Feasts

The Bible mentions two kinds of feasts: those held by kings or other people in celebration of events like weddings; and worship feasts required by Jewish law to celebrate God’s goodness. The worship feasts included the following:

The Feast of Passover. The most important feast. It was held during the middle of April to remember how God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The name Passover comes from the way death “passed over” those homes with lambs’ blood on the doorposts. Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month Nisan and lasts for twenty-four hours. During Bible times, special meals were prepared. The story of Israel’s deliverance was told, songs of thanksgiving were sung, and prayers of praise were spoken to God. In New Testament times, the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which lasts seven days, was celebrated with Passover, making it an eight-day feast.

The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. Also called the Feast of the Harvest because it was a one-day celebration at the end of the wheat harvest. The feast was held fifty days after Passover. The Jewish people sang and danced and made sacrifices to thank God for watching over their crops. Later they also used this occasion to thank God for giving them His Law. The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost received a new meaning for Christians when the Holy Spirit came to the church on that day. Many churches today celebrate Pentecost to thank God for sending His Holy Spirit.

The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. An important eight-day celebration in autumn. It began five days after the Day of Atonement. Because this feast was held at the end of the final harvest of olives and fruits, and because it was near the beginning of the Jewish year, the people celebrated it like Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day combined. They thanked God for giving them good crops, and they asked Him to watch over them in the year ahead. The people camped out in little shelters called booths to remember how their ancestors had lived while they wandered in the desert for forty years. Jesus secretly traveled to Jerusalem one year to go to the Feast of Booths.

The Feast of Dedication or Lights. Lasts for eight days in December. It is also called Hanukkah (or Chanukah), which is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” This celebration is to remember how Judas Maccabeus cleansed and rededicated the temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC. During the Feast of Dedication the Israelites sang, danced, and marched to the synagogues, carrying lit torches. At the synagogues children were told about the brave deeds of Judas Maccabeus.

The Feast of the New Moon. A one-day festival held in October on the first new moon of the Hebrew month Tishri to celebrate the first day of the Hebrew New Year. On this day silver trumpets were blown all during the day. All work was stopped, special sacrifices were offered to God, and families gathered for a special meal. A public reading of God’s Law took place.

The Feast of Purim. This two-day festival in March celebrates the victory of Queen Esther and Mordecai over Haman, who wanted the people of Israel to be killed. It begins with people gathering in the synagogue to hear a reading of the book of Esther. Whenever Haman’s name is mentioned, the people boo and hiss! They also thank God for rescuing His people.