1. Links to printable annual Holy Day calendars
| Annual Holy Day Calendar for year: |
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"
And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to
mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.' And it was so
" (Genesis 1:14-15, NIV).
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The Moon
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2. The annual festivals in the Churches of God
The calendar below shows the annual festivals of God, at three
times of the year, with their seven annual Sabbaths, as observed
by the United Church of God (UCG), the Living Church of
God (LCG), the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG), and
some other Worldwide Church of God (WCG) splinter groups.
Some groups, like the United Church of God, welcome the scattered
brethren--as well as strangers off the street--to observe these festivals
with them. Other groups, like the Philadelphia Church of God, do
not welcome any non-members to observe these festivals with them.
Annual Holy Day Calendar
God's festivals, at three times of the year,
with their seven annual Sabbaths,
listed in Leviticus 23
in the Bible
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NOTE: The dates given below are on the Hebrew calendar.
These festivals fall on different dates each year on the Gregorian calendar.
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| First time of the year: |
| Festivals, etc. |
Hebrew Date |
Annual Sabbaths |
| First Day of the Year |
1st month, 1st day |
- - - - - - - |
Passover
(Observed evening before) |
1st month, 14th day
|
- - - - - - - |
Feast of Unleavened Bread
(Lasts for seven days)
|
1st month, 15th day
1st month, 16th day
1st month, 17th day
1st month, 18th day
1st month, 19th day
1st month, 20th day
1st month, 21st day |
1st annual Sabbath
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
2nd annual Sabbath |
| Second time of the year: |
| Festivals, etc. |
Hebrew Date |
Annual Sabbaths |
Pentecost
or Feast of Weeks
or Feast of Harvest
or Feast of Firstfruits |
Count off 50 days from
the weekly Sabbath
that fell during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread |
3rd annual Sabbath
|
| Third time of the year: |
| Festivals, etc. |
Hebrew Date |
Annual Sabbaths |
| Feast of Trumpets |
7th month, 1st day |
4th annual Sabbath |
| Day of Atonement |
7th month, 10th day |
5th annual Sabbath |
Feast of Tabernacles
or Feast of Booths
or Feast of Ingathering
(Lasts for seven days)
|
7th month, 15th day
7th month, 16th day
7th month, 17th day
7th month, 18th day
7th month, 19th day
7th month, 20th day
7th month, 21st day |
6th annual Sabbath
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - - |
Last Great Day
or Closing Assembly |
7th month, 22nd day
|
7th annual Sabbath
|
Many individuals and very small Worldwide Church of God
splinter groups are now coming up with all sorts of different
ideas about the Hebrew Calendar, and when the Holy Days fall,
and how to observe them. In the February 26, 1997 issue of
The Journal newspaper, Norman S. Edwards
was mentioned in an article on calendar postponements: "Mr.
Edwards said he wants to do what his Creator wants him
to do. But 'the only problem is I've got 150 papers [about the
calendar] back home telling me what the Eternal wants me to do,
and they're all different.'" Most non-Jewish people had probably
never even heard about such things as the Sacred Calendar and its
annual Holy Days until Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) told them
about such things. Now, the starting point for many of these same
people is to reject the details that HWA taught them about when
these festivals occur and to put forth their own half-baked ideas.
The Worldwide Church of God, now led by Joseph Tkach,
Jr., is in the process of moving away from the annual festivals
that God gave in the Bible, and replacing them with customs like
Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. The WCG is also changing from a
Sabbath-keeping church to a Sunday-keeping church.
Most of the churches in the United States and Britain that profess
to be Christian have kept these nations ignorant of the annual
festivals that God gave in the Old Testament of the Bible, and that
Jesus observed in New Testament times. Most churches teach unbiblical,
pagan-based customs like Halloween, Christmas, and Easter, which
they try to read into the Bible. The festivals that God gave in the
Old Testament, and that Jesus observed in New Testament times, are
virtually unknown to the members of most churches, and considered to
be very strange when mentioned.
The annual festivals that God gave in the Bible are not the only
things that the world hates and refuses to have anything to do with.
The weekly Sabbath of God gets rejected as well. Each week, the
Catholic church, and its Protestant daughter churches that broke
away from it, like to observe Sunday [the first day of the week].
This is an estimated 1.9 billion professing "Christians" who believe
in observing Sunday. About 1.0 billion Muslims around the world
think that Friday [the sixth day of the week] is the day they should
observe. Relatively few people like to remember Saturday [the seventh
day of the week], the biblical Sabbath that was given by God Himself
in the Old Testament of the Bible and observed by Jesus in New Testament
times.
3. Herbert W. Armstrong's writings about holidays and Holy Days
The Worldwide Church of God (WCG) under Herbert W.
Armstrong (HWA) taught that the annual Holy Days given by God in
the Bible picture God's plan of salvation. HWA wrote booklets to
explain the meaning of the Holy Days and to oppose customs that have
pagan origins. These booklets can now be read online:
Pagan Holidays--or God's Holy Days--Which?
Available at http://cgca.net/pabco/paganhd.htm.
The Plain Truth About Christmas
Available at http://home.sprynet.com/~pabco/ptofxmas.htm.
The Plain Truth About Easter
Available at http://home.sprynet.com/~pabco/hwapteas.htm.
4. United Church of God literature about Sabbaths and Festivals
The United Church of God (UCG) has produced booklets
about the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days:
Sunset To Sunset--God's Sabbath Rest
Available at http://www.ucg.org/booklets/SS/.
God's Holy Day Plan
Available at http://www.ucg.org/booklets/HD/.
Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?
Available at http://www.ucg.org/booklets/HH/.
5. Living Church of God literature about Sabbaths and Festivals
The Living Church of God (LCG) has produced a couple booklets
about the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days:
Which Day is the Christian Sabbath?
Available at http://www.livingcog.org/cgi-bin/tw/booklets/tw-bk.cgi?category=Booklets1&item=1104414149.
The Holy Days--God's Master Plan
Available at http://www.livingcog.org/cgi-bin/tw/booklets/tw-bk.cgi?category=Booklets1&item=1104358140.
6. Interesting quotes from a history book
A book called THE STORY of CHRISTIANITY A
CELEBRATION OF 2000 YEARS OF FAITH contains some
interesting statements. One of the authors is a Catholic (Michael
Collins) and the other author is a Protestant (Matthew A. Price).
Below are some quotes from the book:
"Today one-third of the world's population call themselves Christians"
(Page 7).
"The early Christians' pattern of worship was very similar to
that of their successors today. They met on Sunday, the day
of the Resurrection, rather than Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
When they met they celebrated the Eucharist, studied the scriptures,
prayed, and sang hymns together" (Page 40).
"Writing in the 150s, Justin Martyr gives us some idea of how
the Christians gathered for worship: 'On the day called after
the sun there takes place a meeting of all who live in towns
or in the country'" (Page 40).
"Irenaeus and most of his fellow apologists sought to place
Christianity right at the heart of contemporary culture. In so
doing, they assimilated many philosophical and cultural elements
of the Greco-Roman civilization. They were largely pragmatic
and embraced the attitude of adapt and adopt: pagan festivals
were taken over to become Christmas and Easter, and a place was
found for pagan philosophy and literature in Christian thought,
as a preparation for the gospel" (Page 47).
"While Constantine now favored Christianity, he did not make
it the official or 'established' religion of the empire. He did,
however, give presents, endowments, and property to Christian
churches and built several basilicas, including St. Peter's in
Rome, used Christian symbols on his coinage and Roman standards,
and declared Sunday a rest day, replacing the weekly celebration
of Mithras" (Page 58).
"The reworked formula, still used in the Christian church today,
was renamed the Nicene Creed. However, the council failed to
completely resolve the Arian question" (Page 62).
"For example, the earliest known Christian mosaic, found in the
1940s underneath St. Peter's Basilica, uses gold mosaic in its
representation of Christ as the sun-god, Helios" (Page 73).
7. Where people go to observe the Feast of Tabernacles
Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land [the land of Canaan]
after wandering in the desert for forty years, God told them through
Moses,
"But you are to seek the place the LORD
your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name
there for his dwelling. To that place you must go"
(Deuteronomy 12:5, NIV).
"Three times a year all your men must
appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at
the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast
of Tabernacles" (Deuteronomy 16:16, NIV).
The Israelites under Joshua had set up the Tent of Meeting at Shiloh,
and annual festivals were celebrated there. Later, God chose to
place His name in Jerusalem where David's son Solomon built the first
temple. King Solomon explained that God had said,
"Since the day I brought my people out
of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have
a temple built for my Name to be there, nor have I chosen anyone
to be the leader over my people Israel. But now I have chosen
Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule
my people Israel" (2 Chronicles 6:5-6, NIV).
After the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel split into two
kingdoms: the southern kingdom of Judah [called the house of
Judah] under Solomon's son Rehoboam, and the northern kingdom
of Israel [called the house of Israel] under king Jeroboam.
Even though he had been set up by God, Jeroboam [the king of Israel]
feared that the Israelites under him would again give their allegiance
to Rehoboam [the king of Judah] if they went to the temple in
Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah to observe the annual festivals
of God. So, Jeroboam told his people the Israelites that it was
too much for them to go to Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah. To
offer an alternative, Jeroboam set up idols at Dan and Bethel in his
kingdom of Israel. He also instituted a festival on the fifteenth
day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, like the
festival held in Judah. He even installed priests at Bethel from
all sorts of people even though they were not Levites. See 1 Kings
chapters 11-12. These changes did not become acceptable with the
passing of time. For generations afterwards, the Bible talked about
the succeeding kings of Israel walking in the way of Jeroboam and
the sin that he had caused the Israelites in his kingdom of Israel
to commit.
Chapter 5 of Amos says,
"This is what the LORD says to the house
of Israel: 'Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel...'"
(Amos 5:4-5, NIV).
"I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies" (Amos 5:21, NIV).
Today, some mixed-up people who don't understand the Bible at all
would like to think that verses like Amos 5:21 show that God was
getting tired of His own appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of
the LORD, even in Old Testament times. But, notice that God was
talking in chapter 5 of Amos "to the house
of Israel," not to the house of Judah. God said,
"do not seek Bethel," where
Jeroboam had set up idols. He did not say, "do not seek
Jerusalem."
Eventually, in 722 BC, the northern kingdom [the house of Israel]
went into the Assyrian captivity from which it never returned.
Later, in 586 BC, the southern kingdom [the house of Judah] went
into the Babylonian captivity for seventy years. After seventy
years, a remnant of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity returned
to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. In New Testament times, Jesus,
like his parents, went to Jerusalem for the annual festivals.
The New Testament of the Bible records Jesus' conversation with a
Samaritan woman in Samaria in the first century:
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you
are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews
claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus
declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship
the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans
worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation
is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are
the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his
worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." The woman said,
"I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes,
he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who
speak to you am he" (John 4:19-26, NIV).
Jesus had spoken just in time. A Jewish revolt in 66 AD against
the occupying Romans ended in defeat in 70 AD. The Romans sort of
ruined Jerusalem as a feast site by destroying the temple. It got
even worse when the Romans won again in 135 AD and forbade any Jews
to enter Jerusalem under penalty of death. The Jews were scattered
from the Promised Land into a wide dispersion, known as the Diaspora.
Wherever they are on earth, Jews still remember Jerusalem, and each
year they say, "Next year in Jerusalem." The modern State of Israel
was created in 1948, shortly after the end of World War II in which
Adolf Hitler had killed an estimated six million Jews.
