How do you say Happy Mothers Day when your Mum is a Jehovahs Witness?

Question

They don't celebrate any holidays or even birthdays.
I've been scared to say it to mine, because she might shoot vibes! I managed to send her a card last year.

Answer 1

do you love your mother one day a year or 365 days a year. just give your mom a hug anyway. yes we don't celebrate mom's day because we give honor to Jehovah only. my children who are over 25 tell me everyday they love me so I don't need a special day.

Answer 2

Tell her you Love Her...

By not going against her beliefs...
You are Showing her You Love her...
You'd be showing her that she did well in raising u up;
by respecting others. Whether u agree or not.

Give her a Hug
Make dinner for her, it'd b 1 less duty/chore she'd have to do.
She could relax, read, take a walk...& then be home for dinner.

I am a Witness, w/ 3 children. Since 1994; the kids were 12,10 & 8 when I started studying the Bible. When I stopped sharing in things that dishonor and disgrace our heavenly Father & Creator. I did not just stop and the children didn't matter. No, in fact I read the Bible to them, we asked & answered Q's together*. They each had a full understanding why these celebrations are not a good and honorable thing.
That what we were doing was pleasing to God, our Creator...and Really that IS the MOST Loving act that any1 could do.
*(If I didn't know the answer, I was new w/ the Bible, I'd go find it, and give the kids the answer from God's Word. Sometimes I'd have to get help to find it. But, I would find the answer.)

So when we stopped celebrating these events that have pagan roots, the children did not Lose Out of anything that is an important necessity of Life. In fact their lives Became More Fulfilled and Richer. Because we (by our actions) were bringing Joy to our Creator.
My children are grown now, and not only do they call me numerous X's a day. But, when they tell me of standing up for the Word of God...i.e. giving a good witness of Jesus or Jehovah or His propose for mankind. I swell w/ Love and Affection for my God Jehovah.
My children 'SHOW' me that they Love and Care about everyday. I don't want them to Have to be Reminded to SHOW the Love that they have for me.
'Cuz What kind of Love is That?
So Really don't be sad for us, we're Happy serving our God the way He wants us to.
There was something else????? brb
Oh yeah, We Do Celebrate Life... EveryDay!!!!
Only we show love, all the time. We give and get gifts often. My husband brings me flowers & other gifts when I don't expect it. 'That' is really nice, getting a gift when u aren't expecting 1.
We do celebrate Weddings, Anniversaries,
Baby Showers, Graduations, and any other wholesome gathering...like a B-B-Q, we have dinner parties, luncheons, there is a lot more to life, then worldly or national holidays.

How about the down side... You have to have $$ on that day, or that time. And what if u don't, then somebody feels as tho' u don't love him/her? Or putting it on a credit card that U Know u don't have the $$ to pay, but, do it n/eways?
Then the stress and anger sets in cuz' ur spending $$ u don't have. If ur married, it does cause arguing.
Or; doing things that God finds displeasing/disgusting?
God Bless and Have A Good Day.

p.s. 1 of the 10 Commandments---
Honor your Mother & Father.
it doesn't say, sometimes.

Answer 3

I am a JW and I think that you need to get a few of your facts straight. We don't celebrate secular holidays, everybody knows that. If your mother didn't want to talk to you that was her decision. And if she didn't want to talk to you there must be more to the story than your telling us here. JW's do not think that any human is Satan...that title belongs to Satan himself. If your mother gave away her material possessions, again, her decision. We do not all have flash homes and cars! I barely get by with a rented house and public transport. And if you think that we only help each other, then you have never seen us band together to help whole communities during times of disaters. EDIT: I know about the Governing Body. I studied the beliefs of JW's for ten years before I even attended a meeting. Your mother is not brainwashed. I think your annoyed because she believes differently from you. In regards to the Governing Body deciding if she was to be baptised or not. That's just silly! She would have studied for a period of time, then answered questions to establish that she had accurate knowledge before being allowed to do the door to door work. It's no different from Catholics/Mormons (etc) choosing who gets to be a member once they have shown themselves to be knowledgable in the religions beliefs.

Answer 4

You dont. U should aknowlege your mother EVERY DAY!! instead of once a year when the media reminds you to.

Jehovah does not want you to stop loving your mom at all. as a matter a fact everything Jehovah ask's us to do, is for our own good. even if sometimes we all dont think it is. in the long run it matters and it benefits us...

wouldnt it be better to remember the love you have for your mom every day. and take her to a special place just because you love her. Please do not be bitter over a day that she cannot celebrate but rejoice at the fact that you can see/talk to her 365 because there are those that cannot.

