” Do not recognize the fact there is good and evil nor do they have discernment
NEXT:
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS
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