Holy Day
Holy Day A day set apart by certain churches for the commemoration of some saint or some remarkable particular in the life of Christ. It has been a question agitated by divines whether it be proper to appoint or keep any holy days (the Sabbath excepted). The advocates for holy days suppose that they have a tendency to impress the minds of the people with a greater sense of religion; that if the acquisitions and victories of men be celebrated with the highest joy, how much more those events which relate to the salvation of man, such as the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, etc. On the other side, it is observed that, if holy days had been necessary under the present dispensation, Jesus Christ would have said something respecting them, whereas he was silent about them; that it is bringing us again into that bondage to ceremonial laws from which Christ freed us; that it is a tacit reflection on the Head of the Church in not appointing them; that such days, on the whole, are more pernicious than useful to society, as they open a door for indolence and profaneness; yea, that Scripture speaks against such days (Ga 4:9-11). SEE FEASTS; SEE FESTIVALS.
