Holy Days, Holy Seasons
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
--Psalm 27:1
Holiday. We think of that word and a number of pictures come to mind, don’t they? First and foremost a holiday is a Holy Day, a festival day set-aside for people to celebrate a sacred happening. Some Holy Days spread themselves out into a series of days, an example being the “twelve days of Christmas”. Several of the world’s major religions have holy seasons during this part of the calendar year. The rest of this week we will look at some of these holy days/holy seasons.
This evening Hanukkah starts, a series of days the Jewish community takes to celebrate as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication. Each evening during the season, Jewish families and communities light an additional candle on their menorahs until all eight are burning. They recount miracle stories of their faith tradition, play games and enjoy family time. Psalm 27 gives a poetic backdrop for what these people of faith are celebrating.
If you have Jewish friends, take a moment and wish them a blessed holiday and a blessed holy season.
--Ben Keckler
12.01.10
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