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QUESTION: Do Noahides celebrate secular holidays (for example U.S. Independence Day, Labor Day, Canada Day, etc.)?
ANSWER: Celebrating secular activities and commemorating historical events, even if they involve a festive meal, are permissible for Noahides – for example, the Independence Day of your own country, such as July 4th in the U.S.
It is also permissible for Noahides to participate in nationally designated days which can be observed as a reminder and encouragement to praise and give thanks to the One True G-d. Examples in the U.S. are Thanksgiving Day and the National Day of Prayer.
The same applies to observance of days that are designated by one’s nation to strengthen logically incumbent precepts or to improve the settled nature of the society, such as honoring parents on Mothers Day and Fathers Day, or national days for doing acts of charity, goodness and kindness, or Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.
This also includes days to honor national heroes, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Presidents’ Day in the U.S.
Similarly, this also includes days like an Arbor Day to highlight environmental responsibility, if it’s done properly (but not as an idolatrous concept of worshiping the earth, or making environmentalism into a religion or a radical movement).
Of course, national holiday observances that are connected with idolatry should not be celebrated.
For our MP3 audio clip on celebration of secular and Jewish holidays, CLICK HERE.