Just signed up for my first Christmas party!

by Matty 17 Replies latest jw friends

  • Matty
    Matty

    I've worked for the same company since I left college, for a long time, and so some people where I work have known me for many years. I am by and large still known as a Jehovah's Witness who generally refuses social invites.

    I have not spoken a great deal to my work colleagues about my change of heart about my religion, just a select few, although people have definitely noticed that I don't preach at them anymore! The big problem I have is that there are one or two Witnesses dotted about the office block that would happily grass me up to my congregation if I started to be openly "worldly" and so I don't shout it from the roof-tops as I would wish.

    Anyway, this week I have signed up to go to the departmental Christmas party in early December, which will be about 200 or so people in a big hired hall. This would be such a normal, trivial thing for most people to do but here I am, in my thirties, going to a Christmas party for the first time ever!

    My question to the board is: Do you remember the first Christmas do you ever went to? How did it go? Were you too nervous to enjoy yourself and strut your funky stuff? Did you have the dinner and chicken out and ran out of the building before the disco started? Or did you get to snog that person you fancy from the office? Or, bearing in mind my circumstances, did you get found out by one of your Witness "friends" and get yourself into trouble?

  • kelpie
    kelpie

    I am organising my very first christmas party for my centre!! I am very excited about it

  • Leanerlou
    Leanerlou

    You are going to have a lot of fun! I remember my first and it was nice to finally socialize with people...thats my favorite part. I remember being escorted out of the room for birthdays and holidays back in elementary school and if we ever ate the cupcakes the teacher would rat out my sister and I!! I started going 5 years ago and I did feel a little guilty, but I still do sometimes. The whole experiance is really hard to shake from my mind.

    I love the holidays and I don't place any religous value on them at all, I love to see my "pagan" family that I has no ties with as a child because of the org.

  • terabletera
    terabletera

    firstly, merry christmas.

    My JW mom knew I was "doing christmas" last year. The JWs came around here saying they "heard rumblings" about us doing the holidays. That had to travel through TWO congregations to get found out. Yet, amazingly, it occurs in "the truth". Gossip, after all, is the only way to the truth.

    They didn't DF me cus my husband has always been "Worldly" and made it ever so clear that he would remain so even while I was very JW. So they went with it that the lights all over the house were his doing. Who cares? I didn't. I only tried not to DA myself because I did'nt want my mother being pressured to shun me and she needs me. They have pressured her to do so anyway. So now she calls only when she needs help. Help that they increasingly do not give her as they did at first in effort to keep her from "needing" me.

    Guess what I am saying is...one needs to NOT care about being found out or else it is miserable. I think your going to this christmas party will say a lot that you have not said. I know the feeling because I started taking part in many school holiday events and am NOT up to telling them all how I left the borg. They never have been JW so how can they "get it"? If they look surprised and say the "Wow, I sure didn't expect to see you here.." You can respond in a very nice tone, "I am sure of that. I think though you can expect to see me here next year too." If they push for more information, likely they won't. You can just do as I did, "I just had to leave it behind" and left it at that.

    Well, I'm off to go vote.

  • ISP
    ISP

    Nice one Matty!

    I've been on a few...but only a few! Seems strange how the WTS will look down on you for going......when it was OK for them to ride the wild beast for ten yrs....

    ISP

  • larc
    larc

    Matty, have a good time at the party. I do have two pieces of advice for you. Don't ever snog someone from work. That is a very bad idea. Have a good time, but don't drink alcohol. I have seen people make real fools of themselves at company events. I like to drink, but I never drink at such events.

  • Matty
    Matty

    Larc, yes, wise words - although I haven't been to a office Christmas do before, I have certainly listened to the after party gossip and I know where you're coming from.

    Fair point ISP, it certainly is kinda strange!

    Thank you Tera, I guess I'm now getting to that stage where I'm taking a few risks about being found out, but not feeling too bothered about it. I'm glad I feel like this at long long last. It's my life, and it's about time I had a bit of fun for once and stop feeling guilty about it!

    Thank you Leanerlou, and welcome too! I also remember not being able to eat any of the cakes and stuff for birthdays and Christmas at primary school for fear of divine retribution! It just seems so nutty now, but I was so serious about it!

  • ISP
    ISP

    Matty, have a bad time at the party. I do have two pieces of advice for you. Do snog someone from work. That is a very good idea. Have a bad time, and do drink alcohol. etc,..........

    Tell us what works Matty!

    ISP

  • Matty
    Matty

    Well, I can't follow both sets of advice!!! I'm confused!

  • dsgal
    dsgal

    Actually,my family always celebrated Christmas when I was a kid.That was before Witnesses came knocking at our door and they accepted a Bible study from them.This year things are finally getting back to normal.My children and I have been planning how we will decorate the house and we're really looking forward to being part of LIFE!

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit