Fall Fairs/Harvest Festivals & Elder Killjoy

by nuthouse escapee 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  nuthouse escapee

  When my children were young my ex and I looked forward to going to the Fall Fair. We chose a rural fair as it was more interesting. There were cattle shows, a chicken barn with all breeds of chickens, and of course all the displays of fruits and vegetables. We looked forward to seeing the giant pumpkins that had been carefully milk fed to produce 'enormous' pumpkins. The best of fruits and veggies were judged, given ribbons and put on display.

  So we innocently mentioned to Elder Killjoy (our book study conductor) that we were going to the Fall Fair. Next thing we know he's launching into the, "it has roots in a pagan festival" tirade and I'm thinking OMG is this guy for real.

  I realize that there are pagan harvest festivals BUT....I also know that 'Jehovah's' people were to celebrate the ingathering and harvest of the first fruits, a week long festival no less. These people truly are Killjoys and try to find something to pick at no matter how trivial. We went to the fair anyway! Leslie
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  Quendi

  Good on you, Leslie, to attend the Fall Fair! The WTS wonders why its followers are ‘losing their joy.’ Well, it’s because of people like Elder Killjoy and his ilk. If they can’t enjoy life, they go out of their way to make sure others can’t either.

  I’m looking to see if there are any such things around my area in north Alabama because I definitely want to attend one. Festivals like that were fairly common in Colorado, and I have the feeling that many in Alabama like a good time as well. By the way, I have sent you a PM.

  Quendi
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  nuthouse escapee

  Thanks Quendi, received & repliedLeslie
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  Splash

  Don't take his response personally, it is a conditioned response to any and every activity, borne from fear.

  He is afraid that, since you mentioned it to him, if someone else finds out you are going and they take offence/are 'stumbled', he is in the firing line UNLESS he counselled you against it. He will come out with 'consider the conscience of others' and such like.

  If you describe it as a country fiar or agricultural show, you may dispel the stigma. That's if you want to.

  Personally I'd go and enjoy it, and take a JW friend along without telling them the conversation you had. You will all enjoy it - I enjoy these things too.

  If anyone gets heavy with you about pagan celebrations, you can very easily dismantle their argument and even use your example above to prove that this is something Jehovah used to command be celebrated. We're not under that law any longer but the WT still references OT accounts for our benefit today, what makes this any different.

  Don't be dictated to by weak, fearful people, on matters that you are free to choose for yourself.
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  designs

  Buy the elder a BIG Pumpkin
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  Balaamsass

  It got to the point we never mentioned going ANYWHERE. EVERYTHING has some ancient roots....even the days of the week. I got so tired of that stuff. EVERYTHING about western marriages have pagan roots. WTBTS is so worried about weddings...in ancient times people had a great party.... and then shacked up- they were married.
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  WingCommander

  May I suggest the Elder, and anyone else not liking fairs, festivals, or similar READ THE BIBLE?

  A good scripture to cite to them to shut them the hell up is this one:

  Colossians 2:16, "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by food, drink, a religious festival, New Moon celebration or Sabbath day."

  Take that, D-bag Elder!

  - Wing Commander
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  panhandlegirl

  nuthouse escapee, like you, I have always enjoyed the Fall Fairs. My SIL once won first place with her cake. JWs find fault with everything; so glad I am out and can enjoy whatever I want.

  Wing Commander, excellent answer, jws pick and choose their scriptures; disregard the ones they don't like or agree with.

  PHG.
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  blondie

  The Jews celebrated a harvest festival, in fact it was of the 3 requiring attendance (by men anyway).

  The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is quite a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous. Sukkot is so unreservedly joyful that it is commonly referred to in Jewish prayer and literature as Z'man Simchateinu

  Sukkot is the last of the Shalosh R'galim (three pilgrimage festivals). Like Passover and Shavu'ot, Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif

  The word "Sukkot" means "booths," and refers to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of wandering. The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is "Sue COAT," but is often pronounced as in Yiddish, to rhyme with "BOOK us." The name of the holiday is frequently translated "Feast of Tabernacles," which, like many translations of Jewish terms, isn't very useful. This translation is particularly misleading, because the word "tabernacle" in the Bible refers to the portable Sanctuary in the desert, a precursor to the Temple, called in Hebrew "mishkan." The Hebrew word "sukkah" (plural: "sukkot") refers to the temporary booths that people lived in, not to the Tabernacle.

  Sukkot lasts for seven days. The two days following the festival, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, are separate holidays but are related to Sukkot and are commonly thought of as part of Sukkot.

  The festival of Sukkot is instituted in Leviticus 23:33 et seq. No work is permitted on the first and second days of the holiday. (See Extra Day of Holidays for an explanation of why the Bible says one day but we observe two). Work is permitted on the remaining days. These intermediate days on which work is permitted are referred to as Chol Ha-Mo'ed, as are the intermediate days of Passover.

  http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm
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  nuthouse escapee

  Splash: agree Fairs are enjoyable & like I said, we went anyway. I just thought the elder was a total a**.

  Designs: I think I would have liked to introduce that elder to the giant pumpkin--head first! lol

  Balaamsass: Same here, we eventually adopted a standard answer when asked what we had done the weekend before or were planning to do. "Nothing Much" became the best response. Beats saying none of your @#%&*# business.

  Wing Commander: Some people are miserable and aren't happy unless they rain on your parade

  Panhandlegirl: Good for your SIL. I won 1st prize in the women's nail hammering contest one year. That was cool.

  Blondie: thanks for sharing that info on Sukkot. I checked that out on Wiki the other day. What I found interesting is the description given to the festival (as stated in your post) that it was/is considered the most unreservedly joyful celebration so much so that it is referred to as The Season of Rejoicing.

  So as usual we have elders giving personal viewpoints. Way to go for cherry-picking scriptures.Leslie