Do JW Children Still Call Adults "Aunt" and "Uncle"? (page 2)

Slave4_38y

Miles, it's a custom in South Africa as well. It's a sign of respect. It's also a custom in India. Please rethink your comment and reply again if you don't mind.

GrreatTeacher

We just called everyone by first names. I was 7 years old and addressing older brothers and sisters as Bertha and Harold. This was a south central Pennsylvania circuit.

Now I live farther south in Maryland. Children address familiar adults by Miss or Mister with their first name, like Miss Jenny and Mister Justin.

bemused

I was never a JW but I called close friends of my parents uncle/auntie when I was young and I think this was a pretty widespread practice amongst my friends' families as well.

Giordano

Growing up in the greater New York City area it was always brother and sister in the congregations and at Bethel.

We had an extended blood family and Aunt and Uncle was the way we addressed them.

Neighbors were Mr. or Mrs.

My wife comes from a large West Virginia family and it was Uncle and Aunt.

We had a friendship with a couple in Atlanta and she was Chinese and instructed her children to call us Uncle and Aunt as it was a Chinese way to show respect for special friends.

St George of England

A blast from the past I'm afraid.

We always called bros/sis either Brother Smith or Uncle John etc. NEVER used Christian names as children. Non JW's were always addressed as Mr/Mrs.

Now I hear 4 year olds in the congregation addressing 70+ year olds as John/Mary etc. Complete lack of respect and manners.

Uncle George or Mr England

OneEyedJoe

The only place I've ever heard of this was here. Growing up there was only one person (a close friend of my mothers) that I called aunt, other than my actual aunts and uncles.

OrphanCrow

cofty6 hours agoWhen I was young we were taught to refer to other adult JWs as aunt or uncle.
Was this also the case in other countries and does it still happen?
Was it just a custom or has the literature ever commented on it?

I think this must be regional. When I was young (a long time ago!) and still a little JW kid, I was told that calling people 'aunt' and 'uncle', was a 'wordly' thing. In our family, we weren't allowed to call people outside of our family 'aunt' or 'uncle'.

However, my super-duper JW sister moved to a different congregation and from that point on, everybody in her congregation became 'aunt' and 'uncle' for her son.

Miles4 hours agoI have never heard of this in my life, this may apply to redneck country in parts of the States where people are all related.

I don't know where you are from, Miles, but I don't live in redneck country in the US. Calling people 'aunt' and 'uncle' is a common practice, and used as a sign of respect, where I live and has been for as long as I can remember. And the people who live here here are not 'all related' - Canada is a multi-cultural place and I have heard these expressions from many unrelated cultures.

Maybe you need to get out more, Miles.

sir82

Not common in the US.

FadeToBlack

Still done in Poland.

snugglebunny

Yes indeed. It was considered a mark of respect when I was but a wee lad. But back then, all other adults were Mr or Mrs. Of course you could refer to adults as brother Fred or sister Janet, but then you looked mighty peculiar calling someone brother or sister if you met them on the street while in the company of non-witness heathens, so auntie or uncle was deemed a good compromise.

Do JW Children Still Call Adults "Aunt" and "Uncle"?

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