Updated: April 6, 2025
Summary of what constitutes being a Christian or disciple of Christ (Acts 11:26):
1. Getting saved by grace through a repentant faith and that foundationally is about faith in Christ’s crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
2. Living saved by grace through a repentant faith and that foundationally is about expressing in attitude, voice/speech, and action obedient love for God, self, and others everyday everywhere and in everything through keeping of his commandments as applicable under the New Covenant whose foundation is Christ Jesus.
Below is a list of feasts/holydays/holidays listed in the Bible and not listed in the Bible that I plan to recognize and participated in to some measure/degree. I do not say anyone else is obligated to God to follow the formula I do.
These are memorials and celebrations I consider important for me and my household to recognize, and honor, and consider keeping to some measure. I may give greater attention to some than others (Colossians 2:14-17; Romans 7:6). Also, since under the New Covenant there is no requirement nor is it possible to keep the biblical feasts as described in scripture, I may keep them differently in various years with respect to the methods and means and even inclusion or exclusion of certain elements of the feasts. Same goes for other holidays.
These are memorials and celebrations I consider important for me and my household to recognize, and honor, and consider keeping to some measure. I may give greater attention to some than others (Colossians 2:14-17; Romans 7:6). Also, since under the New Covenant there is no requirement nor is it possible to keep the biblical feasts as described in scripture, I may keep them differently in various years with respect to the inclusion and methods and means regarding various elements of the feasts. Same goes for other holidays. I will try to update this calendar for each year by January 1 of each year.
It is said that England from the 12th Century AD until the 18th century AD began the New Year on March 25th of each year, a date set to correspond to Christian Feast Annunciation Day which is set 9 months before Christmas and is said to be the day the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the impending birth of Jesus.
As a matter of righteous convenience, this calendar follows the American Gregorian calendar with the New Year on January 1 of each year. Doing so does not impede me from complying with the biblical provisions concerning feasts and related matters.
One should note that the Hebrew calendar’s corresponding New Year occurs in the Spring rather than in January. In fact, England and its colonies including the USA changed the New Year in the 18th century AD (1752) to start on January 1 when the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar occurred for England and its colonies. Prior to that England and USA New Year also begin in the spring on March 25th , a date set to correspond to Christian Feast Annunciation Day which is set 9 months before Christmas and is said to be the day the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the impending birth of Jesus.
I subscribe to such scriptures as Colossians 2:14-17 which warns about judging others concerning things like feasts, holydays, and holidays. I also subscribe to scriptures that speak of the importance of adhering to the spirit of the law not necessarily the letter of the law under the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 7:6).
For feasts and other event dates there may be controversy and observable uncertainty as to the right date and non-alignments with respect to other dates. In such cases chosen dates should be viewed as stand-in dates. Under the New Covenant it is the value of the feasts and other events not so much the date that is important. This is the view I take to maintain my spiritual and intellectual integrity which are important to me. On that I trust God not man to judge me righteously. Again, I do not say anyone else is obligated to God to follow the formula I do.
Year 2025
- Weekly Sabbath: Friday Sunset to Saturday Right Before Sunset – Rest & Home Worship and Possibly Community Worship
- Weekly Day of Rest and Community Worship Labeled the Lord’s Day By/For Some: Sunday
- Periodic Lord’s Supper or Communion (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or other) – Jesus Christ says do it in remembrance of him (Matthew 26:26-28) as often as we do so but he does not say how often. Paul consistent with Jesus says we do it to remember the Lord’s death until he returns (1 Corinthians 11:26)
- America’s New Year Day: January 1 – Offering of Thanks to God for Bringing Us Through/To Another Year
- Black History Month: All of February – Honor Achievements of Black Even During Enslavement and Government Sanctioned Racism – Do So with a Spirit of Forgiveness
- Ash Wednesday: March 5 – (Approximately 40 Days Before Easter Sunday); remembrance that all have sinned, need for contrition and repentance, and are dust to which we shall return.
- Lent: March 5 – April 19 – 40-day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter where Sundays are not counted so actual number of days are more than 40; a special period of prayer, fasting from food and festivities, sharing with the have-nots
- **Purim – March 13-14; March 15-16 — 2025 is Special Year; see hebcal.com
- Hebrew New Year: March 30 – 1st New (Observable Appearance of) Moon in Spring where in America Spring is based on Equinox not Barley ripening
- *Passover: April 12 – Mosaic Passover – Memorialization/Remembrance of Israelites Liberty from Egyptian Slavery — American Juneteenth (June 19) National Holiday with respect to abolishment of Blacks in America Enslavement is similar to the Mosaic Passover. Independence Day (July 4) with respect to liberty of America from Great Britain is also similar to Mosaic Passover.
- *Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 13-20 – Like Passover, a Memorialization/Remembrance of Israelites Liberty from Egyptian Slavery
- Easter Period – April 12-20 – Memorialization/Remembrance of Christ Last Supper, Sacrificial Crucifixion as the Christian Passover Lamb, Burial, and Victory at Resurrection Culminating with Easter Sunday (AKA Resurrection Sunday) on April 20
- Palm Sunday: April 13 – Sunday before Easter Sunday – Celebrates Jesus entrance into Jerusalem right before his arrest and crucifixion
- Holy Week: April 13 – 19; Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday
- *Feast of First Fruits: April 14 and April 20 – Remembrance of God as Provider of Food and other resources and salvation unto eternal life through Christ. See discussion later on Feast of First Fruits as to why I choose two celebrations.
