by lavendar 40 Replies latest jw friends
Hi,
I plan on inviting a close family member ..(who has been a JW for several years).. to share Thanksgiving with us this year. My husband and I have never been JWs.
What exactly is a JW's reason for not taking part in Thanksgiving??
Could you suggest any "thought-provoking" questions that I could ask my family member....to hopefully help him realize how ridiculous it is NOT to share TG with us??
Thanks for any help!!
Turkeys don't chew and swallow the cud.
There is always the danger of gluttony.
That really doesn't help me.....
I was serious, Lavender. That is really what many witnesses say about Thanksgiving. I had this discussion with them when I was leaving the JWs, and challenged them on Thanksgiving.
Other holidays they reject for being "pagan in origin" - but Thanksgiving was invented as a modern-day christian feast of thanks by the Puritans, who had also rejected the conventional christmas and easter. I asked what could possibly be wrong with it -
And I got told that it encouraged gluttony. REALLY.
Of course, the real reason the JWs don't like it is because it was not their invention.
Thanksgiving Day is considered a "worldly" holiday by WT.
JW's are to be no part of the "world," ergo, no celebratin.'
Seriously.
They just can't stand for people to have a good time!
Syl
They also consider it a religious holiday.
I've never heard the gluttony argument LOL. Days when mom cooks a turkey I do tend to eat more than I probably should.
Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that has a whole convoluted list of reasons why it should not be celebrated, none of which ever actually made any sense to me. Like JWoods mentioned, the pagan origin is an issue. I'd say patriotic undertones can be included as well. You'll probably get the standard, "we should be thankful everyday, not just one day of the year!" responses.
The WT equates it with "Harvest Festivals." Here's other reasons from a 76 Awake:
"Today a growing cry is heard against Thanksgiving Day practices. Many feel that current attitudes and customs make it a mockery to call it a “Day of Thanks.” Why so?
In much of the United States, Thanksgiving Day is the beginning of the Christmas season—a ‘holiday period’ extending through New Year’s Day, January 1. So Thanksgiving (now the fourth Thursday in November) becomes the signal for the commercial world to press for what is called the ‘buying binge.’
Further, for many the day is becoming one for ‘saturating’ the public with sports events. The National Observer told of a man who insisted that his wife quickly feed him during the “half-time” break in the football game. “So after the poor woman had worked many hours preparing the turkey and trimmings, the husband said grace, ate his dinner, and was back in front of the television set—in nine minutes.”
While this is an extreme case, the increasing emphasis on sports and commercialistic parades has led more and more people away from any attitude of thankfulness. But how has the “secularizing” of the day, as it is politely called, come about?
Of course, for many the holiday is still a time of family reunion. And there remain those who sincerely view this day as one of thanksgiving to God. But with the rising tide of sports, the frequent gluttony and drunkenness, the trend definitely is in another direction. For a growing majority, having a special meal is the extent of “celebrating” Thanksgiving...
So on November 25, the declared “day of thanks” in 1976, personal decisions need to be made. Dedicated Christians certainly will not want to convey to others the idea that they believe in one-day-a-year gratitude. Really, should not all who profess Christianity encourage a spontaneous spirit of thanksgiving—from the heart—the year around?"
This argument doesn't work as well with Canadians because they celebrate Thanksgiving in October, which isn't the beginning of the Christmas season.
You'll probably get the standard, "we should be thankful everyday, not just one day of the year!" responses.
Yes, that too - for whatever it could possibly mean. (the bible itself makes reference to christian feasts)
I believe that while the articles may not have specifically named the sin of "gluttony", there have been denunciations of overeating and overdrinking at Thanksgiving in the magazines. Certainly elders I knew were fond of saying it.
I don't have any JW reference materials nowadays, but probably somebody here with access could verify that.
