Jehovah's Witnesses and babies

kddani · #1 11-02-2005, 12:23 PM

A woman in our office who we all adore just revealed that she is four months pregnant. She is a Jehovah's Witness. We want to celebrate, but we do not want to offend her. Someone asked her if it was okay for her to accept gifts, and she said certainly, that was fine, and thanked us for being considerate of her beliefs.

We'd like to have a baby shower for her... does anyone know the protocol on this? She doesn't come to our birthday celebrations every month, but will eat the cake afterwards, lol. So most of us are just at a loss for the particulars.

Any help would be appreciated!

Lil' Hannah · #2 11-02-2005, 12:47 PM

I don't know what the protocol is but I'm putting my 2 cents in anyway...

Maybe you guys could take her to lunch or have something brought into the office and later present her with the gifts without the expectation that she open them all in front of you and make a big deal out of it? I don't know if that would be too much of a celebration or not...

honeychile · #3 11-02-2005, 01:05 PM

I'm not a JW, but to my knowledge, it's the party part that she would be against. Having some gifts and such for her wouldn't be a problem - and I like Lil Hannah's idea of taking her to lunch, if she's amenable.

I'll ask a friend of mine on another board, and clarify, if you'd like.

kddani · #4 11-02-2005, 02:00 PM

Well I just had lunch with one of friends, who used to work with someone who was a Jehovah's Witness. Apparantly the woman had 2 separate baby showers (and had had a wedding shower), and she was fairly strict... so it's confusing!

PM_Mama00 · #5 11-02-2005, 02:59 PM

My cousin's wife (well exwife now) converted to Jehovah's Witness after they got married. She did have a baby shower. It was small.... close friends, family, and co-workers I think. There was cake and candy and gifts, but I don't remember if there were games. That might constitute as "celebrating".

preciousjeni · #6 11-02-2005, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kddani
Well I just had lunch with one of friends, who used to work with someone who was a Jehovah's Witness. Apparantly the woman had 2 separate baby showers (and had had a wedding shower), and she was fairly strict... so it's confusing!

JWs don't celebrate birthdays because of bad things that happened during the two birthdays mentioned in the Bible. Wedding anniversaries can be celebrated, especially if both partners were JWs before they married.

Most holidays (Thanksgiving included) are not celebrated but JWs are allowed to eat leftovers from the meal as they aren't directly associated with the celebration.

For a baby shower, you are "celebrating" with the mother who is already a JW. You are not celebrating the baby who is not. Gifts would surely be welcomed as they would help the mother prepare.

My ex-fiance's family is JW.

AchtungBaby80 · #7 11-02-2005, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by preciousjeni
Most holidays (Thanksgiving included) are not celebrated but JWs are allowed to eat leftovers from the meal as they aren't directly associated with the celebration.

Why don't Jehovah's Witnessess celebrate holidays?

Lindz928 · #8 11-02-2005, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
Why don't Jehovah's Witnessess celebrate holidays?

I was wondering the same thing.

I have never really talked at length with someone who was a JW, so it's interesting to learn about.

Lil' Hannah · #9 11-02-2005, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Jehovah's Witnesses do not have "celebrations" -- at least not in the sense that most people would understand that word.

Celebrations with even tenuous connections with pagan holidays are considered tainted, even if the tainted portions are removed.

For example, a Witness would never have a Christmas tree, because such "Tanenbaums" were once used by the Druids. The Witnesses can not see it as "just a tree". Christmas is also tied to the wild Roman celebration of Saturnalia according to the following logic: early Christians instituted Christmas around the same time of year to give Christians something more wholesome to do. (The Witnesses do not believe that Jesus was born on December 25th, and Biblical scholars agree with them on this point.)

Birthdays are condemned because they are never presented in a positive light in the Bible. John the Baptist was beheaded at a birthday -- see Matthew 14:6-11. Witnesses also claim that birthdays glorify a person, when all glory should go to God.

Easter is not celebrated because it is not mentioned in the Bible. However, at that time of year the Witnesses do conduct a ritual known as "The Lord's Evening Meal", which bears a faint resemblance to Catholic Communion. The ritual is also known as "The Memorial" because it is based upon a request by Jesus that his followers partake of wine and unleavened bread in remembrance of him.

The only celebration honored by Witnesses is the wedding anniversary. While the "giving honor to humans" argument applied to birthdays might also be used against anniversaries, Witnesses have not considered it necessary to do so.

preciousjeni · #10 11-02-2005, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AchtungBaby80
Why don't Jehovah's Witnessess celebrate holidays?

Most holidays we celebrate these days are tied into ancient pagan celebrations. Valentine's Day, Halloween, Christmas...etc all have ties to paganism.

I already explained birthdays. (And, wedding anniversaries, which are ok). So, the only real celebration for JWs is the death of Christ, which they celebrate around the time of Easter and Passover - BUT the celebration is NOT associated with either Easter or Passover.

preciousjeni · #11 11-02-2005, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lil' Hannah
The only celebration honored by Witnesses is the wedding anniversary. While the "giving honor to humans" argument applied to birthdays might also be used against anniversaries, Witnesses have not considered it necessary to do so

Where was this quote from Lil Hannah? It's not actually true. Some JWs will not celebrate their wedding anniversary if they weren't JWs at the time of their wedding. The only celebration that JWs, as a whole, participate in is honoring the death of Christ.

ETA: Ok - to be technical, they "commemorate" the "Memorial of Christ's Death" also known as the "Lord's Evening Meal."

Lil' Hannah · #12 11-02-2005, 03:29 PM

some random ass site

http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/indoct.htm#APP2

preciousjeni · #13 11-02-2005, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lil' Hannah
some random ass site

http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/indoct.htm#APP2

Ahhhh! Here's the purpose of that site:

Quote:

This article was written for people who have been approached by the Witnesses and want to know what to expect. It may also interest people who are already Witnesses and are starting to wonder why they joined.

It's easy for people to misrepresent when they have ulterior motives.

AchtungBaby80 · #14 11-02-2005, 03:32 PM

Thanks to everybody who answered my question.

I've always wondered these things, but I didn't want to risk offending a Jehovah's Witness by asking in case they misunderstood and thought I was being critical or ugly.

Lil' Hannah · #15 11-02-2005, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by preciousjeni
ETA: Ok - to be technical, they "commemorate" the "Memorial of Christ's Death" also known as the "Lord's Evening Meal."

So you're arguing with me for the sake of arguing? That excerpt didn't say anything contrary to what you've said in this thread...