JWs and Christmas

by Slidin Fast 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  Slidin Fast

  Is it only me or do you think Xmas in dubland is getting more and more celebratory. Lots of people get more food in, more booze in fact more of everything.

  Families get together, they have parties (not too big). They have more to eat and drink than is good for them. They generally grumble when the meetings fall to coincide with the holiday dates.

  The idea of going out door knocking on Christmas morning (previously thought of as one in the eye for Satan) is honoured by it's ommision. The only ones still feeling the pinch are the elders who have to go on thier

  courses. They moan and complain abbout having to give up their holiday. In short although most dubs would be disgusted to put up a tree, decorate their houses or give presents they go as near as they can.

  It seems to me that every facet of dub life and principles is characterised by half heartedness, two facedness. I think they are pleased about being outside the gift giving rituals, they are too mean to do it.
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  OnTheWayOut

  I think they see Xmas as a great time to "get together" and they don't have the added pressures of gift-giving or competing with others on decorating. I never went out knocking on Xmas as I felt it was the wrong time to interupt family gatherings.

  I gotta imagine that most, like me, always enjoyed some of the Christmas cheer going on around them.
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  Quendi

  When I was a Witness, there was one family in the area that always had a big gathering on Christmas Day. Of course, there was no tree, holiday decorations and songs, and no gift exchanging. But it was a convenient day for many of us to get together and there was plenty of food, non-alcohol drinks, and great companionship. I always enjoyed myself on those occasions and I think everyone who attended had a great time.

  For what it's worth, I agree with the Witness stand on Christmas as far as its origins are concerned. Christ was not born on 25 December and the day should not be celebrated as his birth. On the other hand, Witness life is so barren of celebrations of any kind, that I can understand why many have what I would call faux Christmas celebrations. I've known of families who exchange gifts and have a big feast, if not on Christmas Day itself, on a day that is close to that date.

  Now that I'm out of the organization, I have taken a more relaxed view of the celebration. I still don't observe it per se, put up decorations, sing the carols or exchange gifts. But I have accepted invitations to holiday dinners that friends extend because I was considered part of the family and my presence was definitely wanted at the meal. I give gifts throughout the year to my friends and family so I don't feel the obligation to do so that many do at that time of the year. When I was a Witness, I don't know how many times I heard co-workers complain of feeling coerced into celebrating and participating in something that did not make them feel "merry", "joyful" or any other positive emotion. I always counted myself fortunate in that respect.

  I suppose that next Christmas will see me doing what I have done all the years as a Witness. I will spend a quiet day at home and rejoice that I have food, shelter, and clothing. Over the last ten years or so I do have a holiday "tradition" I observe. On Christmas Eve I watch the movie The Lion in Winter with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, and on New Year's Eve I watch The Time Machine starring Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimeux. And if I'm in the mood I will stay up until midnight to welcome the New Year.

  Quendi
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  WTWizard

  When I was still in, they made a big stink about Christmas. It was a day that most people happened to have off. So they would sometimes take advantage of that to gather together, provided a big fat boasting session didn't get in the way. They do the same thing during February and April school recesses, too.

  Now, they wouldn't even think of putting up a tree, singing Christmas carols, or exchanging gifts on December 25. I have heard a few that would drive their children around to see the lights--something I was told was objectionable. There have been warnings at Big and Great Boasting Sessions around that time that the witlesses needed to be careful about the Christmas songs that would soon be everywhere. I have also seen a$$emblies go right through Christmas.

  As for seeing "near celebrations", I have seen something like that once. I remember one year when, on Christmas week, I was invited to spend the night with one of the prominent hounders. They had company coming from Europe that week, probably taking advantage of the time off from work. The plan was for us to have the book study (at their house, which was normal), and for me to spend the night there. In the morning, we were going to go out in field circus--which got stopped by a few centimeters of snow and the father's getting called into work. We wasted the time visiting the a$$embly hell (empty) and an empty Kingdumb Hell. For sure, nothing that came even close to celebrating Christmas.

  Yes, I have seen it happen at other times. The scumbag that dragged me into the cancer had quite a few relatives in the cancer, and frequently they would visit our congregation for a few days at a time. Usually, that happened in the middle of February or April recess. In fact, it was during one of these school vacations that the scumbag's nephew (then 8 years old) was pushed on me--and now that I am out of the cancer, probably the early stage of getting me sexually involved with this nephew. Again, they were just taking advantage of children being out of school--and not that it was Christmas.

  As a side point, had I known that this sexual setup was happening then, I might well have gone ahead and put up the damn Christmas tree, put on some Christmas music, and started handing out the presents. Then, I would explain at my judicial hearing that at least that would stop me from being put in a situation of possibly having sex with boys. And it would have made it official--and probably an embarrassment.

  As for those who are stripping a Christmas celebration of its elements as opposed to merely taking advantage of the time off, I am surprised they don't have some sort of "loose conduct" code for that, too.