Taking Back the Holidays

Quendi

With Canada having observed its own Thanksgiving Day, I am reminded that the holidays are approaching beginning with Halloween and terminating with Twelfth Night on 5 January. This will be an interesting holiday season for me. When I became one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I gave them all up of course. The two hardest to leave behind were the American Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. What I loved about both were the gathering with family and all the good food there was to eat. As a child, I also loved getting presents at Christmas. The cold weather, even occasional snow, made those particular holidays special for me.

Now I'm on my own two feet, and the approaching holiday season has made me think about them again. Some holidays I still won't have anything to do with, but I have gone back to celebrating birthdays as well as Mother's and Father's Day. As a Witness, I did take part in the Thanksgiving Day meal with my family, and to my great surprise the elders in my Birmingham, Alabama congregation completely approved my doing so, saying it was in obedience to God's command to 'honor your father and mother' as well as promoting peaceful family relations. And while I left the house on Christmas morning to allow my younger siblings to enjoy their presents, I was always present for Christmas dinner, somthing that was very important to both of my parents.

I have decided that I am going to observe Thanksgiving this year. As for Christmas, I think I will have a solstice observation, including a nice dinner with friends. I won't get into the gift-exchanging, but I will give and respond to holiday greetings. Marking solstices and equinoxes is important to me, and that is why I will do so this year with a clear conscience. As for Easter and the patriotic holidays, those are still on my black list; but I feel good about celebrating the others, especially since they add so much joy to my life and those whom I love. What plans do the rest of you have for this year and the ones to follow? I'd be interested to know them.

Quendi

ssn587

quendi good for you celebrate, and while your at it, remember to celebrate breaking free from the borg.

mamamo

Wow, those elders seem rather lax. Most of my rather large JW family worked at fast food restuarants. SO of course the only days we all had off were Christmas and Thanksgiving. We were told that it didn't look good to the neighbors, that we must be celebrating the holidays, so we weren't supposed to have any family gatherings on the holidays. This year I have contacted my cousins who are all DF and we will be spending some time together for the holidays. This will be the first time I will spend time with my family in 21 years. Facebook is a wonderful thing. So there will be at least 4 of us bad terrible cousins and their mom/stepmom all getting together.

AdaMakawee

I too celebrate the turning of the wheel and my favorite coming right up.. Samhain.

Isn't life wonderful after you're out?

Ada

WTWizard

Go ahead and celebrate whatever holidays you feel like. Some will be celebrating Halloween, while others still feel it's a blatant Satanic holiday and will not do it. More people celebrate Thanksgiving--that is, unless you live in Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Mexico, or wherever they don't do it on the fourth Thursday in November. Even more will do Christmas, since that is universally accepted through the world.

I also bear in mind that holidays will vary according to country as well as religion. Muslims have their own holidays, as do other countries. You will not observe Canada Day in the United Tyranny of Stupidity, but July 4 is a big deal. However, elsewhere July 4 is just another business day and you have your own holidays. Fact is, whether or not you abide by the Bible, you should just celebrate whatever you see fit in your country and locality, and as you personally choose--allowing others to choose whether or not to celebrate.

wobble

I celebrate every holiday there is ,religious ones from anywhere,secular ones from anywhere, by raising a glass to those involved.

I feel it is my duty as ahuman to join in the celebrations of other humans (actually it is because I am a drunk and look for any excuse to raise a glass !)

Broken Promises

I'm Australian so we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, though it sounds like a nice excuse to get together with family and friends.

Halloween seems stupid, even though I've been out for many years now. I think it's merely a big commercial exercise.

Christmas is fun and another great excuse to have fun with those you love. Here in Australia it's summertime in December so everyone has bbqs and picnics. Many ppl take holidays in January to it's a relaxed time of year.

I celebrate birthdays. I become a kid again because I never celebrated them as a kid, so I get easily excited by them, lol.

I think it's all a matter of doing what is right for you. If you want to celebrate something and it makes you and those around you happy, then go for it.

mrquik

Hi Quendi; Even as an elder, I took my family out for Thanksgiving. We had a "don't ask; don't tell" policy here in NY.

LongHairGal

Quendi:

I love the holidays and when I first started my "fade" the end of 2000 I made sure I got into Christmas, especially with the card giving to family and friends. I felt I had to mend many fences.

The JW religion is just a vacuum and I despise them for trying to separate people from their non-JW families. In fact, it was a Thanksgiving holiday many years ago that I had a light-bulb moment. I was all alone since I am single. I wondered where all the other JWs were since they certainly weren't all out in service. I wondered if God was only pleased if I were alone and staring at four walls. Meanwhile I could have been sharing a nice meal with some family or neighbors. I felt like I were in a self-imposed exile and like some nut in the hills fighting a private war.

I realize now that the real reason the JW religion does not want JWs to celebrate holidays and spend time with non-JW family is because they are afraid that once the JWs start experiencing or remembering the unconditional love and acceptance from their non-JW family and so-called worldly people, they will leave the JW religion.

Quendi

I have really enjoyed and appreciated everyone's comments on this thread. You have reaffirmed my decision to celebrate whatever I like and enjoy the holidays with my friends and family. Samhain is one of those days I have found quite interesting. I won't be celebrating it myself, AdaMakawee, but I want to wish you a good one. If any kids stop by my house trick-or-treating, I will hand out goodies to them.

I think LongHairGal is spot on about why the organization discourages any kind of holiday observance and celebration among Jehovah's Witnesses. It really does not want Witnesses to maintain their ties and connections with any and all outside the religion. Holiday celebrations reinforce those ties, and clearly that works against the philosophy and interest this religion has. All the talk about God-dishonoring pagan roots is a smokescreen to hide its xenophobia and misanthropy. What's worse, there is no alternative put in the place of the holidays. The word "celebration" hardly fits the Memorial occasion, as much as the Society would like to think it does. Talk of the celebration or "Memorial season" is bogus because aside from the ritual the Society sanctions, nothing else is done to honor God or Christ. Neither are the Witnesses encouraged to gather together in a festive spirit to celebrate anything.

So I will be glad to sit down to a meal of "turkey and all the trimmings" on the fourth Thursday in November; drink eggnog and eat other calorie-laden foods during Christmas and New Year's; and wish my mother, siblings, and close friends a happy birthday. I'll even celebrate my own when it comes around at the end of March. It is indeed wonderful to rediscover life again and to enjoy it to the full. Celebrating holidays and special occasions is one of the ways we can do that.

Quendi

Taking Back the Holidays

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