2020: Discovering Christian History by Following the Christian Calendar
Photo by Torsten Dettlaff
Most Evangelical Christians only follow the Christian Calendar during Advent and some celebrate Lent. I have decided to embark on a journey of discovery for the year 2020. I believe that in order to know who I am as a Christian, I must study who we have been. Many of the dates on the Christian calendar were established in the few hundred years after Christ…and so in my search of the Early Church, I am pausing a moment to study out some of their early practices.
I have already written about the 12 days of Christmas and Epiphany here. As a followup, I am finishing up on a family devotional booklet entitled From Advent to Epiphany. It will be available this year as well as a booklet entitled, From Lent to Easter: A Family Devotional Guide. But there are many days in between. Some denominations celebrate events in Jesus’ life, others celebrate great men of God in the past.
My goal isn’t to make a ritual out of these celebrations, but rather to understand who the Church has been, who they are and who they are becoming. This week, I’ll be hosting a small get together of friends and neighbors to celebrate Twelfth Night, or Epiphany. We will be enjoying some desserts, the last of the Christmas decorations and a little after Christmas caroling. I’ve had several people concerned that people both guests and listeners alike, will think caroling after Christmas too weird. If you’ve known me long enough, you know that I’m less concerned about being weird and more concerned about leading a life of significance. I’ll give an update here and let you know how it goes.
I hope you’ll check in on my journey from time to time. I’d love to share my discoveries with someone, and I’d be thrilled for it to be you, dear reader. Perhaps you grew up celebrating some of these holidays. If so, please comment below and get me started on the right path by sharing your experiences.
May Christ become more real to you each and every passing day.
