Not celebrating birthdays or Christmas?

[Doglover321]

I was working an agency shift yesterday when one of my colleagues confessed that she doesn’t celebrate her children’s birthdays or Christmas. They are only 8 and 4, and will be hearing from school friends all about Christmas and how many presents they’re going to get, etc. She said it’s because she’s a Jehovah’s Witness and wants to raise her girls as Witnesses also, but I can’t help but feel sad for them.

Some time ago I saw a terribly sad film about a gay man with AIDs who was completely ‘exiled’ from his JW family and community, because of his sexuality, which IIRC he’d kept hidden before he fell ill.
IIRC it was a ‘faction’ piece from Denmark

I've never had a Mormon knock but if they did yes they would.

I think all religions are cults, but JW's are the cultish of them all!!

@Green777
Abstaining from blood in their view is a direct command from God, as with other religions. Other religions also prohibit pork, alcohol, drugs. It would be extremely extremely rare nowadays for someone to die without blood, due to amazing medical advances.

Abstaining from pork, alcohol and drugs isnt going to kill someone.
Refusing a blood transplant absolutely would, its not rare at all!! nothing in medical science can replace blood when needed!

There are a lot of other religions that don’t celebrate Christmas, their kids are fine. I know a few families that are Jehovah’s witnesses and they do a present day randomly a few times per year where the kiddos get spoilt and they have a lovely day together so she maybe does similar.. Even if she doesn’t though, it’s really none of your business.

@Green777
A number women would die of haemorrhage in childbirth if they did not receive a blood transfusion. Also if badly injured in road accidents and those with severe anaemia. There are many cases where it's life or death.

As pagans we don't celebrate christmas, but then we don't bother with birthdays /anniversay either, no cards or presents. Saves a lot of hassle, just buy each other small thoughtful gifts through the year.
Works for us as we both agree with the arrangement.

I actually knew of a young witness woman who died just after giving birth to her first child from blood loss. She refused a transfusion.

She'd had an awful life prior to that.

She'd been abused as a child by a JW family member but it was never reported to the police because there weren't 2 independent witnesses to the abuse.

He got away with it. He wasn't even disfellowshipped because again, he denied it. There were no witnesses to the abuse.
That's a rule in the bible that they stick to.
Fuckers

The birthdays are a minor issue, she is raising her children in a cult.

What does Jesus have to say about celebrating birthdays? 🙄

More importantly, what does Jesus say about the sinners?
@Green777 your insistence that JW are following the Bible is laughable. I do not recall Jesus giving directions to shun the sinners. Quite the opposite. Unless, they are following the Old Testament, of course, in which case it is also unclear why they shun the sinners and not, say, disembowel and burn them.

She didn't "confess". That's her belief. Would you question a Muslim or Hindu person not celebrating Christmas?!

That's the school treating them cruelly rather than their parents. JW children at my school didn't go to assembly either (nor did many Muslim, Hindu and Sikh children) and they stayed in a classroom and did things like art. No reason to stand in a corridor.

Lots of people in the UK don't celebrate Christmas.

We have Hanukkah.

It's great.

We also don't make a massive deal of birthdays, but we do mark them.

Christianity isn't the only reigion.

We had a very religious Christian colleague who definitely tried to recruit at work, handing out leaflets, always talking about Jesus etc. it's what the bible tells people to do, to be fair, but most don't because of modern societal norms.

There's lots of examples of Muslim families (as an example) shunning children who leave the religion or marry outside the religion. Does that make Islam a cult? I know ex JW people that are still very much part of their JW family. I have 2 separate examples (as in unconnected to each other) where the family wasn't broken up. One where wife remained JW but husband and son left, all lived together for at least 25 years since (until husband died and woman moved into care). Other my ex boyfriend and his brother decided in late teens to leave JW, parents still very active but happily lived with my ex boyfriend. They were welcoming to me and didn't ever try to convert me.

Green777 is utterly delusional.
They're a misogynistic cult, with one rule for the elders families and other for the rest of the congregation. Domestic violence and child abuse are rife but swept inder the carpet. It's a joyless existence for the children, and those who finally get out are disfellowshipped and loose contact with their families.

If you know any JW children, among your neighbours or you children's classmates, please think of them. Give them a chocolate bar at Easter when everyone else is getting eggs. If you do class celebrations for your DC's birthday, send in a little gift or cake the day before so they're allowed to keep it. It will mean a lot. Many come from low income families too so don't get treats at other times throughout the year. There's no sparkle, no pretty lights, no magic, just bullying from other kids (and teachers) for being different. Always watching others having fun and never allowed to join in.

I will never, ever forgive my mother for raising us like that, nor my father (who wasn't a convert) for letting her.

No christmas here. Don't see why people need presents just because supposedly it's a babys birthday that was born years ago in a Stable.
What's it got to do with us.
We have our own special day our birthday, not somebody else's birthday.
So I believe in making a birthday.
Life would be easier and less stressful if other people knocked Xmas present buying on the head.

Do you have young children or ever had them or grandchildren?

I can't speak for other people's experiences with Jehovah's Witnesses but I can tell you mine and that of my husband who grew up as one. Anyone saying they don't cause harm, shun or shun non believers and don't shun for spurious reasons well pull up a chair because I have all damn day.

Tend to agree with that, same as mothers day, buy your mum something any day.

The Mormons approach people directly to try to recruit them although they don't knock at doors, they approach people in the street . They are regularly seen in two's walking along a main road close to us. I know the Mormons have a year or two at around age 18/19 when they are assigned to another country to spread the word and it's a huge, exciting honour for them. A rite of passage. The Mormons I've seen locally are invariably young, good looking, clean cut, smartly dressed and impeccably polite "all American" boys. I imagine they are chosen for that reason. They are certainly not intrusive or as persistent as some JW's can be. Occasionally they have said Hi on passing and I've said Hi in return. On the occasions they've stopped me they have been very pleasant and I've been polite and just said, "No thanks, not interested, I'm a Catholic". They are very accepting of that and move on. JW's not so much

Nothing to do with it.

Why do kids needs christmas presents?
It's not their birthday.

Perhaps why they home school to hire the abuse?
They are a nuisance. I met a woman on holiday once and she kept trying to give me one of their books to read.
I believe in scientifically proven fact, not ancient hearsay.

I once asked my long-standing JW friend what alternative gift-giving practices she had. She told me there's much more opportunity to be spontaneous when you're not tied to celebrating two particular days - if she saw something that she thought her DH or her mum would like and enjoy, she could buy it and give it to them straight away "just because", rather than stashing it away for months to hand over on a birthday or at Christmas

I can’t disagree with this as a concept as that’s exactly how our household operates. We see the organised dates/days as being so very Hallmark. We’d rather be spontaneous with our gifts and celebrations.

However, we sucked up the Hallmark crap and joined in when our kids were children. So we celebrated their birthdays, with gifts and party and Xmas with gifts and the seasonal celebratory stuff. Once they got to high school and understood how fake that was they were quite happy to stop with it all and do spontaneous instead. As adults who can do as they will, they haven’t reverted to days for the sake of it, all seem happy with giving those a swerve.

I was listening to Peter Andre talk about growing up as a Jehovah's Witness on the Parenting Hell podcast and it was really touching and lovely. He isn't practicing any more but it definitely dispelled lots of my prior thoughts about it.