In the twentieth century, Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) appeared
in the United States and chose various sites in the United States and
around the world for annual church conventions. He made it sound like
God had now chosen to place His name in these places and that members
of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) were supposed to go to
one of these places to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. A further
innovation was that instead of living in tents or booths of palm
fronds, leafy branches, and poplars, the people were given a choice
of selected hotels/motels in an annual Festival Planner. The
Feast of Tabernacles stood out in the WCG as the big annual event that
special feast sites were arranged for, while the Days of Unleavened
Bread and Pentecost tended to be observed more locally in a smaller
way.
Herbert W. Armstrong died in 1986 and was succeeded as leader
of the Worldwide Church of God by Joseph W. Tkach, Sr.,
who turned against all the old HWA-era teachings of the WCG.
Joseph Tkach, Sr. died in 1995 and was replaced by his
son, Joseph Tkach, Jr., who is also trying to do away with
the observance of the annual festivals mentioned in the Bible.
Current members of the WCG are now finding that the WCG no longer
has any Feast of Tabernacles sites in the United States that
celebrate the full eight days on the proper biblical dates.
The massive doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God
caused many people who still believed some of what Herbert
Armstrong had taught to leave the WCG, or get kicked out of it,
and join one of a number of different splinter groups. Now, the
various different splinter groups are each coming up with their own
lists of festival sites where God has supposedly chosen to place His
name according to their various different Festival Planners.
The largest WCG splinter group, the United Church of God
(UCG), announced that nearly 20,000 people celebrated the Feast of
Tabernacles with it at over fifty different feast sites around the
world in 2003. The Living Church of God (LCG) had over forty
different feast sites around the world in 2003. Other WCG splinter
groups had additional feast sites.
Some prophecies indicate that in the future, Jerusalem will once
again be the place to go, and that all nations will go there.
"Then the survivors from all the nations
that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship
the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain"
(Zechariah 14:16-17, NIV).
"'From one New Moon to another and from one
Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,'
says the LORD" (Isaiah 66:23, NIV).
8. What does God say in the Bible?
To give some guidance about God's appointed feasts, some text from
the books of Exodus and Leviticus in the Old Testament of the Bible
is reproduced below. The Bible discusses these matters in other
places too.
Exodus 23:14-17, NIV
The Three Annual Festivals
"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread
made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed
time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
"No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest [also called the Feast
of Weeks or Pentecost] with the
firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
"Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering [also called the
Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles] at
the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
"Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign
LORD.
Leviticus 23:1-44, NIV
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD,
which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
The Sabbath
"'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any
work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
The Passover and Unleavened Bread
"'These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies
you are to proclaim at their appointed times: The LORD's Passover
begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the
fifteenth day of that month the LORD's Feast of Unleavened Bread
begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the
first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven
days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh
day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.'"
Firstfruits
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its
harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.
He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your
behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the
day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the
LORD a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain
offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil--an
offering made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma--and its drink
offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread,
or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to
your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to
come, wherever you live.
Feast of Weeks
"'From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of
the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days
up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering
of new grain to the LORD. From wherever you live, bring two loaves
made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a
wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD. Present with this bread
seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull
and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together
with their grain offerings and drink offerings--an offering made by
fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. Then sacrifice one male goat for
a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship
offering. The priest is to wave the two lambs before the LORD as a
wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are
a sacred offering to the LORD for the priest. On that same day you
are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to
be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
"'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very
edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave
them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.'"
Feast of Trumpets
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of
the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly
commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present
an offering made to the LORD by fire.'"
Day of Atonement
The LORD said to Moses, "The tenth day of this seventh month is the
Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and
present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do no work on that day,
because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you
before the LORD your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that
day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his
people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at
all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,
wherever you live. It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny
yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the
following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
Feast of Tabernacles
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day
of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it
lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no
regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by
fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an
offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no
regular work.
("'These are the LORD's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim
as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the LORD by
fire--the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink
offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to
those for the LORD's Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and
whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to
the LORD.)
"'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after
you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to
the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the
eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take
choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and
poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year.
This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come;
celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days:
All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants
will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them
out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'"
So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.
