Why do Jehovas Witness not celebrate Birthdays and other holidays?

Question

I mean, why even bother being born or even being alive if you cant celebrate it? Its stupid.

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses are quite thankful for the gift of life, and regularly thank the Almighty for life in their prayers. Witnesses are also taught to honor their parents, partly because of the parents' role in giving life. But a birthday celebration does not honor the true God or parents, it honors oneself.

A Witness would be very likely to take special note of such birthdays as 16, 21, 30, 40, etc. His family and perhaps a few close friends would likely take note as well and perhaps even congratulate him privately.

However, Jehovah's Witnesses would not stage an ego-centric gathering around such an occassion. Bible students are encouraged to consider:

: 0% of faithful biblical Jews celebrated birthdays
: 0% of first century Christians celebrated birthdays
: 100% of birthdays celebrated in the bible were by debauched enemies of God (See Mark 6:17-29; Gen 40:19-22)

Bible historians (M'Clintock, Strong, and others) have noted that faithful Jews of the bible did not celebrate birthdays, and that ancient pagan birthday celebrations were at least partially intended to honor the patron gods of the particular day.

By comparison with such paganisms, the bible does not even tell us the birthdates of Jesus or ANY of his apostles!


Jehovah's Witnesses practice strict political and nationalistic neutrality, so they do not celebrate nationalistic holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day.

Other holidays derive from false religion, and so are incompatible with pure worship as adulterating interfaith. For example, Easter derives from the pagan god Oestre and celebrates "rebirth" and "fertility" instead of commemorating Christ's Last Supper and death as Jesus commanded:
(Luke 22:1-22) [Jesus] dispatched Peter and John, saying: “Go and get the passover ready for us to eat.” ...14 At length when the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them: “I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it becomes fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”

Seemingly innocuous holidays may have only a tangential connection with false worship, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day (although arguably derived from ancestor worship). Understated observance of these is not generally considered interfaith by Jehovah's Witnesses, but it is too easily misunderstood in some cultures.

Since such celebrations are not required in true worship, and can easily become a distraction, so Jehovah's Witnesses focus their attention elsewhere. In particular, they are focussed on the preaching work which *IS* a requirement for Christians:

(Luke 10:1-17) [Jesus] the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2005/1/1a/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2000/12/15/article_01.htm

Answer 2

Celebrating birthdays is rooted in superstition and false religion, but that is not the sole or prime reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid the practice.

Birthday parties began years ago in Europe. People believed in good and evil spirits, sometimes called good and evil fairies. Everyone was afraid of these spirits, that they would cause harm to the birthday celebrant, and so he was surrounded by friends and relatives whose good wishes, and very presence, would protect him against the unknown dangers that the birthday held. Giving gifts brought even greater protection. Eating together provided a further safeguard and helped to bring the blessings of the good spirits. So the birthday party was originally intended to make a person safe from evil and to insure a good year to come.’—Birthday Parties Around the World, 1967.

The book explains, too, the origin of many birthday customs. For example: “The reason [for using candles] goes back to the early Greeks and Romans who thought that tapers or candles had magical qualities. They would offer prayers and make wishes to be carried up to the gods by the flames of candles. The gods would then send down their blessings and perhaps answer the prayers.”

Some customs that were once religious in nature no longer are in many places. For example, the wedding ring once had religious significance, but in most places today, it no longer does. Hence, many true Christians accept the local custom of wearing a wedding ring to give evidence that a person is married. In such matters, what generally is influential is whether a practice is now linked to false religion.

Answer 3

Holidays and Celebrations

The fact that Jehovah's Witnesses do not participate in most holiday observances and other celebrations can be somewhat perplexing to a teacher. We hope the following helps you to understand why we take the matter so seriously.

Perhaps to a greater extent than you may have realized, many holidays and the customs associated with them have a non-Christian religious background. It is this that makes them objectionable to Jehovah's Witnesses. We try to follow the principle stated by the Christian apostle Paul:

“What fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial [a false god]? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? . . . ‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,' says Jehovah.”—2 Corinthians 6:14-17.

