My Crushing Burden | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: My Crushing Burden | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ruthie Alekseeva
02/08/21
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Fizz…pop…bang. A firecracker sizzled across the sky, followed by a glitter of gold and a shimmer of green. Then, the countdown began.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy new year,” the throng around me cheered.

Then, everyone scattered. We rolled up our beach towels and fought our way through the masses, who were now on a mission of making their way home.

Christmas is well and truly over now, I thought, but I’m still bathing in its glow. Must I really wait another eleven months to feel this radiant?

Then, a light-bulb moment. I remembered, while reading Persuasion, that Jane Austin had mentioned a saint’s day called Michaelmas. It had made me dimly aware that Christmas and Easter weren’t the only holy days observed by those who consider themselves Christians. And so, it got me thinking. How many holy days are there in other Christian traditions, what do they symbolise, and would they immerse me in a similar glow?

The next day, I hunted the internet, chasing a book that could enlighten me on other festive traditions. Joy of joys, I found exactly what I wanted. The book listed significant days on what it called the liturgical calendar, their meanings, and how believers commemorate them.

Observing the various rituals on my own would be impractical, I decided. So, it’s just as well the book also includes a devotional reading for each holy day.

So, I marked each festive day on my wall-calendar. I decided I would celebrate simply by reading the assigned devotional and verbally wishing my family members a “Happy Epiphany” or a “Reflective Ash Wednesday” or a “Jubilant Reign of Christ Sunday” while chomping down our breakfasts. It was a fascinating exercise, but boy did I regret it.

Instead of revelling in a cheery glow, the continual domino of holy days oppressed me. I felt burdened and run down. I dreaded the coming of the next saint’s day. I would worry I had forgotten one and wonder how I would fit the next upcoming festive day around my secular engagements. Instead of a joyful act of worship, it became a work of drudgery. Imagine how onerous if I had also added baking, decorating, family get-togethers, church attendance, and the other celebratory customs listed in my book.

I now understood why some say we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas or Easter. “Nowhere in the Bible does it command we should,” they say. And although I don’t intend ceasing celebrating either anytime soon, I for one am glad God has not commanded them or any of the other holy days. Because a believer who worships according to a religious calendar becomes devoted to a calendar rather than devoted to God.

And so, I came to this conclusion. Celebrations are wonderful. They provide a lovely opportunity for teaching important ecclesiastical events to children in a merry way. They also provide a springboard for starting conversations with non-believers who notice you’re celebrating an occasion not on their schedule of events, but a merry-go-round of holy days is a heavy yoke, especially when you consider some sects believe observing these holy days contributes to their salvation. And so, I’m glad God only commands a Day of Rest. It leaves us free to display our love for Him in voluntary acts of adoration instead of according to an interfering and rigid schedule.

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