If you are Jehovas Witness, are your kids allowed to participate in school holiday events?

Question

Such as, Halloween parties, Christmas parties and such? Do they just have to stay home that day? Would it be breaking the rules if they went to school? I'm asking this for my brother not for me.

Answer 1

The majority of Jehovah's Witness children attend school whether there is a so-called "holiday" celebration or not. Jehovah's Witnesses do not share in any god-dishonoring practice.

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
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2004/12/15/article_02.htm

Answer 2

If it was just for one class, I would usually ask my mom to write a note to the teacher asking for permission to be excused from that particular class. If it was an all day thing, I'd just stay home. We don't celebrate them at any other time, so why would it be okay to celebrate them at school? We don't just decide when we would like to be a christian and when we wouldn't. We live the part 24/7....even at school. They're pagan holidays, so we treat them as such, and do not participate in them at *any* time. Hope this helps.

:)

Answer 3

JW children do not participate in school holiday events. If there's an entire day where that's all that's going on, the child would likely stay home. If it's just one class in the day, they would do something else for that time.

Answer 4

i might want to no longer help yet word different responses from non-Witnesses. The smart route might want to be to ask an incredibly practising Jehovah's Witness any questions you would have and then pay interest to the Bible depending answer. we would supply an answer from the Bible because we worship the in hardship-free words authentic God, Jehovah and that's him we are wanting to please and by no skill mere people. hence, vacation journeys which have pagan roots aren't to any extent further celebrated. those are basically a number of the scriptural concepts that one which reads the Bible and needs to observe that's assistance of their lives might want to adhere to John 18:36: “Jesus replied [the Roman governor]: ‘My kingdom is not any portion of this international.’” John 15:19: “in case you [Jesus’ followers] were portion of the international, the international might want to be keen on what's its personal. Now because you aren't any portion of the international, yet I extremely have chosen you out of the international, in this account the international hates you.” a million John 5:19: “the entire international is mendacity contained in the skill of the depraved one.” (evaluate John 14:30; Revelation 13:a million, 2; Daniel 2:40 4.) The Bible concepts already stated grant sufficient practise for those whose optimal favor is to do what's eye-catching to Jehovah God. You requested for a itemizing. when you consider that Jehovah's Witnesses are all around the globe there would properly be vacation's that we do not learn about right here notwithstanding the important ones are: Christmas, birthdays, Easter, nationwide or patriotic celebrations, Halloween.

Answer 5

My children do not participate, they go to a great school that understands our choice and stand by us on this, at xmas my son stays home and extra week while the parties go on , halloween is an after school thing, schools are usually accommodating in this regard.

Answer 6

No, it's against the rules and you can be publicly reproved for having any involvement in any holiday. Even disfellowshiped, meaning kick out of the congregation. I had to stay home or not participate at ALL.
I was raised a JW, now I'm born again Christian, I have a relationship not a religion. I really enjoy celebrating almost all Holidays. :)

Answer 7

no we don't get involved with any holidays. they are pagan. we don't celebrate christmas because it is not Jesus Christ birthday. when my children did attend school (now they are older) they went to the library when parties went on in the class. or they stayed home

Answer 8

My children spent many wonderful hours in the school library during those class times.

Answer 9

a girl in my school wasnt allowed to participate. she still came to school but couldnt partake in parties or gift giving.

Answer 10

I thought that they went allowed to celebrate holidays