I post this topic for as far as I (and some of the people that I know) know, this holiday is new. I looked at Wikipedia and apparently it originated in 1978 but I could not find any information regarding whether or not this holiday had any pagan origins.
We all know the Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate any holidays and naturally when I asked my wife about this 'new' holiday she was a bit provoked. She went on with the usual spiel of "why do we need a special day to celebrate our grandparents?" and all. But I had to keep her on topic with the following (and I had to say it over and over as she kept going on a tangent).
- Grandparents Day is new, therefore there isn't any pagan origins attached (at least not that I am aware of).
- Are Jehovah's Witnesses allowed to celebrate it?
- If not, why not?
One of her responses went along the lines of, "Well, it may be new but I doubt we will be allowed to just celebrate it because it is new." My response, "I'm so sorry," with pity in my voice. Truth is, it really is a shame that witnesses must get their answers from their religious leaders first before deciding on whether or not something like this is okay.