Are There Holidays in the Bible? Yes, and They Tell the Gospel Story

Did you know that there are holidays in the Bible? This post will delve into what those holidays are, which we are told by the Creator to keep, which are manmade, and where we see those in Scripture. We will also examine how the Biblical holidays tell of the work of the Messiah and the Gospel story.

Are there holidays in the Bible? I grew up in a Christian community and I had a vague notion that the holidays our world was centered around were somewhere in the Bible. Easter, Christmas, Lent, Advent...they were all in there somewhere, right? It took me a long time to realize that while there are holidays in the Bible, the ones I was used to were manmade.

What holidays are in the Bible?

There are many holidays in Scripture. They are special times that God created and expressly told his people to celebrate for all generations. YHWH made these holidays to be gifts for us that we would benefit from.

These holidays are:

-The weekly Sabbath.

-Passover.

-The Feast of Unleavened Bread (one week)

-First Fruits (which is during Unleavened Bread)

-Shavuot/Pentecost

-The Feast of Trumpets

-The Day of Cleansing

-The Feast of Tabernacles (eight days)

We should also note that while the Bible commands the above holidays to be kept and remembered, other holidays are mentioned anecdotally, without any such directive. 

What other holidays are mentioned in the Bible?

-Purim. The book of Esther talks about the events of the story being commemorated as an annual holiday.

-Hanukkah. There is some debate if what is called the "Feast of Dedication" in John 10 actually meant Hanukkah or if that indicated the final day of Tabernacles. If John 10 is about Hanukkah, it is the only reference to it we see in Scripture.

Again, it's important to distinguish that holidays like Passover were first described to the Israelites by YHWH himself. He expressly told people to take part in them, and keeping Sabbath days is one of the ten commandments. Whereas Purim, Hanukkah, and so forth came along years and years later, as man's way of remembering special events. 

Are birthdays in the Bible?

The Bible does mention a couple of birthday celebrations...rather ominously. In Genesis 40:20, Pharaoh hosts a birthday feast for himself and he ends up executing the chief baker - just as Joseph had interpreted from a dream while in prison. 

The next birthday party we see in Scripture is for King Herod in Matthew 14:6, and Mark 6:21. This time it was John the Baptist who was beheaded, as requested by Herodias, the stepdaughter of Herod.

It's also possible that when Job's children were killed they had been gathered together to celebrate a birthday. (Job 1:4, 1:18-19)

What does the Bible say about celebrating holidays?

Scripture talks repeatedly about taking part in the feasts and remembering the holidays the Creator gave us. Moreover, it records YHWH himself as commanding his people to keep celebrating them throughout their generations. Notably, the Bible refers to the Creator's holidays as times of joy.

When it comes to other holidays, ones that are manmade or part of our culture, Scripture does not record a blanket ban or acceptance of them. Before taking in part in a holiday, even when our intent is to honor YHWH, we should examine if the customs and origins of that celebration fit with what the Bible tells us about how we behave and specifically, that we shouldn't mix in cultural customs into our worship of God.

Here's an easy example:

In our culture, it's common have bachelor/bachelorette parties before someone gets married. While there is nothing unbiblical about celebrating a bride or groom to be, will the events of that party be godly or not? If a group of friends wants to go out to dinner, catch a baseball game, hang out on the beach, take a cooking class or so forth...there's nothing inherently wrong with doing so to celebrate their friend. But obviously, there are plenty parties where drunkenness and other poor choices run rampant and there's nothing godly or Biblical about those sorts of actions.

Here's a less easy example:

There is nothing in the Bible that says we can't remember the birth of Jesus and be thankful that it happened. There's nothing in the Bible against gathering with loved ones, having a festive meal, and giving gifts. But there is a problem if our festivities turn into an excuse for greed and gluttony, or involve customs that Scripture warns against (in the case of Christmas, decorating trees indoors, the traditional Christmas ham, or lying about things like Santa Claus or when the Messiah was actually born).

There are plenty of things worth celebrating that don't violate the commandments we are given in Scripture. But we need to be careful that it's not just our intentions that honor God - but that our actions do so as well.

What's special about the Bible holidays?

Each Bible holiday has a purpose behind it! Every single one has a deep amount of spiritual depth...and the most significant events that the Bible records are connected to these holidays in some way. Want proof?

Jesus was resurrected on First Fruits, during Unleavened Bread.

Jesus was crucified on Passover.

The Holy Spirit was poured out on believers on Shavuot.

