Do Jehova's witnesses celebrate ANY holidays?

Question

Please no crude answers. I am asking a serious question so as not to offend someone I work with and respect.

Due to having several co-workers in the past who are/were Jehova's witnesses, and even a cousin (who unfortunatly lives on the other side of the country), I am aware of *some* of the beliefs. I am aware that Jehova's witnesses do not celebrate birthdays or Christmas, Political or Religious Holidays (President's Day, Halloween, etc), but what about New Year's Eve/Day? Are there any holidays that ARE celebrated?

Please list references.

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses do not commemorate the holy days of non-Witness Christendom or any other religion.

By contrast, it's tragic that the one holiday Christ actually *DID* ask Christians to commemorate is entirely ignored by almost all of Christendom. It is, of course, the Memorial of Christ's death, sometimes called "the Last Supper" or "the Lord's Evening Meal".

(1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NWT) The Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” 25 He did likewise respecting the cup.. Keep doing this... in remembrance of me.”

(1 Cor 11:24, 25, NEB) "Do this as a memorial of me.”


Christ Jesus himself personally celebrated and explained the significance of that Last Supper to his followers (see Matthew 26:26-29). Christians who commemorate the Last Supper have done so on the same Jewish calendar date as Jesus did, Nisan 14, which generally falls between late March and mid-April. Interestingly, Christians in the centuries immediately after Christ's impalement were sometimes called "Quartodecimans" which literally mean "Fourteen-ers", because the early Christians were well-known for this true holy day.

How would Jesus feel to learn that the holiday he commanded was widely ignored, while his so-called followers chose to celebrate a pagan false god and their own traditions of men? We don't need to wonder.

(Matthew 15:6-9) You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/article_08.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20011115/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

Answer 2

Disfellowshipped JW
1982 Corning, CA Congregation
For cause, but not the ones some ex-JWs who want to put themselves on a pedestal, want you to believe, and know you will without question.

You've received some good answers here, so I will expand on them.


It should be noted that JWs do have many celebrations during the year, they just don't apply secular holidays. They are most often not planned more than a few hours in advance, perhaps at the Kingdom Hall on a Sunday morning. It kind of works in the same manner as a teenager having some friends over when the parents are away and it turns into party, only with no liquor. Someone will tell someone else, who tells a few others, that they are going to someones home, a park, a beach, etc. for a potluck. By the time you get home, fix some food and get to the location, there's a couple hundred witnesses there, from different congregations in the region. A few may bring instruments and they have ajam session. They play games like Yatsee or Monopoly. When it is done, there isn't a sign that there was a party there. I remember many of the late night parties at Moonlight State Beach in California.

The primary difference is they don't wait for a holiday to get together, or to give gifts. When going to the store, if they see something they think a person will like, witness or not, they buy, perhaps wrap it, and give it to them, our of love and friendship.

That's the biggest difference, no stress of the holidays. No need to be concerned with whether we have the right presents, spent enough, wrapped them right, hid them until the right time, and figure out how to pay the credit card later. I notice this last year that Easter has become much like Christmas, with the same pressure to buy, wrap, hide, and pay for the gifts later. Whatever you may thnk of the Holidays, the fact is that we have become the trained dogs of the major corporations who have trained us to buy.

Answer 3

According to the books I've read about Jehovah's Witnesses, members of the denomination do not celebrate holidays they believe to have false nationalistic or religious origins.

While they do celebrate weddings, funerals and anniversaries, they do not celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day. They will also not salute any flag, say "God bless you" when someone sneezes or refer to fellow adherents to titles other than "brother," "sister," and in the cases of leaders, "elder."

The Witnesses have a long history of persecution -- not just in Nazi Germany where they wore triangles -- but also in the United States, where the Supreme Court ruled in their favor, granting them the right to distribute their "Watchtower" newsletters.

I'm not a Witness myself, but I appreciate their contributions to society, and I appreciate your efforts to understand your co-workers and relatives.

Answer 4

Easter in the strictest sense, as a memorial of Christ's death.
http://www.religionfacts.com/jehovahs_witnesses/holidays.htm

The Memorial of Christ's Death
Witnesses do celebrate one holiday - the "Memorial of Christ's Death," which occurs at roughly the same time as Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover. This holiday is acceptable because it was instituted by Christ himself. The Memorial is the one time during the year in which the Lord's Supper is observed. The most recent Memorial of Christ's Death was held on April 4, 2004. {2}

Answer 5

No we don't celebrate any holidays, the only Day we hold as special is the Memorial of Jesus' death (the only day Jesus commanded his disciples to observe). This is held on Nisan 14 on the Jewish calendar ..... this year it coincides with April 2nd.

Answer 6

I was a JW for decades.

The only things that are allowed to be celebrated are the Memorial of Christ's death (Lord's Supper combined with Passover date) and one's wedding anniversary. As of this writing, the Watchtower leadership has not banned wedding anniversaries.

JW's pride themselves on being different and standing out from the rest of the world. Therefore they reject celebrating anything that the rest of the world does (except wedding anniversaries, so far). They even find reasons to condemn a day for giving thanks (Thanksgiving) or honoring one's father or mother (one of the 10 commandments.) It's probably just a matter of time before they decide that wedding anniversaries are just as bad - especially since their celebration did not originate among "believers in Jehovah".

That being said, however, you will find that many - if not most - JW's will be feasting on Christmas and Thanksgiving, and partying on New Years Eve. But they usually will only do it with fellow JW's - that way they don't consider themselves to be celebrating the holiday. (If they ate with a non-JW on Thanksgiving, for example, someone might think they were actually giving thanks, and they wouldn't want to give that appearance. )

I noticed a poster said that wedding anniversaries aren't holidays. Neither are birthdays -anniversaries of one's birth - but JW's don't celebrate them, either.

Answer 7

it is my understanding that they do not celebrate any holiday. I learned this one day when I took cupcakes to my son's school for his birthday and some kids had to go play, they couldnt celebrate with him

Answer 8

First of all there is no way of asking a Jehova's witness question without getting crude answers.

Wait a few minutes and ask the one that knocks on your door. I get them like 3 times a week ringing the door bell. LOL

Answer 9

No holidays, only the passover or lord's evening meal, which Jesus instituted.

BTW.....Wedding anniversary's are not holidays...

Answer 10

I understand that they DO celebrate Passover.