by minimus 32 Replies latest jw friends
Hello KWJoe, Welcome to JWN. What great friends/co-worker's you have to give you such a great party! What fun gifts!
Just Lois
PS When you have time, start a new thread and tell us a little about yourself. This is public, so if you write something, then change your mind, you have 30 minutes to change anything, even delete, once you post. All you do, is, hit the little yellow pencil, on the top right of your post.
We are very happy to have another "Truth Seeker" with us.
I have resumed celebrating birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, especially Christmas. As noted elsewhere, that is the conjunction of celestial events, seasonal changes and the joy of celebrating the end of the year. Birthdays allow me to shower love and affection on friends and family members, and I see nothing wrong with that. Returning to celebrating Christmas was not easy because the Witnesses have not been the only ones in history who have rejected the feast. But I liked the love and joy (not to mention the myriad of good things to eat and drink) which marked the occasion. Besides, I really enjoy both giving and receiving gifts.
When I think back to the Society's ban on all holiday merrymaking, I believe that it is part and parcel of its unceasing efforts to control its followers which sprang from the presidency of J.F. Rutherford and has continued down to our day. The organization has seen fit to intrude into every aspect of human life including both the innocuous and intimate. It seems so obvious now that I'm out, but when I was on the inside, I foolishly believed that celebrating the joys of life was something God did not approve.
I'm looking forward to Christmas this year. I will travel down to the American South to be with my family and I know my mother will be especially pleased to see me. I actually feel pity for any and all who cannot and will not take the time to celebrate life and give thanks for their blessings. The holidays give us every reason to do so. Is it any wonder that for Witnesses, whose lives are dominated by a cult which values asceticism above all else, feel so deprived when the end of the year approaches that many stage faux "celebrations" of their own?
Quendi
Holidays are a lot of work, and if I didn't have children I'd have a much simpler celebration. But I cheated my kids out of a decade of family memories, so i'm not going to slack off now.
