I ask this respectfully, and do so after watching a favorite show of mine's season opener which had a New Years storyline. Hollywood tends to make movies and television show episodes centered around holiday themes appear warm and blissful. While I'm thankful to have never participated in such holidays, I can't deny my curiosity about ex-JWs that do celebrate. I'm not judging you by asking this, just curious as the very thought of participating in worldly holidays is completely and utterly foreign to me. Do the holidays do anything for you?
Since leaving the truth, do you celebrate holidays, and does your participation in such bring you happiness?
by Stand for Pure Worship 102 Replies latest jw friends
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Ucantnome
I'm not the festive sort
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unstopableravens
stand for pure: i havent left the truth, sense leaving the wt for the truth(jesus john 14:6) i have not done any holidays. i go by romans 14 as a guide to days and how to view them. keep in mind the wt is not the truth, everytime you use that term and apply it to anyone or anything else besides jesus you are denying what he said at john 14. besides how is it coming along with the questions i asked you about being born again? check out my dis assacoation letter i posted here last friday, i would love to get ur thoughts.
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ldrnomo
The holidays mean family time to me.
our extended families are so busy and the only time we get to see them is during the holidays or birthdays. I do find joy in seeing children getting gifts and feeling special on a certain day of the year. Why not I say. And what makes me the happiest is that I can do whatever I want and god doesn't really give a shit because it's not what I do or don't celebrate it's what's inside of me and who I am that god gives a shit about.
In fact I find happiness in everything I do now that I'm not being controlled by the Jehovah's Witness cult.
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Londo111
To echo what others have said, since the Watchtower is not ‘the Truth’, I didn’t leave ‘the Truth’. In fact, it was search for truth that led to my exit from the Watchtower on such matters as 607 BC, the Great Crowd, Door to Door, ect. As far as celebrating holidays, Romans 14 sums it up for me as well.
I have participated in a few holidays and they were enlightening to find how non-evil they were. I attended a birthday and nobody was beheaded. I attended a Christmas party, it could’ve been a JW gathering barring the decorations. Of course, being raised a JW, it’s not within my culture. I could take it or leave it.
Last Christmas, I focused on Christ and attended about five churches of differing denominations. Last Thanksgiving, the church I attended gathered with four other denominations for a combined service. It was a better display of Christian unity than any I’ve seen before.
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Hortensia
I've been out a long time. I did the holiday thing for a while, enjoyed some of it, dislike some parts of the holidays. Thanksgiving -- love the idea of friends/family eating a special meal together. However, enough turkey already. I think this year I'm going to the community Thanksgiving, so I don't have to buy a turkey and have all those leftovers.
Christmas, I like the lights, smells, cheerfulness. I like the idea of presents for kids. Pointless for adults, they can go buy what they want most of the time. I like cooking Christmas goodies, I make awesome fruit cake.
The rest of the holidays? I mostly forget they are happening unless I need to mail something and find out the post office is closed.
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Londo111
As a JW, there were quite a few Thanksgivings celebrated...only a point was made that we weren’t celebrating Thanksgiving and we were thankful every day (as if that was unique to JWs). But it was still a gathering of friends and family and lots of turkey and gravy. So it was Thanksgiving in all but name only.
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wasblind
I can tell you what the last day of school was like before we got out for christmas ( Years ago )
everybody would bring a gift under $5.00 for the person whose name they drew
I can remember kids gettin' things simple as paper dolls, colorin' books and crayons
hair ribbons and candy. Can't remember what the boys would give
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When My daughter was in kindergarten . They listened to christmas songs while they constructed trains made out of
hershey's kiss, a square of caramel, a roll of lifesavers , pack of gum, and used pepermints for the wheels
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It's nice bein' able to enjoy a moment to the full. Guilt free
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Comatose
How could you get together with your close family and friends and have awesome food, watch a football game, or play games and NOT have fun?
Calling the above a "holiday" does not diminish its awesomeness.
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UBM101
Hollywood tends to make movies and television show episodes centered around holiday themes appear warm and blissful.
Because it is true. Holidays is time for spending times with family and friends and have a lot of fun. Occasions like Christmas & birthday are the time we give (presents etc), nothing pagan being practiced. I grew up with all those warm, joyful and happy memories as a kid, those are the most antipated times of the year as I remember it.
What is wrong with having fun, showing love and spending times with your loved ones during these days? I just don't think that Jehovah is a God that forbids such acts when all He talks about in the Bible is love, joy and peace.