January 2, 2011:

Ponderings of a Pilgrim PASTOR

“Holidays and Holy Days”

“Holiday” is a modern form of the traditional words “Holy Day,” but you knew that, didn’t you?  The difference is that “Holy Days” always commemorate religious figures and events while “holidays” celebrate not just religious figures and events but also national leaders and events.
The problem is that some people these days don’t see the difference, particularly those who want to maintain that America is a “Christian”
nation.

When I grew up in a small midwestern town in the 40’s and 50’s, pretty much everyone there was a nominal Christian.  No one gave a thought to the propriety of having Christmas and Easter holidays, “holy days” to those of us who were involved in churches.

America is a far more diverse nation today. Tiny religious minorities that we hardly knew existed have now become much larger and in some places a substantial, even majority, part of the community. They rightly ask that since our Constitution prohibits the “establishment” of any one religious group, why should Christian “holy days” be the only ones observed as public and school “holidays?” For example, in parts of the Detroit area, Muslims are in the majority. Should their “holy days” be observed as public and school “holidays?”

I have no answer to this complex problem. I realize that allowing some students and teachers to have “holidays” for their “holy days” throughout the year would present problems for the educational process. Still, it could be worked out. How about every students having a certain number not just of “sick” days but also of “holidays” for “holy days” each year?

The challenge of America’s growing ethnic, cultural and religious diversity will be a serious issue for all of us in the years ahead. Will we be able to solve it? I hope so, and I believe we can  if we as Americans realize that our unity does not demand uniformity. Our differences should be celebrated as an example to the world of what true freedom is all about.

Love,
Pastor Dave