Short Answer: Why don't Christians celebrate Jewish holidays?

Dear Apologist, why don’t Christians celebrate Jewish holidays?

For most Christians it is perfectly obvious why we don’t celebrate Muslim or Hindu holidays. However, the matter becomes more confusing when we look at Jewish holidays. The Christian faith grew out of the Judaism, therefore we renounce none of it. However, there is evidence in the New Testament itself that the first Christians were already neglecting the Jewish holy days. In his letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul assures his readers:

“Let no one pass judgment on you with regard to a festival or new moon or Sabbath. These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ” - Col 2:16

In other words, there were Christians at the time who were insisting we still have a duty to keep observe Jewish holidays. Paul replied, “No we don’t.” The core reason why we don’t celebrate these festivals is contained in Paul statement at the close of that verse; “These were shadows of things to come, the reality belongs to Christ.”

Consider the holiday Yom Kippur, the annual Jewish day of atonement. As Christians we have a day of atonement. It was Good Friday – the original one – when Christ atoned for the sins of the world. What Christ did on the cross made Yom Kippur obsolete. What’s more, to celebrate it as a Christian today could be viewed as a statement that Christ did not sufficiently atone for our sins. What about Hanukkah? Hanukkah celebrates the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Now, the Temple was the place where God's presence dwelt in a special way. But the New Testament tells us the Temple was always pointing forward to Jesus, who identified His own body as the Temple. And wouldn't you know it, Christians have analogous feasts in the form of the presentation of Jesus and the Baptism of Jesus.

How about Passover? Passover involved the sacrifice of a lamb and the eating of unleavened bread. Saint Paul says Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb and we celebrate our Passover at the Mass. [1Cor 5:7]

One could go down the list of all the Jewish holidays and do this. They were signs pointing forward to their fulfillment in Christ. The early Christians who abandoned these festivals did so for very intentional theological reasons.