The Jubilee years were announced on the Day of Cleansing.

The Red Sea was parted during Unleavened Bread.

The Israelites were freed from slavery on Passover.

It goes on.

When you celebrate these holidays, you are remembering the amazing things that God did on these days. And in these holidays we can see the Gospel story...that Jesus died for our freedom, rose again, that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, and one day he will return and dwell among his people! The holidays are opportunities to praise YHWH and worship him for the miracles he has done. 

Want to learn more about the Bible holidays?

Check out these posts:
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Why You Should Keep the Biblical Holidays
The Beginner's Guide to Passover

Covenant of Vocation vs Works Contract - N.T. Wright's Biblical Perspective Explained

This post provides a brief explanation of the concept of a "covenant of vocation" as contrasted against the typical "works contract" perspective of Scripture, as explained by N.T. Wright in his wonderful book, The Day the Revolution Began. Both the 'works contract' and 'covenant of vocation' are powerful lenses through which we see not only the Bible, but also God's plan for salvation through the Messiah. It's a distinction that will affect who we believe YHWH is, and what we believe about who he has called us to be, and our purpose here and now!

Most people today are familiar with the ‘works contract’ formula for faith - even if they don’t necessarily use that term. This is the basic understanding of the Gospel that most people have. This lens of looking at the work of Jesus is prevalent in most Christian denominations, as well as with people of different faith backgrounds. Most people believe (or have been told) something close to the following. 

How does the “works contract” model work? Here’s how N.T. Wright puts it:

a. All humans sinned, causing God to be angry and to want to kill them, to burn them forever in “hell.”

b. Jesus somehow got in the way and took the punishment (it helped, it seems, that he was innocent - and God’s own son).

c. We are in the clear after all, heading for “heaven” instead of hell (provided, of course, we believe it).

And when you look at relationship with God this way, it raises some questions. Why would God give us laws we can’t keep, causing us to be guilty, and then punish us with death? This perspective makes it sound like God laid a trap for people. That doesn’t sound like good news at all. Wright says, “The danger with this kind of popular teaching is that we end up rewriting John 3:16 - ‘God so hated the world, that he killed his son.’”

Under the ‘works contract’ perspective, Adam and Eve failed to keep the instructions God gave and because of that they were not only evicted from Eden, but they were also subject to the punishment of death.

This same story was then repeated…more laws were given to Israel through Moses. God’s people once again failed to keep these instructions, and the results was the same…they deserved death, and were heading to hell.

But finally Jesus arrived and managed to perfectly keep the law. His death as perfect and innocent somehow paid the penalty on behalf of the human race.

Wright says that this “view of the relationship between God and humans is a travesty. It is unbiblical and takes us to a goal very different from the one held out in Scripture.”

Wright believes the Bible offers us is not this “works contract” but a covenant of vocation.

What is a covenant of vocation?

“The vocation is that of being a genuine human being.”

It is being part of the royal priesthood. The Melchizedek order that the Messiah is high priest over.

It’s bearing God’s image…reflecting who he is into the world, caring for and stewarding fellow humans and creation.

To be clear, Wright is not saying that those who aren’t living this way aren’t actual humans or that they are somehow lesser than or anything like that. He's also not speaking against the Messiah's work or negating the promise of eternal life. He believes there is more to the Gospel story than what we have been told. He is saying that each of us has more potential we can fulfill through God’s plan for us, and living how he intends.

Wright believes that the main task of the covenant of vocation is being an image-bearer of God. That means that we are reflecting the Creator’s nature, love, truth, and faithfulness into the world, and also “reflecting the praises of all creation back to its maker.” Bearing God’s image means you are part of the royal priesthood, “and are called to the point where heaven and earth meet.” Humans are placed in a unique position where they are part of creation but also reflect the ‘life and love of heaven.’

In the covenant of vocation, humans were created to worship God, and to steward creation on his behalf. 

Under the covenant of vocation, the problem of sin is not just about what happens after we die. Sin keeps us from bearing God’s image and being part of his royal priesthood here and now.

Wright says, “The diagnosis of the human plight is not simply that humans have broken God’s moral law.” Keeping God’s laws and commandments are important…they are the ultimate guide to how we worship God, love our neighbors, and steward creation. But morality isn’t the whole story. Keeping Biblical law is a significant part of our vocation. When we break the law it is a “symptom of a much more serious disease.”

That disease is idolatry. 

Scripture tells us that God created humans to have “responsibility and authority with and over creation.” When we sin we give up that authority and are “giving worship and allegiance to forces and powers within creation itself” - whether or not that’s what we intend to do or believe is happening. 

Sin is a problem, not just because it demonstrates our shortcomings and leads us away from eternal life, but because it is idolatry, and idolatry keeps us from the covenant of vocation. “When we worship and serve forces within creation, we hand over our power to other forces that usurp our position.” And then we are no longer taking part in the royal priesthood or bearing the authentic image of YHWH back to creation.

Idolatry leads to slavery, which leads to death.

When Jesus died, he didn’t just take our punishment, and the sole goal wasn’t just to grant us eternal life…even though those are important truths worth celebrating. Wright says, “The New Testament insists, in book after book, that when Jesus died on the cross, something happened as a result of which the world is a different place.” When Jesus died, he freed us from idolatry and the horrible power of the forces behind it. Through his death, the Messiah enabled us to once again take part in the covenant of vocation, to worship him through the royal priesthood of Melchizedek, and to bear his image.

Scripture shows that humans are called to be part of the royal priesthood:

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out.” 1 Peter 2:9

“You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” -Revelation 5:10

In the works contract model, sin is the breaking of arbitrary commandments, which stops us from going to heaven.

But in the covenant of vocation model, idolatry (whose symptoms are seen in the Biblical definition of sin - breaking the commandments) stops us from being the humans YHWH created us to be.

This means that the Savior's death did not simply release people to go to heaven, but it frees us from the grips of idols, so that we can worship the Living God!

If we look at the Bible through the lens of the works contract, then it seems like:

-God set impossible standards for us that he knew we would fail at.

-All God wants from us is moral perfection.

-He's angry with us.

-The only thing Jesus's death accomplished was for us to go to heaven.

-It doesn't matter how I live or what I do because I am covered by the Messiah's blood.

But if we see Scripture through the covenant of vocation perspective, then:

-God gave us instructions so that we could achieve our ultimate purpose...showing the world who he is.

-God desires our worship and allegiance.

-God is not mad at us, but angry with the powers that have enslaved his people.

-The Savior's death freed us from those powers, so we can bring God's kingdom to earth here and now, and not just wait for heaven after death.

-Because I am freed by the Messiah, I can live how God called me to...as a priest and bearer of his image.

This is a simplified understanding of the explanation that N.T. Wright gives, but what a perspective shift! The covenant of vocation shows so much about the character of YHWH, and our role as his image-bearers. I highly recommend the book The Day the Revolution Began, to dive deeper into this topic.

More fresh perspective:

Did Jesus Speak Against Commandments or Traditions?
Misconceptions that Keep Us From Understanding the Bible
The Three Types of Laws in Scripture

Here's When the Biblical Holidays Happen in 2026

This is when the Biblical holidays happen in 2026.

If you're looking for next year's dates for Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles you have come to the right place. These holidays have historic and prophetic meaning in Scripture and believers today can take part in that by adding these dates to their calendars!

While the Bible gives specific dates for each holiday, the Gregorian calendar doesn't match up with the Creator's calendar so the dates land a little bit differently each year on our modern calendar. There are also a few different ways to calculate the start of the year and because of that some groups will observe them at slightly different times. What I'm sharing here is the most commonly used set of dates. Whether you go by this calendar or another, mark your calendars for these set apart times!

When do the Biblical holidays happen in 2026?

Passover - April 1-2

Unleavened Bread - April 2-9

First Fruits - April 4-5

Shavuot - May 21-23

Feast of Trumpets - September 11-13

Yom Kippur - September 20-21

Feast of Tabernacles - September 25 - October 2

A couple of things about this: according to this calendar, days start in the evening at sundown. This means that Passover starts on the evening of April 1 and goes through the evening of the 2nd. If you do not observe days as starting in the evening, then celebrating Passover the day of April 2nd would be appropriate. This calendar also gives an extra day to both the Feast of Trumpets and Shavuot, even though in the Bible they are both just one day events...feel free to just celebrate the first day of those!

It's also important to note that while all of these are special times, some of these days are considered Sabbaths which means we shouldn't work on them. These Sabbath days are the first and last days of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the first and last days of Tabernacles. This means that believers should request off from work or arrange to be away from their business on those days, as well as refrain from shopping, errands, and yard or household projects and chores. 

Sabbath days for 2026:

April 2-3
April 8-9
May 21-22
September 11-12
September 20-21
September 25-26
October 1-2

As well as all weekly Sabbaths, of course.

