By reading the Bible, and believing what it says, and then studying the true origins of certain holidays, we come away realizing that Christmas and Easter should not be celebrated by Christians. Christians are not told in the Holy Scriptures to celebrate Christ's birth or resurrection. This doesn't mean that we can't celebrate those days, however the way most of the world does so is idolatrous, and not on the correct days.
The Bible does tell us to do something to commemorate Christ's death, and we are told to regularly do this, until Christ comes back. This is a New Testament instated Holy Day - a day of remembrance. It is NOT Easter. It is NOT Passover. It is a day of remembrance, via the Lord's Supper:
"Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." -Luke 22:7-20
On Passover, Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb, and now a lamb need no more be killed every Passover. Christ's sacrifice was done once, and never again, as we read in the book of Hebrews. During the last Passover feast, Jesus gave some wine and bread to His disciples, and said to partake of those in remembrance of Him. Let's go into more detail in this, in the following Scripture:
"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." -1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Christians are not to celebrate the Old Covenant Passover, however on what was known as Passover Day (the day which Jesus died), Christians are to "shew the Lord's death till he come," via partaking of the Lord's Supper, also known as Communion:
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" -1 Corinthians 10:16
When, or how often should the Christian Communion of the Lord's Supper take place?
"For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." -1 Corinthians 11:18-26
Certainly, partaking of the Lord's Supper on the day we believe to be His death is a good idea. By the way, Jesus did not die on "Good Friday." See There is no Good Friday. Jesus died on a Wednesday, which was the day Passover landed on, that year.
The above Scripture doesn't tell us to just partake of the Communion once a year, on Passover. It looks to me like it was to occur "when ye come together in the church." See also the below Scriptures:
"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." -Acts 20:7
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" -1 Corinthians 10:16
It looks to me that not only should Communion be partaken of on Passover Day, in remembrance of Christ's death, but at church every Sunday.
What about other holidays, such as Thanksgiving?
Just because a holiday isn't in the Bible doesn't mean we can't celebrate it. We need to make a fine distinction on these things. Halloween is out of the question. Easter is out of the question, but if one desires to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, they should do so on the day Christ resurrected, and not on the day set apart as "Easter," which is determined astrologically, and not via the Jewish calendar. Therefore, Resurrection Day would be three days after the Jewish Passover, meaning it would not always fall on a Sunday. Christmas isn't a Christian holiday. However, if one desires to celebrate the birth of Christ, they should do so when He was actually born, which was likely around September 11, or September 29.
Thanksgiving is a day that was originally dedicated to giving God thanks. The Bible tells us to give God thanks everyday, but taking one day a year to have a feast and gather together with family to praise the Lord is also a wonderful event, and does not contradict Scripture.
When determining a holiday to celebrate, we first need to make sure it's something we should celebrate. I see nothing wrong with Thanksgiving, Election Day, and Independence Day. These days aren't declared holy days in the Bible, but our country has them as patriotic holidays, and they are generally not celebrated in evil ways. Some people celebrate them in bad ways, but it's not the original "tradition" of those days.
When the line needs to be drawn, is when it's a holiday (holy day) that claims to be a Christian holiday, but is celebrated on the day of a pagan festival, and is celebrated the way the pagans celebrated it. That is what Christmas and Easter are, just to name a few. This is the distinction.