- Holy/Maundy Thursday: April 17; Thursday Before Easter Sunday; Also Celebrates Christ Last Supper meal, his washing of his disciples feet, and his command to his disciples to love one another.
- Good Friday: April 18 – Friday Before Easter Sunday; annually in a special way memorializes the date/time of Christ crucifixion, death, and shedding of blood. We don’t know the exact date especially given the controversy over the meaning of “three days and three nights” phrase in the Bible. Good Friday is a stand in time period for whenever it happened. For the key is that it happened for our good. Praise God! ! The Christian church memorializes the same in the form of the Lord’s Supper throughout the year according to the directions of 1 Cor 11:26 and more generally 1 Cor 11:17-34 which incorporates Jesus prophetic instructions as recorded in scriptures such as Matthew 26:26-28.
- Easter: April 20 – Christ Resurrection Recognized as First Fruits Day by Christianity
- Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah): April 23 – Day in US that commemorates the lives of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945.
- Mother Day: May 11- Honor Mothers
- Memorial Day: May 26 – Remember Those Who Died in Uniformed Military Service
- *Feast of Weeks (Pentecost): June 26 – Commemorates Giving of Law [via Moses]
- Father Day: June 15 – Honor Fathers
- Juneteenth: June 19 – Black Americans Liberty from American Slavery
- Independence Day: July 4 – USA Formation
- 9-11 Memorial: September 11 – Remember Attack of 9-11-2001
- Labor Day: September 1 – Honor Workers
- Ministers Appreciation Month: All of October – Show Appreciation for All Licensed/Ordained Ministers Including Deacons
- *Feast of Trumpets: September 22 – A Call to Special Worship
- *Day of Atonement: October 1 – Recommitment to Holiness, Confession, Repentance, Fasting
- *Feast of Tabernacles/Boots: October 6 – 13 – Remembrance of God Providing Shelter in Wilderness. Some refer to the 8th day after the seven days as the Last Great Day (Leviticus 23:36) as a celebration that pictures the judgement of humankind
- Veterans Day: November 11 – Honor Veterans
- Thanksgiving: November 27 – Offering of Thanks to God
- Christmas: December 25 – Celebrate Birth of Christ
- **Hanukkah: December 14 – 22 (2 Maccabees 10:3-8)
- New Year Eve/Day: December 31- Offering of Thanks to God for Bringing Us Through/To Another Year
Leviticus 23 provides a comprehensive discussion and definition of the feasts established by God under Moses. Exodus 23:10-19 also discusses in detail the three feast pilgrimages that were to be made annually.
Item marked with a single asterisk are feasts listed in Leviticus 23 (Lev 23:3, 5, 10, 16, 24, 27, 34).
Items marked with two asterisks are Jewish feasts not in Leviticus 23. These feasts are not commandments of God. They were created by earlier Jews/Israelites to commemorate certain events in the history of Israel. I also labor to keep these other Jewish feasts in spirit not letter.
Leviticus 23 and the other Jewish feasts dates start in the evening for the starting date and end in the evening for the ending date if two dates are given. For an article on the feasts listed in the Bible click here.
Note there is no universal agreement as to when some of the biblical feasts should be done. The schedule above is Chaurcey’s best computed dates. People may choose other dates as they desire according to their understanding.
For Feast of First Fruits some say it is Nisan 16 (Day after the High Sabbath on Nisan 15); others say it is Nisan 22 (day after the first weekly sabbath after Passover). I choose to recognize both days. I choose to honor Nisan 16 in gratitude to the harvesting (provisioning by God) of food and other resources and Nisan 22 in honor of Christ resurrection.
I labor to keep Leviticus 23 feasts to some measure in spirit not letter (2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 7:6). For none can keep them today as instructed in the Bible for they all require an animal sacrifice. Colossians 2:14-17 indicates that various detailed ordinances (rules and regulations) of the Old Testament concerning various feasts are no longer binding. Indeed, the complexity and advances of modern society makes adherence to the many rules and regulations of some feasts very difficult if not safely impossible. Consider one specification concerning Passover presented here especially noting the provision concerning medicine. Also, some details regarding some feasts are controversial based on different understanding of the what the scriptures say and mean. For example, consider the earlier discussion of Feast of First Fruits.
Regarding the Passover meal per Exodus 12:8, 15 I observe the following: There is no universal agreement as to what foods qualify as “leaven” and leavened bread except for breads, crackers, and cookies. Therefore, for me I give consideration only to those items for removal from my household during the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. As for the Passover Lamb commanded in the Old Testament only for the Passover not the Feast of Unleavened Bread, I give consideration to some form of Lamb meat. For bitter herb I consider ginger.
