Jehovah's Witnesses: Why do you....?

Question

Refuse to celebrate "pagan" holidays and birthdays because of their roots but DO take part in wedding traditions that have roots in "evil"....?? Some examples include:
Bouquet- Wedding bouquets were originally made of such strong herbs as thyme and garlic, which were meant to frighten away evil spirits.
Bouquet Toss- The Bride's tossing of her bouquet grew from her desire to offer a good luck souvenir.
Bridesmaids- Early Brides and Bridesmaids wore similar dresses in order to confuse evil spirits.
Wedding Ring- According to some historians, the first recorded marriage rings date back to the days when early man tied plaited circlets around the Bride's wrists and ankles to keep her spirit from running away.
Bridal Veil/Headpiece- A woman's face covered by a veil used to indicate she was spoken for. The bride also wore a veil as a disguise so that evil spirits believed to be lurking at the ceremony would not recognize her and do her harm.

PLEASE, no rehearsed answers you've been taught.

I understand why they don't celebrate holidays and birthdays. I understand pagan. What I am asking is why they DO take part in wedding traditions that are rooted in evil and pagan and superstitions...

So witnesses don't wear veils/headpieces? Have wedding rings? Carry bouquets? Or have bridesmaids?? I beg to differ. I was a witness for 18 years and attended several witness weddings, where an elder married the couple and all of the above WAS done. Now that I am free of the "truth", I would like an honest answer as to why these things ARE done and birthdays and holidays are not celebrated.

CAL: Shouldn't Witnesses be allowed to weigh the roots of holidays and birthdays and the traditions of each and decide which ones they'd like to take part in, if any...?? If they can follow that thinking with weddings, Why not with holidays?? Maybe they'd say the tree is pagan so they don't want a tree, but the dinner and gift giving is innocent so they'd like to take part in that... Why can't they dissect they holidays the same way they do wedding traditions??

Answer 1

these are questions that have been asked for years..I Will be surprised if you receive a straight answer....I posted a similar question and got a bunch of witness non speak back..good Luck.

Answer 2

Jehovah's Witnesses do not take part in traditions which have their roots in evil. While the premise of this question is false, it seems best to set that aside for now and address some of the ancillary points...

While bridal bouquets of garlic and other strong odors may be based in superstition, bouquets of colorful flowers are certainly NOT based in superstition. Thus. this tradition is not rooted in paganism.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not toss the bridal bouquet. As the questioner notes, this custom is rooted in superstition.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not have the bridesmaids dress similar to the bride.

Several different cultures simultaneously developed the custom of wedding rings. A few cultures considered the matter as part of their pagan understanding, while many others did not. It is false to pretend that wedding rings are always related to paganisms.

While some cultures used the bridal veil as a disguise against demons, others used the bridal veil for simple modesty and presentation. It is false to pretend that the bridal veil was always related to paganisms.

Incidentally, this entire post was typed without stopping (except for typos) and without consulting a single reference. The information is not exactly new.

Answer 3

Paul points out that “where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17; James 1:25 - God wants us to use this freedom, not as an inducement for selfish cravings, but to train our perceptive powers to distinguish right from wrong. (Galatians 5:13; Hebrews 5:14; 1 Peter 2:16.) Hence, in a matter where there is no clear violation of Bible principles, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not create a hard-and-fast rule. Instead, each Christian must weigh the circumstances at hand and make a personal decision.

Wedding traditions vary from country to country, thus it is impossible to comment on all of them. When deciding whether they will follow a certain custom, the couple would do well to ask themselves: ‘What is its meaning? Is it tied to a superstition that is a good-luck or fertility wish—such as showering the newlyweds with rice? Is it connected with false religion or other practices condemned by the Bible? Is it unreasonable or unloving? Could it embarrass or stumble others? Could it raise doubts about the couple’s motives? Is it in bad taste?’ If doubts exist on any of these points, it would be better to avoid that tradition and, if necessary, let guests know of the decision ahead of time.

Answer 4

Personally, I think the traditions that separate the Jehovah's Witness from the non JW relatives are the ones that the Watchtower hold up as against God. If you noticed holidays are for bringing people together. Grandma would visit with the Grandchildren and if she was not a JW she could still share this but, if it is against God then the JW has an excuse to stay away from Grandma on holidays.
Birthdays keep them from celebrating the happiest birth of all, the birth of Jesus. Even the Angels celebrated. They do baby showers but not yearly birthdays. Personally I think there is an a dark reason for everything the Watchtower does.
Check out this website, www.xjwphx.com

Answer 5

Wow this question is pasted allot.

Honestly, we don't do a bouqet toss, least not that I ever saw. Not sure I saw any of the things you listed, except MAYBE the veil and the wedding rings. Both are concidered as Possibly having pagan roots. Honestly the last time I saw this listing someone gave a totally different explaination of the reason for wedding rings.

It boils down to, if you know something is wrong, don't do it.

Answer 6

I live by Yahwah God's Word, The Holy Scriptures. The celebration of the wedding is in there when Jesus changed the water into wine--his first miracle.
The actual ceremony itself is not in the Bible, and Witnesses do not "throw the bouquet" or even participate in any of the worldly wedding customs as mentioned above.
Their's is a simple, quiet, sacred ceremony and legally registered.
I hope that this information clarifies things.

Answer 7

They don't celebrate it simply because theyre considered pagan.


Look up pagan in the dictionary and then maybe you will understand.

Answer 8

Because they did not think of it, they missed it.

But now they may work toward removing this and shatter the dreams of little girls and boys even more than ever.