why don't Jehovah-witness's celebrate Christmas or birthdays?

Answer 1

The Watchtower cult tells its brainwashed devotees what to do and what to think.
Nothing must distract from the organisation's multi-million dollar publishing business underpinned by a lie that 6 billion people will be slaughtered at Armageddon and 6 million JWs. (paedos and all), will inherit the earth.

Answer 2

Nowhere in the Bible does it say you should Celebrate Jesus’ birthday or anyone else’s Birthday . It is better to be safe , than to find out come Judgement day , that you were sinning all this time.

Ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the Law and ( should God exist ) God won’t accept ignorance either.

I am an Athiest and I and I do not celebrate Birthdays or Christmas . I give gifts as and when the mood takes me – sometimes secretly, I don’t need an excuse to be kind and generous.

I remember once I secretly paid my sisters phone bill . I was cracking up laughing inside when she though she was going mad because she didn’t remember paying it . It was about 2 months later , she finally worked it out and called me B*****d for net telling her – she is a Christian btw

Answer 3

They both have pagan origins. For one Christmas is a lie. Jesus was born when it was warm and the sheep were in the field. Also, there are two accounts of birthdays in the Bible and both ended treacherously proving and making a point that birthdays are not to be celebrated.

Answer 4

We don't celebrate Christmas because of the pagan roots to Christmas. As well as the fact that Jesus was not born on the 25th of december as the sheep were in the field. There is no evidence in the Bible that the early christians celebrated Jesus birth or their own birthdays. The only 2 birthdays mentioned in the Bible were celebrated by people who didn't worship Jehovah and on both occations people were killed. On Herods birthday, John the baptiser was beheaded. So the Bible doesn't portray birthdays to be a good celebration.
God wants his followers to be free from pagan things so we feel that it is better to abstain from celebrations like Christmas and birthdays.

Answer 5

It doesn't say in the OT or Torah to celebrate Hannukah, yet one of the Gospels talks about Jesus celebrating the feast of the rededication of the Temple, aka Hannukah. So if the Son of God can celebrate a holiday that is not specified in the Bible, can't we?

Christmas is not pagan in origin - but no matter what day the church leaders picked to celebrate Christmas, it would have fallen on a pagan feast day since they had the calendar all full. They figured it was better to allow folks to continue customs, since it's not the custom that makes you Christian, but what you believe.

Oddly enough, I'm sure JW folks exchange rings and have thrown rice at weddings - and those both have pagan origins.

Also funny, there's a pic from 1926 with the then Leader of the JW celebrating Christmas, complete with gifts, wreaths and tinsel. Do as I say, not as I do??

Answer 6

Because the Watchtower society tells them they are pagan and JW's who celebrate them are disfellowshipped. Before any JW tells me otherwise, I am an ex JW and one of my sisters was disfellowshipped for celebrating Christmas, the story made the front page of my local paper.

Whilst they are right about certain aspects of Christmas being pagan, this does not mean that God does not use this time of year to spread the good news of Christ, God has used many occasions and people throughout the Bible to achieve his purpose, many of these would have been sinful in his eyes. If you would care to look at my profile you will see that I have just answered a question about holidays and Gods use of occasions/characters in more detail.

As for Birthdays, there is no evidence that Gods people did not celebrate birthdays, therefore the Bible does not command us not to celebrate them, MEN do.

It might be interesting to note, that whilst JW's do not celebrate birthdays and Christmas because of the pagan links, they do celebrate weddings with pagan symbols. The ring; the bridesmaids and the flowers are all pagan. Therefore, if God does not like his people celebrating pagan things, why do they still use pagan symbols in weddings? Are some pagan things more acceptable than others?

Answer 7

Because Jehovahs Witnesses do not believe jesus was born December 25th....and they would be right.
December is Yuletide in the pagan faith.
Birthdays are also pagan origin...
But that is not to say that Pagans don't know the true way to worship. They do. But they do it their way.

Answer 8

Just to keep things simple I will take Christmas, it is a pagan holiday.

It is true that we used to celebrate Christmas, it's a matter of public record. Thankfully we saw the error of that.

Ultimately the reason we don't celebrate Christmas is the same reason Jews don't eat pork. Because it would violate their beliefs.

Answer 9

Because they just celebrate the death of Jesus when they have the holy communion.
Of course Jesus didn't was born in December, the Bible gives clues about that in Luke.
The correct date doesn't matter the main point to celebrate is Jesus with us, Emmanuel, God with us. This celebration is everyday, not just on 25th December...

Answer 10

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 11

we are not brainwashed or a cult. a cult worships man. we worship Jehovah God. Xmas has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Jesus told us to celebrate his death not his birth. since Jesus Christ died on Nisan 14, the last supper. we celebrate all around the world in 236 lands. Jesus died at the age of 33 1/2 and if you count six months forward you get Oct not DEC. we do have parties during the year. someone said we don't have parties. not true. we also give gifts during the year and don't have to wait for a pagan holiday. one time I was in the store and a child ask her mother if she could get a gift and the mother said you have to wait for xmas. see nothing to do with Jesus Christ. if it is Jesus Christ birthday what does he get? nothing. ask a child what is xmas about and they say gifts. they don't even know anything about Jesus Christ. also Jesus Christ never grows up during xmas. babies grow up. also no place in the bible does it say that Jesus Christ was born on Dec 25, but the bible tells us he died on Nisan 14th. people say we are brainwashed or a cult because we don't celebrate xmas. we are christians because we don't celebrate a pagan holiday