Jehovah’s Witnesses, is it true you prohibit your children from celebrating their birthday?

Question

If this is true will you please explain why you have this doctrine? No offense, I just want to know because I find this is weird.

Sorry for the bad grammar. It should be, 'I find this weird'.

I respect their beliefs I just can't agree with the logic of it. Just because Herod or Pharoah celebrated their birthday will God be offended/send me to hell for doing the same thing? I think one must first prove that celebrating a person's birthday is evil.

Answer 1

Yes. True Christians are not preoccupied with the roots and possible ancient religious connections of every practice or custom, but neither are they inclined to ignore pointed indications that do exist in God’s Word. This includes that the only birthday celebrations of Biblical record are of pagans and linked to instances of cruelty. Hence, the Scriptures clearly place birthday celebrations in a negative light, a fact that sincere Christians do not disregard.

“The various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating—complete with lighted candles—in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year. . . . Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan custom.”—Schwäbische Zeitung (magazine supplement Zeit und Welt), April 3/4, 1981, p. 4.

Answer 2

Do Bible references to birthday celebrations put them in a favorable light? The Bible makes only two references to such celebrations:
Gen. 40:20-22: “Now on the third day it turned out to be Pharaoh’s birthday, and he proceeded to make a feast . . . Accordingly he returned the chief of the cupbearers to his post of cupbearer . . . But the chief of the bakers he hung up.”
Matt. 14:6-10: “When Herod’s birthday was being celebrated the daughter of Herodias danced at it and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Then she, under her mother’s coaching, said: ‘Give me here upon a platter the head of John the Baptist.’ . . . He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.”
Everything that is in the Bible is there for a reason. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) Jehovah’s Witnesses take note that God’s Word reports unfavorably about birthday celebrations and so shun these.
The various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating—complete with lighted candles—in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year. . . . Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan custom

Answer 3

Though true but much more accurately is that most Jehovah's Witnesses and younger usually not yet baptised members of their family choose not to celebrate birthdays.

Jehovah's Witnesses and their children are far from left out from joyous occasions. Often such occasions like Christmas and birthday celebrations are obligatory worldly occasions.

Jehovah's people endeavour to keep to the expected Godly standard found from the Bible in all aspects of their lives. There is nothing wrong for a child of a Jehovah's Witness to have other occasions of good things given to them at any other times of the year. And often these are times of love giving rather than just obligatory occasions because a certain calendar date is reached. The children already have a number of highly sociable friends and very active family lives that the shunning birthday celebrations is of no loss to them it doesn't enter their minds. They are given far more than a single one day to have love and good gifts showered on them.

Answer 4

“The various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating—complete with lighted candles—in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year. . . . Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan custom.”—Schwäbische Zeitung (magazine supplement Zeit und Welt), April 3/4, 1981, p. 4.

“The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born. The Romans also subscribed to this idea. . . . This notion was carried down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron saint. . . . The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks. . . . Honey cakes round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed on the temple altars of [Artemis]. . . . Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes. . . . Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his gods. The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good fortune. . . . Birthday greetings and wishes for happiness are an intrinsic part of this holiday. . . . Originally the idea was rooted in magic. . . . Birthday greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day.”—The Lore of Birthdays (New York, 1952), Ralph and Adelin Linton, pp. 8, 18-20.

“The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period in general.”—The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the Three First Centuries (New York, 1848), Augustus Neander (translated by Henry John Rose), p. 190.

“The later Hebrews looked on the celebration of birthdays as a part of idolatrous worship, a view which would be abundantly confirmed by what they saw of the common observances associated with these days.”—The Imperial Bible-Dictionary (London, 1874), edited by Patrick Fairbairn, Vol. I, p. 225.

Answer 5

Jehovah's Witnesses often reject birthdays as "pagan" and will therefore refuse to participate in them. In addition to this, Witnesses also reject birthdays because they claim that they are placed in an unfavourable light in the Bible. The Bible only mentions two instances of birthdays (at least explicitly). These are Genesis 40:20-22, and Matthew 14:6-10. Two pagan rulers are in view: Pharaoh and Herod.

Answer 6

From what I know they don't celebrate ANY holidays because of the fact that these holidays were established under one purpose, BUSINESS, and none of these holidays really are "HOLI" or HOLY... they're all man made.
They do however celebrate wedding anniversaries because they consider marriage to be a sacred thing. Personally, although i'm not JW I admire that part of their faith.

Answer 7

Honestly, because we are trying to be Christians, as we feel this the correct way to live. As you know, the only 2 Bible references to Birthdays was of Pagans celebrating them and included false worship (from our point of view) and murder.

As we choose to live as Christians, and feel it the right way, we show our children this same thing.

Doesn't mean we are against gifts or parties.

Answer 8

Jehovah's Witnesses believe strongly in God Jehovah and in his Son Jesus Christ.

Regarding birthday celebrations, 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/e/20050101a/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20001215/article_01.htm

Answer 9

I agree. That is a little strange. However, everyone to their own belief. But I for one, think it is a wonderful thing to celebrate the very life that God himself breathed into our bodies! The bible does not say it is pagan, it just happens to mention those two instances.

Answer 10

Yes it is true and they prohibit all holidays all of them they feel that all celebration are from man and man is evil and just wants to make money from everything we purchase well that is how i understood it when they come to my house there cool to talk to a lil conlicted but they like to come so i give them a lil something so we can chit chat