Did you know Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate Mother's Day?

[Haole Girl]

I learn something new, every day, in my job. :eyes:

[Midlodemocrat]

1. They don't celebrate any holidays of any kind.

Makes for an interesting day when you're in charge of the Spring Party at the elementary school. :eyes:

[Haole Girl]

2. Hmm...

I was just reading that. I'm sure I must have known that at one time. Oh well, part of getting old must be re-learning. Sigh.

[madinmaryland]

3. They don't celebrate Grandmother's day, either!

:hide:

[realisticphish]

5. my mother is an elementary music teacher

and he has one jehovah's witness. He just doesn't sing the songs he's not allowed to sing. Parents are ok with it, it all works out

[femmocrat]

18. I have a student who is a Jehovah's Witness, as well.

He is a pain in the butt. Everytime I introduce a new lesson, he just assumes it has to do with a holiday, and pipes up, "I don't do ---- (insert holiday here)----."

He's in the first grade! (I know, kid... your mother already talked to all your teachers when you started kindergarten!) I don't even teach any lessons that are about holidays... and if I did, I would certainly give him an alternative.

:eyes:

[realisticphish]

25. he probably sees it as a benefit

"hey, i get out of stuff."

wait till he realizes that he gets no birthday presents...

Though I know some JW's bend the rules on presents

[CreekDog]

37. then always give him an alternative topic

such as "Wars that are cool"

:evilgrin:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

13. My mom's a teacher (scary, I know)

And she once had a parent flip out because she had cupcakes for some holiday and their kid was a Jehovah's witness. They wanted their kid to abstain from the cupcake. Sounds pretty mean to me.

[Shell Beau]

Really. The kid should be able to have a damn cupcake.

It isn't like he has to celebrate whatever. Just eat the cupcake because he is a kid. It does seem kinda cruel. I understand observing one's religion, but it is a cupcake.

[CreekDog]

36. or birthdays

even Jesus's. :wtf:

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. what do they do for fun?

[Duer 157099]

6. Go door-to-door and annoy the living hell out of everyone else n/t

[Haole Girl]

7. I was going to say that very same thing

But I figured I'd stirred up enough, already.

:rofl:

[alphafemale]

8. Even on Christmas Fucking Day.

They've come to our house on 12/25 every year for like 5 outta 5
Seriously.

wtf

I don't even really DO Xmas.

And I'm...

:wtf:

[msanthrope]

20. I had that happen, a guy and his very bored teenager.

On Christmas Day. During the middle of Christmas dinner.

I ended up yelling at him to quit his cheap religion and go buy his kid some presents.

Not my finest hour.

[CreekDog]

40. Oh, I think it was

:rofl: :hug:

[guitar man]

32. exactly

Them and the Mormons. I love this video :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2952755274215408701&ei=hKEBStrfJYvc-gGO2fH7CQ&q=john+safran+vs+mormons&hl=en

[Inspired]

15. All my mom does is talk about how other religions lie. It's quite boring.

[CreekDog]

38. Roller Coasters

those are okay. :shrug:

[Left Is Write]

9. Yes, I did.

[hunter]

10. Welcome to my childhood.

Fortunately my mom got booted out of the cult because she couldn't stay out of politics, and much to my dad's relief. She was pretty much at war with the Catholics too because they weren't pacifists and she had some serious arguments with St. Paul and a few rotten priests and bishops too. The Quakers took us in. But I never did get a proper kid's birthday party, and Easter and Christmas were family power struggles between the over-the-top Christian adopters of Pagan Rituals like Easter Eggs and Christmas Trees, and those who rejected such ritual.

It strengthened my character not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school, I'm sure.

My mom especially hated Valentine's day.

Now that I'm all grown up and married with kids we simply go to Mass on Sunday, and we are very lucky to live in a liberal parish with a strong commitment to social justice. I say lucky because I get along with right wing "conservative" Catholics about as well as my mom did.

[Symarip]

11. I was a Jay Dub until I was 7

Strange bunch.

[no name no slogan]

12. Nor birthdays, either

My closest co-worker is a JW (a minister, even), and he oftentimes works on certain holidays even when nobody's in the office.

On the "holidays" he does take, he often spends the day on mission work.

I may not agree with his religion, but he's very sincere and believes every word of it. Plus, they're not doing any harm to anybody else, so I say live and let live.