There is historical evidence that there was a time when part of the post-bible days church held Easter at the same time as the Mosaic Passover whereas other parts of the church did it at a separate time. It is unclear as to why those who aligned Easter with the Passover did so. Was it because they saw Easter as functionally equivalent to the Passover or did they seek to eradicate the Mosaic Passover replacing it with Easter? The rationale for those who did not align Easter with Passover is also uncertain.
This historical occurrence probably accounts for the fact that in Acts 12:4 the Greek word for Passover is translated Easter when the context of Acts 12:3 clearly shows the event was the Mosaic Passover spoken of by Luke during bible days.
At some point most of the church settled on a formula that did not seek to align Easter with the Mosaic Passover.
Therefore, today the Mosaic Passover and Easter date generation is based on two different formula. The Mosaic Passover is based on the start of the Hebrew year which for most but not all is a function of a particular New Moon observance in the Spring. For Easter it is a function of the observance of the Spring Equinox. In some years these closely align by o/a 1 to 4 days. In other years these differ by o/a 7 days.
Some may argue against use of the Gregorian calendar instead of the Hebrew calendar for determination of Christian holidays not commandment by scripture. Yet, the fact such holidays are not commandment by scripture means Christians are righteously free to use whatever calendar we choose.
For 2025 for me the Mosaic Passover is on Saturday April 12. That means Sunday April 13 the American calendar could not represent Christ resurrection on the third day on the first day of the week. Although some people illogically claim differently, Matthew 28:1-10 clearly says Christ resurrection was discovered on the first day of the week. The church rightly or wrongly takes that to mean he resurrected on the first day of the week in accordance with the first fruit doctrine indicated by 1 Corinthians 15:20 which is taken as a reference to the first fruit law of Leviticus 23:9-14.
That means for 2025 April 20 is the first Sunday that reasonably represents the first day of the week and therefore the chosen definition of Easter. Again, Easter or even celebration of Christ resurrection is not commanded by scripture. Therefore, whatever formula humans choose as a matter of God given righteous human preference is biblical and godly to do.
The Christian Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday period generally overlaps the Mosaic Passover period. For example, consider years 2019-2021 as shown below:
2019: Passover: April 19-27; Palm Sunday: April 14; Easter: April 21
2020: Passover: April 8-16; Palm Sunday: April 5; Easter: April 12
2021: Passover: March 27 – April 4; Palm Sunday: March 28; Easter: April 4
It is appropriate and a good custom whether commanded or not under Christ for Christians whether biologically an Israelite or not to recognize and remember contemporaneously both the Passover and Easter. For the Passover is about memorializing the Jews deliverance from human bondage (Exodus 12:13-14, 24) and Easter is about memorializing Christ resurrection which characterizes Christians deliverance from death in the grave. Justification for Juneteenth and Independence Day celebration for Christians is rooted in the Principle of the Passover. For both of those are about deliverance from human bondage which we hold to be something God led as humans surrendered to his standard of love thy neighbor as thyself principle of Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 22:39.
There are other feasts or holidays in which I might participate to some extent in a holy manner even if others do so in an unholy manner. For example, St. Patrick Day is on March 17th of each year. St. Patrick Day as a religious holiday of the Roman Catholic Church honors the life of a man informally labeled St. Patrick whose real name is said to be Maewyn Succat. He is informally labeled a saint in name only by the people though he reportedly has never been officially canonized as such by the church as there was no canonization process in place when he died. He is said to be responsible for numerous Irish people coming to know Jesus and becoming a part of Christianity. St. Patrick Day as a secular holiday mainly in America is a day of remembering Irish immigrants and the Irish culture. In Roman Catholicism unfortunately the label St which is short for Saint is a designation of a person who Catholics pray to intercede for them. I do not subscribe to praying to dead humans; therefore, any part of St. Patrick Day that involves such an unholy activity I will not participate in. However, as a matter of support to Irish people for example in a community celebration of Irish people such as in a parade or festival I might participate in it being careful to maintain my own personal integrity so as not to do or support or validate anything unholy being done. Those not mature enough to exercise such discipline and discernment might be best served by staying away from such events. Yet, again I appeal to Colossians 2:16 not to judge anyone for whatever feast or holiday they participate in as long as that feast or holiday foundational purpose is holy. There is nothing unholy about remembering the work of “St. Patrick” just as there is not in remembering the work of the USA first President George Washington and other presidents on the annual Presidents Day in America. Participation in the Irish community honoring their history is similar to Black Americans honoring their history during Black History Month and Juneteenth and all Americans honoring America on Independence Day. Certainly it is good for groups to participate in honoring each other’s community history in a holy manner. However, like all holidays including Leviticus 23 feasts and Christmas one can get into unholy words and actions and such unholiness should be avoided. Let each be guided by his or her own conscience with such a conscience informed by the Word of God not the preferences of men (Colossians 2:16; Romans 14:5).
For an article on how the new moon is used by Hebrew calendars click here.
Though the Lord’s Supper (Communion) and Passover are two different feasts/remembrances with two different purposes, they are related. For a discussion of this relationship click here.
For more information on biblical feasts click here.
Also see Biblical Feasts, Festivals and Holidays.