So if a holiday or a celebration is in some way linked to other gods or goddesses, or if observing it is contrary to our understanding of Biblical principles, we do not take part

Answer 4

you may not choose a faith from basically one occasion. He could be a Jehovah Witness, yet a bad Witness. as a techniques because of the fact the reason in the back of no longer celebrating birthdays, there are no occasion of the early Christians doing that, and no command of Jesus or His apostles which let us know to have fun Jesus' birthday, whether we are able to tell precisely while He replaced into born. yet for specific, it may no longer be twenty 5th of December, which replaced right into a pagan competition of the birthday of the sunlight God. This pagan competition replaced into later Christianized by the Catholic Church, hence the call Roman Catholic Church. i'm no longer a Jehovah Witness, yet i'm a Christian, hence a Christ's Witness, and that i'm no longer protecting the ideals of the JW, yet basically pointing out historic data. in case you study interior the Bible, each and each time a birthday is stated, a tragic component befell. On Paharoh's birthday, his butler or bread maker replaced into beheaded. and by using the social gathering of Herodes, John the Baptist replaced into beheaded. Celebrating birthdays have never been a Christian custom yet pagan custom.

Answer 5

They don't celebrate holidays because holidays are either pagan in origin or political in origin and witnesses have nothing to do with things pagan or political, based ont he way they interpret the Bible.

They don't celebrate birthdays because there is no mention of any such thing in the Bible.... Jesus said to celebrate his death, nobody ever said anything about celebrating birth.

Personally I am quite certain that God does NOT look down on the world on December 25th and say 'Damn them all... they're giving each other presents!'

Answer 6

If you really want to know the answer then here it is.
Early Christians never celebrated Jesus birth, they celebrated his death because of what it meant for them. If you research it, you will find that not one of those early Christians celebrated birthdays..it was something that pagans did.

JW's make sure that their conduct brings pleasure to God...so if any celebration has a hint of "paganism" then they don't celebrate it. Everything that they do is built around pleasing God and not taking chances with conduct or celebrations that he may find offensive. I realize that most people in the world, even so-called "Christians" don't worry too much about finding out what God requires of them...they tend to minimize it and that's putting it rather nicely.

Answer 7

Celebrating birthdays is sinful and selfish and unBiblical! So are a lot of other holidays.

Only a cookbook life of gathering new converts and getting ready for the Rapture is worth your time as a Witness.

PS: Ever talked to any burned-out, ex-Jehovah's Witnesses? These are the most cynical people I've ever met, even drier and more suspicious than ex-Mormans.

Answer 8

They look to the roots of celebrations and believe that they are not rooted in Christianity but pagan rituals thus not bringing honor to God.
They will tell you that they can give gifts on any day of the year because it will be from their heart.
They will tell you that the only celebrations in the Bible were ones celebrating weddings.
Birthdays to them breeds selfishness and idolatry of ones self which doesn't bring honor to God.
It's a crock of sh*t!

Answer 9

Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays because of two scriptures:

Genesis 40:20 Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cup bearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21He restored the chief cup bearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand; 22but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

Matt 14: 6But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod....

10He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

They view those two negative accounts, and the fact that the Jews didn't celebrate birthdays, as proof that God condemns birthdays.

As for other holidays, because many have pagan origins often associated with the worship of false gods, they view them as taking away worship from the one true God much as did the Jews when they made the golden calf in Genesis 32:4.

However, they celebrate other things such as anniversaries and wear wedding rings (which are of pagan origin) and at one time associated themselves with the United Nations whom they consider one of the beasts of Revelation, so they're a bit inconsistent.

Funny video: http://www.bohnsplace.com/betty_butterfield/jwgays.mov

P.S. Interesting that two JW's posted and I got 2 thumbs down. ;-) They can criticize others but can't take it themselves.

Answer 10

Because according to their belief they do not recognize anything that had their beginning in paganism and way way back-many people before they were converted were pagans,worshipping the sun or gods of earthy things-like thunder,trees and so on. Since the fir tree at one time was in pagan worship -do not use a Christmas tre and so on. Jehovah Witness Belief is also a cult-do not believe that Jesus Christ is God but is a angel,the archangel Michael which is untrue and in the bible it says Jesus is not a angel.I do not even talk to them because they teach heresy