Merry Christmas, Then And Now

by NotFormer 3 Replies latest jw friends

  • NotFormer
    NotFormer

    When you were in, how did you react when someone wished you a Merry Christmas? Was there ever a WT article about it? What there ever car group around-the-water-cooler talk about that sort of experience and how to deal with it*?

    Now that you're out, what is your current reaction? Do you wish a Merry Christmas to others yourself? How have things changed, if at all?

    * I know it sounds a bit trivial, but I also know that it often said** that JWs like to gossip about what "worldly" people say to them and to regale other JWs with their pithy retorts to such.

    ** On boards such as this in many posts going back through the decades

  • HereIam60
    HereIam60

    I've been "in" 40 years and have had the same job for the last 26. In my early days there I flat out told people I didn't celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa etc, and it was just accepted. No one ever pressured me and few ever asked about it. When you try to explain why, people don't really understand the reasons, or really even care. Nowadays I have fewer scruples about greetings, people mean them kindly so I just say "Thanks! You too!" .

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    HEREIAM60:

    Yes, in the end it was better what you did to just say Thanks and not bother with any boring explanation about paganism (when other things are pagan).

    Otherwise, Witnesses can end up sounding like “Bah, Humbug” and Mr. Scrooge or worse - have people feeling sorry for you and getting you a gift because they think you’re pathetic and that’s how I must’ve appeared.

    It’s true that the world doesn’t even care to understand why a silly group doesn’t want to celebrate Christmas. They are too busy getting together with friends/family relationships which are IMPORTANT things... I came to understand that because I was raised Catholic so Christmas was natural to me - then I experienced the needless isolation in the Witness religion. Never again..

    When I finally got the hell out of the Witness religion - Christmas became natural once again!

  • Beth Sarim
    Beth Sarim

    This is what the Borg does.

    It places itself & replaces the family bonds with it's demands.

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