"Mormon" Holidays and Celebrations

For a church which has high standards of dress and behavior, we have few restrictions for celebrating holidays and special occasions. Most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons celebrate major holidays and the holidays of their countries. The way we celebrate those holidays is usually based on family tradition. In the United States we celebrate Christmas, Easter, the 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year's. I think that most families try to keep the emphasis for Christmas and Easter on the spiritual meaning of the holidays, Christ's birth and resurrection. We do give and receive presents on Christmas. For Easter my husband's family had their Easter egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter Sunday. My family woke up to hidden eggs, candy, and baskets on Easter Sunday. We never celebrate by drinking alcohol. Our family enjoys sparkling apple cider on New Year's Eve. Some cultural celebrations and practices may need to be revised or eliminated when a person joins the church. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle of Jesus Christ, explains, "To help its members all over the world, the Church teaches us to give up any personal or family traditions or practices that are contrary to the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ and to this gospel culture" (Ensign, March 2012). The standard for cultural practices is in the 13th Article of Faith, "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

Not only do we celebrate holidays and birthdays, we also use ordinances and blessings as a time to get together as families. Some of these occasions are baby blessings, baptisms, young men receiving the priesthood, when missionaries leave and return from missions, and weddings. Family support gives us strength. We also appreciate the support of our ward family or the other members of our assigned congregation.

A unique holiday for Mormons is the 24th of July. This is a state holiday in Utah, but many of us also celebrate or at least keep this monumental day in mind. The 24th of July or Pioneer day commemorates when Mormon pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. As a special family history note, my ancestor, Shadrach Roundy, was a member of the advance group. Brigham Young, the leader and prophet of the church then, descended into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24. Shadrach Roundy first saw the Salt Lake Valley on July 22 and along with five other men broke ground to plant seeds in the current location of the  City and County building. He was almost 59 years old.

My Mormon faith is based on Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Much of my Mormon culture centers on family. Being together with family for holidays and special occasions makes me even more grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who knew that we would experience great joy and growth in families.