Why do we celebrate Christmas? give gifts?

Do Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate Christmas give and receive gifts?

• Answer:

  No, they don't. When asked questions about Jehovah's Witnesses, and why we do not celebrate Christmas, or give and receive gifts, I like to give a little more information on the matter. First, we do not have a problem with giving and receiving gifts in general. That is not the issue with the Christmas holiday for us. We are often seen giving gifts for wedding anniversaries, house warming, baby and bridal showers, and other occasions. The issue for us with Christmas is the origin of the holiday. The fact is, the holiday does not come from the Bible or Christianity. It was originally known as the Saturnalia, which was a pagan celebration in honor of the sun god. This celebration was around even before Jesus was on earth. Every December, pagans celebrated the birth of the sun god in a celebration that lasted about a week, and came to a climax on December 25. They decorated their homes, exchanged gifts, even venerated things such as the evergreen tree, holly, mistletoe, and ivy because they believed that these plants possessed special powers, as they do not die even in the winter. Ever wonder why people are supposed to kiss under the mistletoe? This is a modern-day ritual that originated with the pagan belief that mistletoe possessed special powers of fertility. Pagans believed that this plant could help people and even their livestock have a lot of babies. About 300 years after Jesus died, the recently formed Catholic Church decided to hijack this pagan holiday, and change it into the "Mass of Christ, Christ's Mass," or Christmas. They adopted all the trappings of the pagan ritual, and tried to make it seem "Christian." It was because of the pagan-ness of the holiday that the early "Christian" Quakers and Puritans in the colonies of the Americas actually outlawed Christmas. They refused to celebrate it, and even planned for December 25 to be a day of hard work. Jesus was not born in December as the Bible evidence tells, but it is more likely that he was born sometime in the fall, however nobody really knows when he was born. Bible scholars do agree, however, that he was not born in the winter. So, Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus, and has everything to do with honoring an ancient pagan sun god. Because of its non-Christian and non-Biblical roots, we do not celebrate Christmas, nor do we engage in any of the customs associated with Christmas, including the holiday gift giving.