As among heathen nations, so also among the He- brews, feasting made a part of the observances which took place on occasion of animal sacrifices. In Deut. xii, 6, 7, after the Israelites are enjoined to bring to the place chosen of God their burnt offerings, tithes, heave offerings, vows, free-will offerings, and the first- lings of their herds and flocks, they are told, "Tliere shall ye eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee" (1 Sam. ix, 19 ; xvi, 3, 5 ; 2 Sam. vi, 19). These sacrificial meals were enjoyed in connection with peace offerinss, whether eucharistic or votive. The kidneys, and all the inward fat, and the tail of the lamb, were burnt with the daily sacrifice; the breast and right shoulder fell to the priest, and the rest was to be eaten by the offerer and his friends, on the same day if the offering were eucharistic, on that and the next day if it were votive (Lev. iii, 1-17 ; vii, 11-21 ; 29-36 ; xix, 5- 8 ; XX, 29, 30). To the feast at the second tithe of the produce of the land, which was to be made every year, and eaten at the annual festivals before Jehovah, not only friends, but strangers, v.ddows, orphans, and Le- vites were to be invited, as well as the slaves. If the tabernacle was so distant as to make it inconvenient to carry thit'acr the tithe, it was to be turned into mone}', which was to be spent in providintj; feasts at the place at which the festivals were held (Deut. xiv, 22-27 ; xii, 14 ; Tobit i. 6). Charitable entertainments were also provided, at the end of three years, from the tithe of the increase. The Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow were to be present (Deut. xii, 17-19 ; xiv, 28, 29 ; xxvi, 12-15). At the feast of Pentecost the command is very express (Deut. xvi, 11), " Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow that are among you.'' Accordingly, Tobit (ii, 1, 2) affirms, " Now when I was come homo again, in the feast of Pentecost, when I saw abundance of meat, I said to my son, go and bring what poor man soever thou shalt find out of our brethren, wiio is mind- ful of the Lord." The Israelites were forbidden to partake of food offered in sacrifice to idols (Exod. xxxiv, 15), lest they should be thereby enticed into idolatry, or appear to give a sanction to idolatrous observances (1 Cor. x, 28). — Kitto, s. v. See Alis-
GEMA.
For further particulars as to social entertainments, see Banquet ; and as to sacred occasions, see Festi- val,
LEASTS
612
FEASTS
Feast.?, or Festivals, in tlic Christian Church, certain d;'\s set apart for tiie more particuhir remem- brance of the proniiiient transactions connected witli our Lord in his redenijition of mankind, and also for the commemoration of the labors and sufferings of his apostles.
I. History ami Therir;/ nf their Observance. — (1.) " Some Protestants object to the observance of these feasts on the ground that such observance is contrary to the in- junction of the apostle Paul (Col. ii, 16), forgetting that in this passage the apostle alludes exclusively to Jewish feasts; others oliject to all such festivals as being popish, forgetting that thej' have been observed from the earliest ages of the Church. If a Church has power to ordain rites and ceremonies which are not contrary to Scripture, she has tlie power to set apart certain days in commemoration of the most im- portant events and persons connected with the first promulgation of the Gospel to sinners" (Eden). (2.) Festival dajs were hallowed in the Church long be- fore the rise of the papacy. At first the religious fes- tivals of the Church were observed voluntaril}', and never Ijy formal oljligation; but in the 4th centurj' various decrees of councils were passed, enjoining the observance of them as a duty. The number of festi- vals was original!}' small, consisting, besides Sunday, of Easter, Pentecost, and Ascension, and to these the Epiphany and Christmas were added at a later period. "The end designed by the observance of these festi- vals was to call to mind the benefits of the Christian dispensation, to excite Christians to holj' living, to of- fer thanks for providential mercies, and to aid in the cultivation of Chri-tian graces. The discourses which "were delivered on these occasions always referred to the most important topics of the Christian religion. Even the Lcrd's day, according to Eusebiiis, was said to have had a threefold origin, emblematic of the sa- cred Trinity — the creation of the world, the resurrec- tion of Christ, and the effusion of the Holy Spirit" (Bingham, bk. xx, ch. iv; Neander, Church History, i, 301). " The primitive Church were not careful to prescribe a specific time or place for the celebration of their religious festivals. The apostles and their immediate successors proceeded on the principle that these should be observed at stated times, which might still be varied as circumstances should direct. These seasons were regarded as sacred, not for any peculiar sanctity' belonging to the day or hour in which thej' were solemnized, in itself considered, but merely as being set apart from a common to a religious use. Some, however, have maintained that these festive da3's should be observed as hohj time" (Coleman, Chris- tian Antiquities, ch. xxi). After the 4th century fes- tivals were so greatly multiplied in tlie Church that later times bear no resemblance in this respect to the first ages. "JIanj' causes contiibuted to this multi- plication of festivals, among which may be mentioned as the chief, 1. The commemorations of martyrs and confessors already introduced, which led to the estab- lishment of numerous festivals in honor of saints, and to the superstitious use of relics, invocations, pilgrim- ages, and the like ; 2. Tlic errors of some sects re- specting existing festivals, to correct which the Cath- olic Church introduced new observances ; 3. Several laws of Constantine relating to the celebration of Eas- ter, the religious oljservancc of Friday in every week, and the feasts of martyrs ; 4. The celebration of Christ- mas, which was introduced in the 4th century, led the way to the establishment of other festivals in connec- tion with itself, such as tliosc in honor of the Virgin Mary. 5. The propensity of many Christians to par- take in the celebration of heathen festivals and in Jew- ish observances had become a serious evil in the Church during the tliird and fourth^ centuries. In Homilies and decrees of councils of that date Me 'find earnest protests against the amalgamation of Christian worship with Jewish and heathen rites, and a description of