Answer 5

How did your mom react to the card last year? If you really love your mom, and I believe you do, you will respect what ever boundaries she feels appropiate. My own mother was one of Jehovah's Witnesses. So am I and two of my sisters. The rest of my siblings are not. My mother passed away in 2000, but during her lifetime, all of her children expressed love for her in various ways. One of my sisters and one of my brothers would buy her Mother's day gifts. She graciously accepted them, although we all knew she did not celebrate holidays and did not expect recognition on this day. Accepting the gifts was her gift to them because she knew it made them feel good to do it. My sister also buys mothers day gifts for all of her sisters, no matter thier religious beliefs. I also graciously accept her gifts because I know that they come from her heart. (Acts 20:35) I remind her that it is unnecessary, but she does so anyway.
Find out from your mother if it makes her feel uncomfortable and act accordingly. Really the purpose of the gift is to honor her. It won't do that if she feels uncomfortable accepting it. If she prefers that you don't do this, honor her by respecting her wishes. If you'd like to do something special for her, designate another day, just for you and her, to take her out and/or buy her a gift. Because of my mothers beliefs, each one of us who did not celebrate the holiday or avoided it for her sake, did something special for and with her each month. Mothers day occurred for her almost once a week. She was loved and honored all the time though.

Answer 6

I am the Witness mother of 6 children. ..some are witnesses and some are not but they all respect that I will not celebrate holidays.
My children call me all the time and tell me each time they love me..and I tell them how much I love them also. We give each other nice gifts all the time. You don't need special days to remind you to be nice to your mom or dad or anyone. Just be sweet all the time.
When you go against her wishes and send cards she may feel like you don't care how she feels about her worship.
So show her you are mature and forget the days of the weeks and the months of the years and let your love shine continuously

Answer 7

Most "holidays" derive from false religion. Seemingly innocuous holidays may have a tangential connection with false worship, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day (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 and thus is best left uncelebrated.

Other holidays are grossly incompatible with pure worship as unmistakably 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.”

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/e/20050101a/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/rq/article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2000/12/15/article_01.htm

Answer 8

Just tell her you love her. Or send her a card on another day.

JWs will not have anything to do with pagan practices or celebrations.

Mother's day is the day that Mother Earth is worshiped. (Rhea queen of everything). The bible is clear on worshiping anything or anyone else then God himself.

Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead [their] dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Answer 9

Maybe dont say the words. Just buy her a gift, give her a hug, and tell her you love her. That should be fine. A friend who follows that path said once to me that she didnt mind not celebrating holidays because she didnt need a reason to give gifts to her loved ones. I just sont get it though... All the JW I know are really sweet people, but I just dont understand not celebrating everything about life. I mean all the JW's I know are happy people and having never done it, dont know what they're missing, but I just cant get past the idea that god didnt put us here to ignore his creations, and obsess over him- if he had we could have stayed up there with him. I think he wanted to share his other creations with us, and let us live and experience. We should celebrate that. Shouldnt we?

Answer 10

There are 365 days in a year.If she doesnt celebrate mothers day then respect her wishes, she is your mum after all. Why cant you get her a card or present on another day? Im sure she'll appreciate it more for respecting her wishes. You shouldnt need to be told on one day whether to give her a card or not.

Answer 11

You don't. I read a book a while ago, written by someone who used to be "high up" in the religion for decades. The explanation was given that from 1925 onwards, individuality was frowned upon. Indeed, it had to be sacrificed, as detailed in The Watchtower article "Covenant or Sacrifice: Which?" In contrast to the highly personal, individual relationship Christians enjoy with God through Christ, JWs were told they had to sacrifice this to become "a Kingdom Publisher". (They were not told, of course, that minimising one's individuality is a vital step towards mind control by others.) When men used to wear hats outdoors, it was considered gentlemanly to doff one's hat to a lady. JW men were told to stop doing that as it put too much emphasis on the lady, as a person (i.e. as an individual). I believe that is what lies at back of them refusing to celebrate birthdays, with the excuse that it is "pagan" used as a veneer. Of course, JWs don't celebrate Father's Day either.

Why don't you miss out the card this year (it's just a money-spinning ruse developed by Greeting Cards industries) but buy her an unexpected present to give to her instead? Just tell her you love her, as a person, and admire her individuality, every day of the year, but you just had to show your appreciation with a gift, a hug, and a verbal "I love you!"