Have you ever noticed how many of our holiday traditions aren’t exactly in the Bible? Take Easter eggs for example, or even the word “Easter”? You might notice the same thing about Christmas trees or even worshipping on a Sunday! It all goes back to the fact that God makes things new. Throughout history, people have turned to follow Jesus, and they often bring their old traditions with them. Instead of keeping their old meanings, they would use these traditions to celebrate their new life in Christ!

One of the clearest examples of this are hymns. Many popular hymns began as bar songs! People already knew the melodies and added Christian lyrics! What about Easter? Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and played a large part in establishing Easter as a holiday in 325 A.D. It had previously been a spring holiday associated with a pagan goddess! Constantine declared it as a day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and linked it to the first full moon after the spring equinox. Constantine also changed the Sabbath to Sunday and even selected the date for Christmas because of previous pagan traditions.

Some people are very uncomfortable with these changes, which is understandable. However, I prefer to see it as another way that God can reclaim things for himself. In a similar way, we can use parts of our modern culture to worship the Lord. God doesn’t just redeem us, but he can redeem and use all of the things we bring to him. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!

Of course, some things like Easter bunnies and eggs are more difficult to explain!  :)

However you celebrate, let’s celebrate our risen Savior!