So it is Christmas, hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm, most of us (not all) grew up in the borg never knowing or doing things at Christmas, looking back now, what were some of the bs reasons, your parents, elders, Kingdom Hall talks, or Watchtower told you about not celebrating Christmas ....................
So this is Christmas, what were you told by family, elders & Kingdom Hall
by run dont walk 12 Replies latest jw friends
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run dont walk
one of the few things i remember was going in service everytime on Christmas Day, how stupid was that.
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wednesday
although we did not celebrate xmas, we longed to. My mom always got blue during the holidays, b/c when she was young herself, they celebrated xmas. We were inactive most of my very early years, but like a lot of jws do, still held to what jws teach. So we never offically had a xmas tree and all, but my dad would buy us one present and hide it until xmas.It was a crapy way to live, taunted at school by students and teachers also. We were just told it was not jesus birthday and even if it was we knew birthdays were not celebrated. The church of christ and another relijgion in this area also passed out leaflets during this season telling people it was a pagan holiday.
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Wolfgirl
I was so indoctrinated, that by the time I was 2, I walked into my grandparents' house (non-JWs all their lives), saw their Christmas tree, and said, "Christmas is bad. You're going to die." They have never forgiven my parents for that. They're definitely grateful I'm out.
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shamus
Wolfgirl,
OMG! What a slap-in the face example of how demented Jehovahs Witnesses are! Out of the mouths of babes... How can people not see it?
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blondie
I had a strange life, non-JW father, wimpy JW mother. My father would take us around to see all his friends at Xmas. We would have dinner, enjoy the tree, get gifts, listen to Christmas songs. I grew up in a foreign country with all sorts of fun and delicious Xmas customs. My grandmother was a renegade Bible Student (the WTS celebrated before 1926) who had a tree and gifts too. I had non-JW relatives who sent presents as well. It was hard to go back to school and be handed the writing assignment, "What did you get for Christmas?" If I told the truth, would the teacher believe I was a JW in regard to the flag salute???
My JW relatives were tightwads and were happy not to have to get anyone gifts at any time.
Blondie
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xjw_b12
Wolfgirl said:
I was so indoctrinated, that by the time I was 2, I walked into my grandparents' house (non-JWs all their lives), saw their Christmas tree, and said, "Christmas is bad. You're going to die
That is so sad. That made me recall ANY Holiday, where my "preprogramed" response was....." we don't celebrate xxxxxxxx, it's a pagan holiday. I'm sure mom was proud of my indoctrination, but I do recall her squirming whenever a store clerk or cashier would ask " So what are you wanting Santa to bring you this Christmas.....
I even recall mom saying one year in early December, "wouldn't it be so right, if Armageddon came right on Christmas day, and wipe those smug smiles off all of their faces"
And Blondie.....what can I say except ..............(((((((((((( Blondie ))))))))))))
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willyloman
I hope you all got to see the A&E special on TV last night, the Boston Pops Orchestra's Holiday Concert. It's the first one I've ever watched. I was struck by the talent of the musicians, the obvious piety displayed towards "religious" music, the joy and innocence of it all. I thought, how could any think this is evil in any way? It lifted the spirits and and clarified my thinking on a number of things.
Amy Grant sang a song she wrote about what young teenaged Mary must have felt like carrying the child in her womb and being completed misjudged by others, yet secure in the knowledge that she was special. I thought, Witnesses would scorn, but who is it who is in front of millions of people expressing her faith so beautifully?
I wept for all the lost memories, strident judgmentalism and inaccurate portrayals I was both subjected to and fostered upon others, and I vowed to make up for it.
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blondie
Willy, I was watching that too and marveling at the music. I am a musician myself, but not of that caliber, but played in an orchestra for awhile. I always watched all the Xmas stuff. Some of the songs are so reverent of Jesus and accurate about the purpose of his birth. I will be going to the Messiah for the first time in my life. It has always been in a church and it still is. I can hardly wait to feel the sound waves flow along my skin.
Blondie
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willyloman
I can hardly wait to feel the sound waves flow along my skin.
And that's the point I keep making to my wife about our journey "out." You have to trust your instincts and follow them.