Some Seasonal Nostalgia

NotFormer

Can't find any references, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. I remember, probably at least two decades ago, a small news snippet about someone was going around Brooklyn Heights and setting fire to Christmas wreaths on people's doors. I've always personally suspected* that it was a bored/semi-insane Bethelite. 😁

While searching to see if it had ever been mentioned here before, I found a thread started by Lady Liberty about how her JW neighbours attacked and destroyed her Frosty the Snowman decoration.

Do Christmas decorations trigger anything in the average JW?

*Only semi-seriously

blondie

I have never heard of that and I date back to 1952. But I do know that until 1926 the WTS celebrated Christmas and there is picture of it. https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/celebrations.php Now I can imagine Bible Students (before 1931) were told to destroy their christmas stuff, but my grandmother set up christmas scenes in the fireplace (not on fire) after that still, and it was the one of the reasons she left.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/celebrations.php

St George of England

Here in the UK there are plenty of people that dislike Christmas or anything else connected to Christianity. i really cannot imagine even the wackiest JW bothering to do anything like this.

George

NotFormer

As I said, it was only a little news snippet I read. It was probably 20-25 years ago. I've got it in my head that it was actually on the Reason magazine website. Why a Libertarian magazine would cover such a thing is beyond me; I don't remember very much about the article. But I do remember being able to email the author and ask him what he thought about me jokingly putting two and two together that it might be a Bethelite. IIRC, he said something about it being distantly plausible, but he wasn't holding his breath that I might be right.

Big Dog

I can see some triggered Bethelite that had been traumatized at the HQ out on some mad mission to burn the symbols of pagan idolatry put up by people actually out there enjoying life while he slaved for the Borg. It would fit the profile, probably a diagnosis available in the DSM.

peacefulpete

Actually one of my favorite childhood memories was shopping one evening downtown in the nearest city just before Christmas in the early 70's. The old large colored lights and tinsel was pretty cool. My JW family was one of the lucky ones as my P.O. Dad basically gave us a Christmas, just a week later. We never decorated of course but it was a great compromise. We were rather poor but we always got one nicer gift and a bunch of other stuff like socks and granola bars. As a result, I never had the hatred of Christmas some posters are dealing with.

NotFormer

Here's the thread about how Lady Liberty's Frosty was brutally attacked:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/126755/jws-egged-our-house-yanked-out-our-frosty

Big Dog, it's one of those things where it's not probable, but just remotely plausible. From what I've read on here about the pressures on Bethelites, the development of some psychosis or some OCD obsession isn't entirely outside the realms of possibility.

It's stuck with me all these years because I remember distinctly thinking: "Someone in Brooklyn Heights is going around destroying symbols of Christmas ⛄. I wonder if...? 🤔😱"

peacefulpete, your Dad sounds like he was one of the good guys. 👍

Phizzy

I always loved Christmas, the family all came to my place, some travelling from overseas to be with us, we had a big traditional Christmas Dinner, and plenty of Booze !

A good number of J.W's that I knew had the "substitute Christmas", presents on another day, I always saw that as slightly hypocritical then, but would not view it that way now of course !

In recent years we have done the full thing, well almost, but big presents for the grandkids, decorations, and even, Shock Horror, a Tree , a bloody great big real one, one year.

Some Seasonal Nostalgia

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