Châg (חָג, Strong's #2282), “feast; festal sacrifice.” Cognates of this noun appear in Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic. Biblical Hebrew attests it about 62 times and in all periods, except in the wisdom literature.
This word refers especially to a “feast observed by a pilgrimage.” That is its meaning in its first biblical occurrence, when Moses said to Pharaoh: “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our Rocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord” (Exod. 10:9). ) Châg (or chag) usually represents Israel’s three annual “pilgrimage feasts,” which were celebrated with processions and dances. These special feasts are distinguished from the sacred seasons (“festal assemblies”—Ezek. 45:17), the new moon festivals, and the Sabbaths (Hos. 2:11).
There are two unique uses of châg. First, Aaron proclaimed a “feast to the Lord” at the foot of Mt. Sinai. This “feast” involved no pilgrimage but was celebrated with burnt offerings, communal meals, singing, and dancing. The whole matter was displeasing to God (Exod. 32:5-7).
In two passages, châg represents the “victim sacrificed to God” (perhaps during one of the three annual sacrifices): “… Bind the [festal] sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar” (Ps. 118:27; cf. Exod. 23:18).