I don’t understand all the anger either and I have no problem with answering Merry Christmas if someone says it first.

These days though I try to remember Happy Holidays.

And may the God of your choosing bless you until happiness and health bubbles forth uncontrollably.

XT

Ahhh, Mr. H.K. – remember when first you found me? You’re more beautiful to me every day. Hugs.

And look! A JW that has misunderstood the argument of the post!

Hi Diamond! Yes, of course the holiday of Christmas is rather recent, and it is interlaced with the results of the history of missionary activities. You are correct in the general argument that contemporary customs include assimilated and transformed bits from other traditions. That’s simple History of Religions 101. Since you don’t have any holiday tradition at all, though, perhaps you might be misunderstanding the nature of thing.

I think that most people who celebrate Christmas have some idea that crass materialism isn’t what it’s all about, and different people are more or less religiously motivated by the holiday. Still, there are reasons to remember peace, love, and caring – at least once a year. It is not a bad thing to build up the hearth, gather friends and family, and light the place up. You’ve illustrated the basic point here – even without celebrating Christmas (or much of anything else). Nice job.

Your arguments are more than familiar to me, so I’ll let others comment if they feel like it (but where is the standard, “Celebrate not my birth, but my death” argument?). It seems like the training is slipping.

I remember explaining every year why I didn’t celebrate Christmas, and I honestly don’t remember myself or other JWs being so nasty about it as it seems they/you have now become.

Why would anyone look to your example for how God’s people ought to behave?
Are strategies such as telling people to “get a lif” part of the new Watchtower Bible and Tract Society theocratic schooling method?
Is humbling yourself before the elders such a strain that you all need to take it out on your family, friends and even strangers? Is that one of the reasons why there are such a statistically improbable number of JWs in the news (the bad news – pedophiles, murderers, abusers…)?