You have the opportunity to celebrate what God has done by joining in on the Biblical holidays this year!

Related posts:
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Why the Biblical Holidays Are for All Believers
Six Reasons Believers Should Keep the Bible's Holidays Today

Is Romans 14:5 About Fasting or the Sabbath?

This post examines the meaning of Romans 14:5 and what it means by saying that one person considers certain days more sacred than another, and specifically if it's talking about Sabbath keeping or celebrating Bible holidays. We will take a look at correct understanding of this New Testament passage to see that it's talking about fasting.

"One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind." -Romans 14:5

People often take this verse to mean:

-It doesn't matter what day we keep the Sabbath.

-That the Sabbath day is not more sacred than the other six days of the week.

-That Biblical holidays like Passover are of no consequence, because all days are the same.

-It's up to us to decide if anything related to the Sabbath or Bible holidays matters.

And if this one verse was all I had to go by, I'd have to say, all of those ideas would make sense...but we have 31,000 other verses of Scripture that we can check these beliefs against. It is reckless to pull one verse out of the Bible and insistent that it somehow undoes many other parts of the word of God. 

These interpretations are only possible when we yank the above verse grossly out of context. I had a science teacher with a somewhat defective skeleton in his classroom. There was a way he could grab the spine and it would completely separate from the rest of the bone structure. It was disconcerting to watch even a fake spine move like that. And that's basically what's happening to Romans 14:5.

People are quick to yank the fifth verse out and claim it's about the Sabbath, but the entire rest of the chapter is about food and eating! Look at the context: the passage starts with talking about how some people eat meat, but some stick to vegetarian diets, it talks about fast days, and the importance of not distressing others with what you eat.

Doesn't it seem rather odd to say that this verse is positively dealing with the Sabbath and/or Biblical holidays when it doesn't once mention them, and the entirety of the chapter is focused on eating? It wouldn't make a lot of sense for Paul to jam another topic in the middle of his thoughts on food...especially when we don't see that idea expressed anywhere else in the Old or New Testaments. Actually, Scripture repeatedly tells us the opposite of this thought...it says that the seventh day is holy. If the point of Romans 14:5 is to say that the seventh day is not holy, then that's totally out of line with many parts of Scripture.

So what does Romans 14:5 actually mean?

While there isn't any evidence suggesting that "one person considers one day more sacred than another," is supposed to mean, "You get to decide when the Sabbath is, or if there's even such thing as a Sabbath day." We know this cannot be what the Bible means, because the Bible many times says the opposite. One of the ten commandments is to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

But if we look at this comment in light of the very next verse, we see that it's about fasting.

"Whoever regards as special does so to YHWH. Whoever eats meat does so to YHWH, for they give thanks to God, and whoever abstains does so to YHWH and gives thanks to God." -Romans 14:6

Romans 14:6 shows us that Romans 14:5 means that it's not a Biblical issue if you think one day is more sacred for fasting, than another. 

While Scripture speaks often of fasting, and the Messiah's words in Matthew 6:16 (When you fast, not if) imply fasting as a given in the lives of his followers, it does not specify certain days as especially good or not for fasting.

(A lot of people will bring up Yom Kippur and the directive in Leviticus 23:29 directive to 'deny yourselves.' Note that the word used for 'deny' is a different one from what Scripture uses for fasting. A case could certainly be made that fasting can be part of denying or humbling oneself, but it is not an explicit call for all Israel to fast. This could have been in debate at the time, and could even be what Paul is seeking to address in this part of Romans.)

Note that while Paul is validating differences between believers, he is doing so only in regards to actions that fit within Biblical law. Fasting and not fasting are both permissible in Biblical law, as are vegetarian diets and non vegetarian diets. Paul is not saying that actions don't matter at all and that believers are now free to cast away commandments of God. He's saying that certain differences are okay. There may be days when you feel especially called to fast, but it's okay if other believers don't feel this same call, because Scripture does not command all believers to fast on any specific day.

Romans 14:5 is saying that some people consider certain days more sacred...for fasting from food. Paul is saying that it's okay to think this or not, because while the Bible speaks of the significance of fasting, it doesn't say that any certain days are for fasting. 

Related posts:
Romans 14 Explained (Key to Understanding New Testaments Verses on Food)
Veganism is Not a Biblical Commandment
What Does Romans 8:28 Actually Mean? (God Works All Things Together For Good)