Hi Gang:
I thought you guys would find this article interesting:
http://www.catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=6&art_id=31266
Jeff S.
Former JWs' First Christmas
by jschwehm 16 Replies latest jw friends
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codeblue
I remember celebrating xmas once as a child while my MOM was still studying.........it meant nothing to me.Jesus wasn't born on that day, so there was no meaning into putting Christ into Christmas, since he was never there to begin with...
Now it still means nothing to me as an xjw...it is still not Jesus birthday.
Would you celebrate your birthday on the wrong day?????????????
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Van Gogh
Codeblue, Over here we nationally celebrate all Queen's/King's birthday's on the 30th of April, whatever their actual birthday. It's been a tradition ever since the early fifties - it somehow just turned out to be a convenient date: one the first sunny Spring days, just right for exploding into a huge street celebration and to have a huge flea market/garage sale. Of course this is the exact opposite of the reason to celebrate Christmas in the dark days of December, when you want to be inside nice and cozy, and cuddle up to each other with lots of dimmed lights, when you need comfort from the cold. Actually, now I come to think of it, I don't know of ANY active dubs - including elders - who do not indulge in the Dutch 30 April Queen's Day celebrations. But, wait, isn't the fact that Queen's Day is NOT celebrated on her actual birthday the perfect reason for the ever calculating, rationalizing jdub to soothe his/her conscience and actually engage in a bout of idol-worship celebration? Isn't it in fact the case that all those years we've been brainwashed into a distrust toward warm, intimate, personal relationships that the bOrg felt they couldn't get a handle on? My personal experience as 3rd gen jdud is that where all of my extensive family were or still are in, all family relations have completely disintegrated: no regular birthday get-togethers. Personally, I wouldn't actively start celebrating Christmas (at this point in my life). But where has all this supposedly theocratically correct chronology and time/date keeping ever brought me? Not even into a spiritual paradise… On the Service meeting two weeks ago TWENTY minutes of the “local needs” item were reserved for warning us to not light even the tiniest firecracker or eating on of the traditional Dutch New Year’s Eve doughnuts… These doughnuts (wintry weather, so people eat carbohydrates) can be bought on street corners for about two months around New Year’s Eve. But you just cannot have them on the 31st… This was all substantiated with irrefutable historical proof effortlessly lifted from the annals of Babylon. Why are the worldly’s so spiritually blind that they cannot see this for themselves...? But, why have I myself been so blind? Incidentally, I have interrupted my fading process - this was one of the last meetings I ever went to. (Hope I got my formatting right this time.)
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greendawn
Codeblue, why not celebrate xmas in December, it's not the real birth day that matters but what the coming into the world of the Messiah really means. People just enjoy the merry ambience of xmas.
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Panda
Since Christmas can be representative of many holiday traditions; and I think Jesus birth may be the newest addition. The basic underlining is about reciprocity and clan gathering. Most of our Christmas celebrations derive from Germanic tradition; thus the yule log tree decoration lights huge feast (slaughter of the animals --- also known as culling the herd) piles a bounty of protein for the rest of the winter. Let's face it the Germans know how to do winter!
My favorite parts of Christmas is the sharing of good times and good food.
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Benjamin Belial
If it wasn't for my current living conditions I would celebrate Christmas with a Black Mass this year. Maybe I can whip something together and head into the woods or something.
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Kenneson
Benjamin,
With a screen name like Belial, I can't say I'm surprised.
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under74
jeff- nice article. Mine was when I was 16. it was overdone...too many lights, too many presents, and we ended up with 2 trees...the first one died because we got it just before Thanksgiving and didn't know to add water. BUT it was good, it was the first and last Christmas we had with my grandma (the original apostate from m family)--she was going through treatment for ovarian cancer and passed away 3 months later.
It was a good Christmas, it even snowed that Christmas Eve. -
Benjamin Belial
Hey, I'm in Florida too.
And I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that, though I'm not sure you fully get the joke yet.
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garybuss
Van wrote: "This was all substantiated with irrefutable historical proof effortlessly lifted from the annals of Babylon."Hahahaha!!!! I love it! I love competent linguistic facetious sarcasm. Very good!