Why do Jehovah Witnesses not Celebrate Birthdays?
Watchtower forbids Jehovah’s Witnesses from celebrating birthdays. This article answers the question, why do Jehovah Witnesses not celebrate birthdays?
Birthdays are not celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses because we believe that they displease God.
Although the Bible does not explicitly forbid celebrating birthdays, it does assist us in reasoning about key aspects of these events and understanding God’s perspective on them.
Reasons why Jehovahs Witness Do Not Celebrate Birthdays
This part of the article answers the question: why do Jehovah witnesses not celebrate birthdays?
Here are the reasons Jehovah Witnesses don’t celebrate birthdays. Consider four of these aspects and their corresponding Bible principles:
1. Birthday Celebrations Have Pagan Roots
According to Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, these celebrations originated from the belief that on a person’s birthday, “evil spirits and influences have the opportunity to attack the celebrants” and that “the presence of friends and the expression of good wishes help to protect the celebrant.”
The book The Lore of Birthdays says that in ancient times, birthday records were “essential for the casting of a horoscope” based on “the mystic science of astrology.”
This book adds that “birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes.”
The Bible, however, condemns the use of magic, divination, spiritism, or “anything like this.” (Deuteronomy 18:14; Galatians 5:19-21)
In fact, one reason why God condemned the ancient city of Babylon was that its inhabitants practiced astrology, which is a form of divination.
(Isaiah 47:11-15) Jehovah’s Witnesses are not preoccupied with the roots of every custom; yet when the Scriptures give such pointed indications, we do not ignore them.
2. The Early Christians Did not Celebrate Birthdays
The World Book Encyclopedia says that “they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom.”
The Bible shows that the apostles and others who were taught directly by Jesus established a pattern that all Christians should follow.—2 Thessalonians 3:6.
3. The Only Commemoration that Christians are Required to Keep is the Death of Jesus
(Luke 22:17-20) This should not be surprising, for the Bible says that “the day of death is better than the day of birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).
By the end of his life on earth, Jesus had made a good name with God, making the day of his death more important than the day of his birth (Hebrews 1:4).
4. The Bible Never Refers to a Servant of God Celebrating a Birthday
This is not simply an oversight, for it does record two birthday celebrations by those not serving God.
However, both of those events are presented in a bad light, (Genesis 40:20-22; Mark 6:21-29).
What Holidays Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Celebrate?
The Memorial of Christ’s Death and wedding anniversaries are among the holidays observed by the Witnesses.
During the Jewish Passover, the commemoration of Christ’s death is observed. This day is accepted in this denomination because Jesus was involved in it and asked his disciples to commemorate his death.
According to this viewpoint, the Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate this holiday because they see it as Christ-approved rather than a pagan holiday.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses partake in communion during the celebration of this holiday. They ensure that this holiday is observed every year on Nisan 14, according to the ancient Jewish lunisolar calendar.
Furthermore, wealthy Jehovah’s Witnesses observe wedding anniversaries because they are not forbidden in the scriptures and involve discussions about continuous loving and long-lasting marriages.
However, during the performance of these celebrations, they exclude the incorporation of various pagan traditions.
Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Celebrate Christmas?
Jehovah’s Witnesses refrain from celebrating Christmas. This is because they argue that Jesus did not direct his followers to commemorate his birthday.
Christmas is a Christian festival celebrated annually on 25th December in western churches. This feast is practiced to mark the birth of Jesus Christ.
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate holidays since they hold the belief that holidays violate biblical principles.
Thus, Jehovah’s witnesses believe that some holidays do not portray true Christianity. In this case, Jehovah’s witnesses consult the Bible to determine whether certain holidays are acceptable.
Also, Jehovah’s witnesses fail to celebrate holidays because they associate holidays to be rooted with the belief in other gods.
In addition, Jehovah’s witnesses believe that some holidays, for instance, Kwanzaa holidays practiced by African Americans, are a way of expressing gratitude to ancestors rather than Jehovah. Also, the witnesses believe that holidays are linked with superstition.
Furthermore, witnesses believe that holidays are associated with occult practices such as magic.
The witnesses refrain from celebrating Christmas since their belief holds that the Christmas feast is rooted in pagan religions and customs.
Also, witnesses believe that Christmas is renamed sun worship. Furthermore, Jehovah’s witnesses argue that Christmas celebrations ritualize sinful behaviors such as heavy drinking and indecent dressing.
Thus, Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid the celebrations of Christmas to worship Jehovah appropriately.
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In summary, the article answers the question, “why do Jehovah Witnesses not celebrate birthdays by identifying its non-existence in the Bible, its assumed paganic origin, etc. as the major reasons. Please kindly share this content on all social media platforms.
CSN Team.