Holiday Viewpoints and Former Jehovah's Witnesses

by The wanderer 18 years ago 28 Replies latest 18 years ago jw friends

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  whyizit 18 years ago

  From my perspective, I love holidays. Many families come together at these times. I am thankful to God for them. We are given precious time together with family members and friends that we often don't see at any other time. We share the year with notes in Christmas cards, that perhaps we may not have written otherwise. We are able to show brotherly love toward people who might think it were strange, if not for the open participation that this holiday season invites. I thank God for the many wonderful memories that I have, because of my invitation to be a part of such a joyous celebration!

  Rom.14:5-6 and Col.3:16 sum it up for me.

  Many people who thumb their noses at holidays, don't hesitate to celebrate weddings and anniversaries. Weddings are shrouded in many pagan practices. But that is not what we focus on. We don't even know the reasons behind the veil, the cake, the wedding party. We assume they are signs of good things. Our heart is in the right condition. That is what counts.

  Anything can be made evil, anything can be made good. It is the individual person's heart condition that makes it one or the other.

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  DanTheMan 18 years ago

  It's just fun for me. No hang-ups whatsoever. To refrain from celebrating halloween or feel pangs of conscience about it would be to indulge my puritannical streak. It's my puritannical streak that drove me into that stupid religion to begin with.

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  lonelysheep 18 years ago

  I agree with AA and Done4good. I grew up celebrating them and have returned to doing so without feeling like I'm in the wrong.

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  hambeak 18 years ago

  I really don't celebrate the holidays but I do enjoy the social atmosphere and going to a few parties. I did celebrate christmas once. Tree and all but I was picking up pine needles for a year! Never again. BTW Welcome Back always enjoy your posts.

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  whyizit 18 years ago

  Let's try that again!

  I was trying to refer to Col. 2:16 and Romans 14:5-6. I don't know how I managed to have a glitch like that! Sorry for the mis-posts!

  Point being, that as long as your heart is in the right place, you can celebrate anything at any time.

  Personally, I love the holidays. I have wonderful memories of family and friends who are no longer here. Looking forward to making more memories with those who are still with us. I also enjoy Christmas cards and notes to and from people that I don't get to see very often.

  It gives an opportunity to spread the love of Christ as well. It is more acceptable to openly express your faith. Even with those who don't believe.

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  parakeet 18 years ago

  * When you left the organization how did you deal with the issue of celebrating the holidays?
  
  I dealt with the issue by celebrating the holidays.
  
  * Did you feel any sort of guilt or feel as if "something was wrong" when confronted with the issue of celebrating the holidays?
  
  Not a bit. IMO, the holidays are ENHANCED by their pagan association. Those pagans knew how to party. If you take away the pagan associations, the holidays would all resemble the JW Memorial, the dullest, most boring "holiday" ever invented. Life is short. Celebrate!
  
  * In general how do you deal with the holidays?
  
  By celebrating them.
  
  P.S. I thought you were taking a break, Wanderer.

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  cruzanheart 18 years ago

  The first year we were all "out" (Chris preceded me by 15 years and waited patiently until I caught up), we talked about the holidays and tentatively started celebrating birthdays. And we saw it was good. So we added Christmas. That was WAY cool. Then the kids decided that even though they weren't sure they were on board with the concept of Halloween there WAS candy involved, so, sure, they'll give it a try. And since candy played a part in Easter, we tried the Easter Egg Hunt, which was made more exciting by our basset hound who was able to find all of the candy before anyone.

  So there it is. We're totally "worldly" now and feel very at ease with ourselves, our neighbors, our friends, and life in general. To us, Christmas is a chance to watch our children enjoy watching US open presents -- they love to give as well as receive. Halloween is a chance to be silly and eat too much candy. Birthdays are a celebration of life. Easter is still iffy -- we can take it or leave it.

  This year our 13-year-old made two tombstones out of fiberboard to put in the front yard for Halloween. She carefully sponge-painted them to look old, and on one wrote in big letters: "R.I.P. Watchtower." That says it all!

  Nina

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  LovesDubs 18 years ago

  Holidays were always a big deal in my childhood home pre JW which I didnt become until age 30. So after I left I went back to those celebrations of life for my kids...and myself. I absolutley MOURNED not being able to do christmas each year. Id literally go into a depression around thanksgiving and stay that way until after New Years because I would see all the beautiful lights, and hear the songs and not be able to sing...smell the wonderful bakery smells of the holidays and the people coming together on my street for celebrations and dinners and getting to see family they hadnt seen all year. I love to give presents...I love to watch my childrens faces when they both give and receive gifts...The JWs are hypocrites plain and simple. If they can do anniversaries of WEDDINGS then why cant they do ANNIVERSARIES of births?

  If they do the Memorial once a year...which would be an anniversary as well...why cant they have a day (Thanksgiving) to commemorate the last supper and giving thanks and gathering together as Jesus did...those he loved and were his beloved?

  Hypocrites...unhappy ones at that.

  Loves

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  BabaYaga 18 years ago

  It takes time, Dear Wanderer, lots of time. Years. And you know what? That's okay. There is nothing at all wrong with that. Allow yourself to take the time you need to realize what YOU believe.
  
  People don't really care whether you celebrate these things or not... but believe it or not, they respect your stand more if it comes from your own heart and mind and that it's not some mandate from a quirky religion.
  
  I know that the transition is incredibly hard, but do try to enjoy the process, and celebrate each step into your OWN belief system.
  
  You are intelligent with a marvelous heart, my Dear. Your beliefs, your ethics, and your morals will blow the Dubs' out of the water.
  
  (Incidentally, I was just thinking last eve about how long my transition has been. My first sort-of sitting in on an Xmas celebration, years later deciding that I really should take the step and register to vote... having a big fight with my boyfriend at the time about me not going to a Halloween party with him and my "reasons" why... well. It's been a long road. Sometimes I stepped on rocks, but I look around at how beautiful the landscape is now.)
  
  Truly,
  Baba.

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