[Inspired]

14. I'm still buying my mom something...I always do.

Even on Christmas. She's never refused a gift yet. She says that Jehovah's Witnesses can give gifts, and accept them. They just don't associate the gift with a holiday. Maybe we are cheating but she says that to never give a gift, and call it a religious belief, is just being cheap!

[mzteris]

16. they don't celebrate anything -

not even birthdays - or the Tooth Fairy!!

One of my foster kids was transferred to a JW household and lost his first tooth there. Poor kid didn't understand why the TF didn't visit him. :(

[av8rdave]

17. Any guess why? Are they all immaculately conceived?

[Inchworm]

19. Heaven also has a fixed population

I had to debrief my daughter weekly for 6 months or so.

They have some weird takes on things.

:hi:

[no name no slogan]

22. Yup. But the post-apocalyptic Earth does not

And, it will be a paradise, just like the garden of Eden. So, even if you're not one of the lucky 144,000 to get into heaven, at least you've got a refurbished Earth to frolic on.

[suninvited]

23. which reminds me

Life after People is on the History Channel tonight.

[Inchworm]

26. There were a few other things that got me

God has a name.. science is trickery.. no blood if in a wreck.. Jesus was shish-ka-bobbed..

These are just off the top of my head :D

:eyes:

[jmm]

24. I learned that the hard way

One year when I was in school while trying to take a normally 3 hr bus ride that ended up being over 6 hrs for a visit home I got stuck on a full bus next to a Jehovah's Witness x(.

I tried to politely end the conversation but somewhere around the time he shoved pamphlets inches away from my face I told him he didn't deserve heaven, even on earth.

[suninvited]

21. I dated a Jehovah's Witness for a while

and he seemed like a pretty normal guy, for the most part.

When it was my birthday, he told me, "forgive me if I don't tell you Happy Birthday, we don't believe in that".

I told him, "Listen asshole, if you can f**k me, you can tell me Happy Birthday".

We never saw each other again.

[CreekDog]

41. because his religion was so important to him that he had to celebrate the birthday rule

but not the one about chastity. :eyes:

[Kat45]

27. What is their reasoning for not celebrating holidays?

I didn't know about that.

[Sebastian Doyle]

29. They claim that the only people celebrating any holidays in the Bible were evil

Herod, the Pharoah, etc.

Therefore, only evil people celebrate holidays, so Jehova doesn't want you to.

Seriously, that's their reason.

[Kat45]

33. But, but...didn't Jesus and the disciples celebrate Passover??!

:shrug:

[Sebastian Doyle]

35. I guess they figure they get a pass (no pun intended) on that one

Because the first Passover involved the direct action of Jehova himself, and Jesus certainly wouldn't have done anything to piss off His Dad.

[CreekDog]

42. they have an answer for that

:eyes:

[no name no slogan]

34. The reason I heard is that they're idolitrous, and many are pagan

Which, in a way, kind of makes sense.

Christmas as we celebrate it was based on the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Easter is also based on a pagan spring holiday. Neither one were celebrated by Jesus in his time.

They do, however, have a holiday somewhat like Easter that's celebrated in the spring. This year it was on April 9 IIRC, a Thursday night. The local JWs dropped off a pamphlet about it when I wasn't home. Probably hit the whole neighborhood, as I live a couple blocks from a Kingdom Hall.

I have no problems with the JWs, and if they want to celebrate (or not celebrate) other holidays, let 'em. If they want to preach to people, more power to 'em. I doesn't mean I have to follow them, or even agree with them. That's what America is all about.

[seaker]

28. No worries

Everyday is Mothers Day!:party:
My mom said so!

[Blue Diadem]

30. Yes. A childhood friend told me they don't celebrate any holidays.

During my early teen years, I had a best friend who was a Jehovah Witness. I gave her a birthday card on her birthday and she apologized, thanked me for the thought and said she couldn't accept it. When my birthday came around she told me Happy Birthday which surprised me. The first time I met her was in Jr. High, when she didn't recite the pledge on the first day of school and a teacher got really angry with her, sent her into the hall and made a big deal about it.

[Deep13]

31. Yes, I did. nt

[Shell Beau]

39. I can't say that I know too terribly much about Jehovah's Witnesses.

Did not know that.

[Vidar]

43. What an offense to Our Father who art HallMark!