What do jehovah witnesses believe, and why don't they celebrate christmas, easter?

Answer 1

They don't celebrate Christmas and Easter for the same reason that the apostles and disciples did not celebrate Christmas and Easter. And they don't celebrate birthdays for the same reason the first century Christians did not celebrate birthdays. Here are two nice quotes concerning the first century Christians' attitude toward birthday celebrations:

“The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period in general.”—The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the Three First Centuries (New York, 1848), by Augustus Neander (translated by Henry John Rose), page 190.

“Of all the holy people in the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day on which they were born into this world below.”—The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1911), Volume X, page 709 (quoting Origen Adamantius of the third century).

Answer 2

Their beliefs are very similar to mainstream christianity. Key differences being that they do not believe in hell in the traditional christian sense. they believe only 144,000 are going to heaven. the rest of those who follow the faith will live forvere on a new earth paradise. They don't celebrate these holidays because they are not truly christian holidays. jesus would not have a clue what Christmas or Easter was. They are pagan holidays adapted by the church to make a smoother transition from the formerly pagan roman empire. There is tons of info on their website. Take wit ha grain of salt though because they leave out a lot.

Answer 3

pretty much what jen said was true except: A schedule of door-to-door canvassing is required where you distribute the Watchtower literature, acquire donations, and forward all monies to the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
If you ever leave the Jehovah's Witness organization, you are considered an apostate and are to be shunned.

you don't have to go door to door, you're not shunned if u leave, i have a friend who left and we still hang out alot, you don't have to anything like this and you don't have to go to meetings, look up watchower.org or wikepedia it ok

Answer 4

Both Christmas and Easter have their origins in pagan false worship. No Christian should be comfortable glorifying other religions and dishonoring Jesus Christ and Jehovah God.

Answer 5

Look for yourself what they say about themselves. Be aware that Jehovah was (is) a Fallen Angelic and NOT God. And probably has intervened in the life of first humanoids and did genetic manipulation in them. Naturally J.'s Witnesses are not aware of that and are being manipulated all along.

Answer 6

ive known them for awhile they do celebrate easter, but not many other holidays bc theyre not believing in them bc they have origins in pagan holidays so they say. it is true, but that is why the early church did them to take away false rituals to pagan gods, in order to celebrate the Real living God. if they ever say or argue you shouldnt celebrate a holiday it is written in the bible "let no one judge you or your festivals/holidays" celebration of Gods love is a good thing!

Answer 7

They have a whole bunch of beliefs but they dont celebrate holidays and birthdays because they believe its a pagan practice.

Answer 8

if you are really sincere and would like to know you can look up our website at www.watchtower.org.
there is a section that explains our beliefs or contact your local Kingdom Hall they would be happy to answer as well :)

Answer 9

Jehovah's Witnesses in a Nutshell


According to Jehovah's Witness' theology, God is a single person, not a Trinity, who does not know all things and is not everywhere. He first created Michael the Archangel through whom He created all "other things," including the universe, the earth, Adam and Eve, etc. This creative work took God 42,000 years. At one point, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society taught that God ruled the universe from somewhere in the Pleiades star system. They have since modified this to say that the "Pleiades can no longer be considered the center of the universe and it would be unwise for us to try to fix God's throne as being at a particular spot in the universe."1 Such changes and even contradictions in teaching are frequent in the Watchtower organization and when a doctrine changes, they tell their followers that the light of truth is getting brighter.
After Adam sinned, the paradise which God had created for them, was ruined. So, God instituted a system of redemption which was revealed in the Bible and would ultimately lead to the crucifixion of Jesus the messiah. But, in the meantime, God needed to have a visible, theocratic organization on earth to accurately represent Him. Throughout history, this true organization had a remnant of faithful Jehovah's Witnesses (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, etc.) but it wasn't until the late 1800's that Charles Taze Russell formerly began what is now known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society which is run out of Brooklyn, New York. This organization claims to be the only true channel of God's truth on earth today and that it alone can properly interpret God's word since it is the angel directed, prophet of God on earth.
When it came time for the savior to be born, Michael the Archangel became a human, in the form of Jesus. Jesus grew and kept all the laws of God and never sinned. Finally, when Jesus died, it was not on a cross, but on a torture stake, where he bore the sins of mankind -- but this did not include Adam's sins. Jesus rose from the dead as a spirit, not physically (his body was dissolved and taken by God) and during his visitations to people on earth, he manifested a temporary physical body for them to see and touch. Thus began the true Christian church of Jehovah's followers.
Throughout history there have been faithful Jehovah's witnesses who have managed to keep The Truth in spite of the "demonic" doctrine of Trinitarianism that has permeated the Christian church in "Christendom." Christendom is filled with pastors who are antichrists, in churches run by Satan, and who support the earthly governments which are all of the devil. In other words, all of Christianity is false and only the Jehovah's Witness "theocratic" organization lead by several men in Brooklyn, New York, is true.
In the late 1800's, a young man of 18 years, by the name of Charles Taze Russell, organized a Bible class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1879 he sought to popularize his ideas on doctrine so he co-published The Herald of the Morning magazine with its founder, N. H. Barbour and by 1884 Russell controlled the publication and renamed it The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, and founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (now known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society). Russell served as the teacher and guide for the organization which taught that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914 and is now reigning in heaven. When Jesus finally returns physical to earth, which will happen at the time of the Battle of Armageddon, He will set up his earthly 1000 year kingdom. During this 1000 year period, people will be resurrected and have a second chance to receive eternal salvation by following the principles of Jehovah's Organization on earth known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. After the millennium, those who reject God and His organization will be annihilated; that is, they will cease to exist. The rest of the Jehovah's Witness who have faithfully followed God's organization on earth will be saved from eternal annihilation and reside forever on Paradise earth. Heaven, however, is a place for a special group of 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses -- the only ones who are "born again" and who alone are allowed to take communion in their annual communion service. These are the ones who have "immortal life," all other Witnesses have "everlasting life." Those with immortal life do not have resurrected bodies. They have "spirit bodies." Those on Paradise Earth have everlasting life and consists of a resurrected body that must be maintained through eating, rest, etc.
When you study with the Jehovah's Witness, you agree to attend five meetings a week where you are taught from Watchtower literature. You cannot be baptized until you have studied their material for at least six months and have answered numerous questions before a panel of elders. Men are not supposed have long hair or wear beards and women are to dress in modest apparel. They refuse to vote, salute the flag, sing the "Star Spangled Banner, celebrate birthdays or Christmas, won't take blood transfusions, and they can't join the armed forces. A schedule of door-to-door canvassing is required where you distribute the Watchtower literature, acquire donations, and forward all monies to the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
If you ever leave the Jehovah's Witness organization, you are considered an apostate and are to be shunned.

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Answer 10

Christian holidays are pagan holidays. If Christians actually followed Jesus instead of paganism, they wouldn't celebrate them either.

But, they don't, so they do.