On Pilgrims and Pilgrimage

Me: "Who can tell me the pilgrimage feasts?"

Belle: "OH! OH! Thanksgiving!?!"
Me: "Pilgrimage feasts, Sweetie...not feasts with pilgrims."

Belle: "Oh."

The Three Pilgrimage Festivals - The Shalosh Regalim

The Three Pilgrimage Festivals are referred to in Hebrew as the "shalosh regalim". All three festivals have both agricultural and national significance.  The Three Festivals consist of Passover (Pesach), the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (Shavuot) and the Feast of Booths (Succoth or Tabernacles).  Click on links for more info. The name Shalosh Regalim derives its origin from the following Biblical verse: (Exodus 23:14-17) 23:14: Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year. 23:15: The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou           shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time           appointed in the month Abib - for in it thou camest out from Egypt;           and none shall appear before Me empty; 23:16: and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou           sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of           the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field. 23:17: Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God... Within the word "regalim" however, is also expressed the idea of a journey on foot or a pilgrimage, an important element in the celebration of these three festivals. "Three times every year shall your menfolk appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose, in the feast of Pesach, in the feast of Shavuot, and in the Feast of Succoth" (Deuteronomy 16:16).  Why do we teach these things to our children?  Because our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is found in every detail of each of the Biblical holidays...and the more we explore these things, the closer we get to understanding Him.  It's really that simple.   :)