When You Were A Witness Did You Ever Celebrate A Birthday or Holidays?

by minimus 21 Replies latest jw friends

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  mamochan13

  For a few years we were able to go (us kids only) to my paternal grandma's for a Christmas celebration. It was fun. We'd sing carols and eat treats. Both grandparents always gave us gifts, too. Even though my dad was not a JW, he never celebrated, though. My mom always said it was because he was too cheap to buy presents which is why he went along with no Christmas.

  My dad did always buy my mom a birthday gift. She hated it and would make fun of his gifts. Us kids never got any birthday acknowledgement from either parents, though, although as an adult my mom would always call or send me a message telling me my birthday was the happiest day of her life. At her funeral they announced that the happiest day of her life was when she got baptized.

  My mom also always made a non-holiday turkey at xmas, thanksgiving, easter. And of course anniversary celebrations were always big. Talk about mixed messages.
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  jws

  As a kid, we always had a big family feast on Thanksgiving. Not that we called it Thanksgiving, but everyone in our JW family had off and turkeys were on sale...

  As a teenager I both celebrated my birthday and other's birthdays. Although I didn't make that public to my parents or other JWs.

  My sister, who is still a witness, buys Christmas and birthday presents for her grandchildren - sort of. They are given maybe a week or two before/after and claimed not to be Christmas or birthday presents. Or so my niece tells me.

  The same sister and I were both in Orlando in late October. We met up and went to Disney World. She kept on stopping in gift shops looking for princess costume items because her granddaughter wanted to play princess. Yeah, in late October? Couldn't be any other costumed holiday coming up, could there?