Daily Meditation: Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Feasts and holidays - they should also contribute to the moral elevation of human beings

12/30/2025

An activity is meaningless if it does not contribute to the moral and spiritual elevation of human beings. Unfortunately, the goal of most human activity is money, power, glory—social advancement that is—or pleasure. There was a program on television one day about the notion of celebration. The panel included writers, film producers, sociologists and journalists, and they all agreed that holidays and feast days are good, because they bring people together, provide an occasion to relax and have fun, and give them a break from the daily grind. Pleasure, recreation and pastimes were the only aspects they talked about. No one mentioned that people might take advantage of their free time to make inner progress, to regain control of their destiny, to become more peaceful, more steadfast and more radiant. No, they were unanimous in saying that people need to ‘have fun’, to ‘let off steam’. When will someone say that a holiday should also contribute to the elevation, the betterment and the ennoblement of human beings?*