Holi-day

There is a curious event that has appeared on my calendar for the 2nd day of March. When I first noticed it, I didn’t know what it was. I therefore assumed that, since we share calendar information, either my wife, René, or middle daughter, Sarah, posted the event. I even got the impression that it was there by mistake. All it says is “Holi.” Did someone stop typing in the middle of a word? I didn’t give it much thought until our youngest daughter saw it on the calendar and asked about it. René said, “I don’t know, I didn’t put it there.” I offered a similar self-defense. Inquiring of Sarah we learned that she was innocent as well. We were left with the obvious questions: what is Holi, and how did it get on our calendar?

Sarah followed up with some helpful information regarding our mysterious calendar event. It appears, according to one news source, that Holi is “a Hindu festival celebrated throughout many parts of south Asia.” The article goes on to say that the festival “signifies the victory of good over evil.” It certainly appears to be a great deal of fun, with celebrants dousing each other with water and throwing variously colored powders on one another. Pictures reminded me of the “color runs” that have become popular. While all of this sounds fine, I am still perplexed as to how this ended up on my calendar.

If you are an Apple user, and subscribe to the “U.S. Holidays” calendar, you probably see the same thing on your calendar. And before you start typing your comment to help me understand why this is on a calendar that says U.S. Holidays, let me just say that I understand the “why” behind this event’s inclusion. The motivation is obvious when one scans through the other weeks of 2018 to see what else is marked as a U.S. Holiday. You will see things like MLK Day (1/15), Lunar New Year (2/16), President’s Day (2/19), Tax Day (4/17, and who really considers this a holiday?), Earth Day (4/22), Cinco de Mayo (5/5, of course!), First Day of Ramadan (5/15), Eid al-Fitr (6/15), Eid al-Adha (8/20), Yom Kippur (9/19), Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day (both 10/8), Diwali (11/7), and Kwanzaa (12/26). The list includes many others, and I’ve not mentioned the ones most familiar to us. The holidays include those that are deeply religious, cultural and secular in nature.

Let me be clear. I have nothing against people of any religion. I have no default opposition to people of other nations and cultures. Please do not try to read between the lines. The only observation I am making at this point is that we try so very hard in this country to be inclusive. You might think that is good. You might not. I am not making a case either way. If you think, though, that inclusion and diversity are not pursued in this country, consider the fact that a calendar called “U.S. Holidays” would include an event “celebrated throughout many parts of south Asia.”

Now for the part that is much more important. There is another holiday that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a day that celebrates God over evil. We usually call the day Easter. Some call it Resurrection Day. It is an annual reminder of something that happened a long time ago, when the only begotten Son of God was brought from death to life. Having been crucified three days before, Jesus was bodily raised, leaving the tomb empty. It is only in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that there is victory over evil. None of us have the capacity to attain such a victory by ourselves. No amount of collective “good” among humanity will get the “win.” At the risk of sounding exclusive, no other holiday points us toward the true victory. Scripture says that Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4).

So let us not be confused; the victory of good over evil is attained only through the sovereign work of God. He has done it in the course of human history only through the person of Jesus. You and I are invited, by the gracious offer of God, to participate in that victory by faith in what Christ has done for us. That, my friends, is worth celebrating. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

See you along the winding path…

When Is Holi 2018 and How is it Celebrated