Christmas and Easter in the Biblical Canon

The celebration of Christmas and Easter are deeply rooted in Christian tradition, yet their origins and significance are understood differently across various Christian denominations and interpretations. Both holidays are tied to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, with Christmas commemorating his birth and Easter marking his resurrection.

The biblical basis for Easter is more directly tied to the scripture than Christmas. The resurrection of Jesus is a central theme in the New Testament accounts, particularly in the Gospels ^[1]. The apostle Paul draws an analogy between the Jewish Passover and the sacrifice of Christ in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, highlighting the significance of Christ's death and resurrection in relation to the Passover ^[1]. This connection is further emphasized by the timing of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, which occurred during the Passover ^[5].

The early Christian church observed the first day of the week as a day of worship, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 20:7) ^[2]. The significance of this day is underscored by its association with the "Lord's Day" (Revelation 1:10) ^[2]. The celebration of Easter, therefore, is closely tied to the biblical account of Jesus' resurrection and the early Christian practice of observing the first day of the week.

In contrast, the biblical basis for Christmas is less direct. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke provide accounts of Jesus' birth, but the exact date is not specified. The early Christian church did not uniformly celebrate Jesus' birth, and the date of December 25 was likely chosen to coincide with existing Roman festivals ^[3].

The Catholic tradition views both Christmas and Easter as significant feast days, with Easter being considered the more important of the two. The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of Easter as a celebration of Jesus' resurrection and the paschal mystery ^[7]. The Catholic Church also observes a period of fasting and preparation before Easter, known as Lent, which is seen as a time for spiritual purification and devotion ^[4].

Different Christian traditions have varying interpretations of the significance and celebration of Christmas and Easter. For example, some Reformed traditions emphasize the importance of Easter as a celebration of Jesus' resurrection, while downplaying the significance of Christmas ^{[3, 9]}. In contrast, other traditions, such as the Anglican Communion, observe both Christmas and Easter with great solemnity and festivity ^[6].

The Jewish roots of Easter are also significant, as the Passover (Pesach) is a major festival in the Jewish calendar. The Babylonian Talmud provides insight into the Jewish understanding of the Passover, highlighting its significance as a commemoration of the Israelites' liberation from slavery ^[8].

The development of Christmas and Easter as Christian holidays reflects the complex interplay between biblical interpretation, tradition, and cultural context. While the biblical canon provides the foundation for these celebrations, their significance and observance have evolved over time through the influence of various theological and cultural factors.

The patristic era saw the establishment of Easter as a major Christian feast, with early Christian writers such as Anatolius of Alexandria providing calculations for determining the date of Easter ^[5]. The celebration of Christmas, on the other hand, developed later, with the date of December 25 becoming widely accepted in the Western Christian tradition.

Sources

1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 5:7: 5:7-8 Paul draws an analogy between the traditional Jewish Passover celebration and the sacrifice of Christ. In the Passover celebration, a lamb was sacrificed and unleavened bread was eaten (see Exod 12:1-27; 13:3-7). The sacrifice of Christ, which occurred at Passover (Matt 26:2; cp. John 1:29; 1 Pet 1:19), results in the removal of sin for believers.”
1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 16:2: first day of . . . week--already kept sacred by Christians as the day of the Lord's resurrection, the beginning day both of the physical and of the new spiritual creations: it gradually superseded the Jewish sabbath on the seventh day (Psa 118:22-24; Joh 20:19, Joh 20:26; Act 20:7; Rev 1:10). So the beginning of the year was changed from autumn to spring when Israel was brought out of Egypt. Three annual feasts, all typical of Christian truths, were directed to be kept on the first day of the week: the feast of the wave offering of the first she”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 109: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:2 1:26 1:27 1:31 2:7 2:7 2:17 2:18 2:23 2:23 3:7 3:9 3:12 3:15 3:15 3:15 3:22 4:4 4:7 4:10 4:13 6:3 6:5 6:6 6:18 7:21 8:21 9:6 12:12 12:17 14:18 14:18 15:1 15:1 15:5 15:17 16:9 17:7 17:7 17:10 17:10 17:13 17:15 17:27 18:2 18:23 20:3 20:7 21:1 21:12 21:24 22:1 22:8 22:16-18 23:4 23:19 24:7 24:10 26:27 27:28 27:38-39 28:12 28:20 29 30:2 31:19 31:20 31:40-41 32 32:10 32:13 32:29-30 33 34 36:22 37:18 37:28 37:33 38:18 42 43 43:14 45:5 47:9 47:9 47:29-30 48:14 48:16 49:5-6 49:18 Exodus 2:12 3:2 3”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Fasting, Art. 5: Article: Whether the times for the Church fast are fittingly ascribed? I answer that, As stated above (Articles [1],3), fasting is directed to two things, the deletion of sin, and the raising of the mind to heavenly things. Wherefore fasting ought to be appointed specially for those times, when it behooves man to be cleansed from sin, and the minds of the faithful to be raised to God by devotion: and these things are particularly requisite before the feast of Easter, when sins are loosed by baptis”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 6: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius, Julius Africanus, Methodius, Arnobius — THE PASCHAL CANON OF ANATOLIUS OF ALEXANDRIA.(1) (part 12): date there are twelve hours and a twelfth. On this day, towards evening, if it happen also to be the moon's fourteenth, the lamb was sacrificed among the Jews. But if the number went beyond that, so that it was the moon's fifteenth or sixteenth on the evening of the same day, on the fourteenth day of the second moon, in the same month, the Passover was celebrated; and the people ate unleavened bread for seven days, up to the twenty-first day at evening”
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Structure: Structure Notes Psalm Tables for Psalm 119 and Psalms 121–131, 133 (the Psalms of Ascent) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Advent Christmas Season Epiphany Season Lent Passiontide Easter Season From Ascension Day until the Day of Pentecost From All Saints’ Day until the day before the First Sunday of Advent Morning and Evening Prayer”
Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catholic) “Catechism of the Catholic Church, 3. the anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view (part 2): 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. The New Testament: the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of St. Paul to the Romans, ”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 96b.3: MISHNA: Rabbi Yehoshua said: I heard two rulings from my teachers: One ruling was that the substitute of a Paschal lamb is sacrificed as a peace-offering after Passover, and another ruling was that the substitute of a Paschal lamb is not sacrificed as a peace-offering after Passover; and I cannot explain these two rulings, as I do not remember the circumstances to which each ruling applies.”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 84: so infatuated an estimate of the Church, since Christ has designated 2309 it by a sign in which is nothing in the least degree equivocal, a sign which is everywhere seen, the existence of which infallibly proves the existence of the Church, while its absence proves the absence of everything that properly bears the name of Church? Paul declares that the Church is not founded either upon the judgments of men or the priesthood, but upon the doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets ( Eph. 2:20 ). Nay, Jerusalem is to be distinguished from”

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