Posted by ANDY [ANDY] on November 26, 1999 at 08:24:59 {2lTH7z2znEqTvkv3njLwxhvS/hG.LU}:
In Reply to: Thoughts on Holidays posted by Searching on November 26, 1999 at 05:57:06:
Hi Searching;
You are right, holidays are special times for families. Being together with family is very important. It brings you closer, it gives the kids something to look forward to. It really is a great time of the year.
When we left the society we didn't celebrate anything the first year or so. We had that "PAGAN" issue ingrained in us, and we really had a hard time breaking it. First we celebrated our daughters birthday. Nothing fancy just our family. When it came time for our sons birthday, we spread out to us and grandparents. Now we have grandparents, and my sister and her family.
Thanksgiving wasn't so bad. My wife decided there really wan't anything wrong with having a good meal and being thankful for all we had.
Christmas took more time. We have only celebrated it once since leaving. It took several years for my wife to decide there was nothing really BAD about it. The "PAGAN" aspects that we are told so much about as JW's, are not part of what we do today. WE are not celebrating anything pagan. Like another post stated, there are so many other things that have pagan roots, yet the society has no problem with them.
The thing that really got me is that Russell celebrated Christmas, birthdays, and the other holidays. He didn't have a problem with them. The Judge is the one who seemed to have a problem with anything that brought family together. I sometimes think his family life wasn't so great, so that was the reason behind his banning of these things.
Romans 14 talks about not condeming each other for the days they celebrate, the food they eat, etc. No "MAN MADE ORGANIZATION" should be able to dictate what is good and bad. God didn't say birthdays were bad don't celebrate them. God didn't condem the gathering of families on special days. You are right, the bible tells of many holidays the Jews celebrated. Holidays after the harvest, a holiday for the new year, etc. If these were bad Jesus would have let us know when he returned, but he didn't.
Once again I feel that these strict rules by the GB are just another of the high control tactics used to keep JW's from being with their non-JW family.
When I was still active I remember every Chirstmas the P.O.'s wife had a party on Christmas day. She invited people, ALL JW's, and they had a big meal, played cards, watched football, etc. On Thanksgiving day there was always a group that did pretty much the same thing. Fourth of July the P.O.'s wife always went to her "worldly" brothers house for a BB-Q. This year at the P.O.'s house they were shoting off fireworks, had a BB-Q there this year, just like everybody else on the fourth. I guess if you do all these things with JW's it is OK. More double standards!
What ever you decide to do I hope you and your family have a great time, and remember that you are not alone. A lot of us have gone through the same things you are, and like I keep saying, it really does get better.
ANDY: