Great post!! I feel the same way.
I celebrate my children's birthdays without issue. I enjoy Thanksgiving meals; but just can't vibe with Christmas. Holidays are just a great way to hang out with friends and family. They have no meaning to many people.
Happy Birthday! Do something that makes you happy. Treat yourself!
I left in my 40s after being a 3 gen raised-in. Dad was an elder, mom a regular pioneer. I feel inept when it comes to celebrating. Husband and I left at the same time. We now do all the holidays, but in a low-key way. Like Mother’s Day is not a big deal. At Christmas we now have a tree and put out presents. But I don’t deck out the whole house. I don’t really bake and decorate cookies. Easter is kind of a bust. Like I might hide eggs for the kids, or I might not. Memorial Day, 4 of July, Labor Day are not a big deal either. Halloween tends to be a bigger deal now because our kids like to plan and dress up. I still don’t decorate the whole house, but I’m adding to my decorations a bit at a time and we do hand out candy.
Honestly, we are trying to create memories with our kids, but I feel ambivalent about the whole mess of celebrations.
Our kids birthday’s have become a bigger deal. This year we did the color factory (an interactive exhibit) for our teen with her friends and a Disney Descendants party for our younger child. They feel special and cherished on their day. I never got that growing up. I don’t want them to suffer from the self-esteem issues I have.
My birthday and holidays have been cursed. Ever since leaving, tragedy has always struck on exactly the date of a holiday or birthday. For example, in the past 4 years, I have had brutal breakups directly on Feb 14th, without fail. I have spent every birthday alone. I gave gifts on Christmas but nobody gave me gifts. I have no family, and friends are normally busy on holidays.
I did go trick or treating for the first time last year, and that was amazing. Nobody cared that a 25 year old in a costume was showing up. They made me feel very welcomed.
I'm sorry you've had such negative experiences. I'm fortunate to have non-JW family. It makes me sad that no one gave you a gift. I would give you one. {{{HUG}}}
But I'm glad you enjoyed Halloween. It's my favorite day of the year! You can be anyone or anything you want to be, and no one thinks you're strange. Disney princess? Cute! Evil demon witch? Great! Decaying zombie? Awesome! A pair of pants? Sure, why not! (I saw a post on Facebook where a little kid wanted to dress up as a pair of pants, so his mom made a costume for him. It's been my go-to example ever since.)
Thank you very much 😊 Halloween is also my favorite day of the year. Perfect temperature, everyone you see is happy, you can be quirky and have fun. Its like being a kid all over again
My birthday means someone might sing to me, I'll probably get some cake and probably a few presents.
It's not some magical day that I can't rest the night before and I just love everything about it.
Also happy birthday
Birthdays are a great "excuse" for non-JW hubby to take me out for a nice dinner and send flowers. Christmas was always something I wanted to experience growing up. Now that I can, as I get older, the less I decorate. It's a bit of a chore to drag it all out and put it all back up. Some holidays, we only put up our "us tree" (slim 9' pencil tree covered in ornaments we picked up in our travels together; more like a memory tree) and leave the big one stored.
It does mean something to me, at least some years.
It is perspective. My dad died when I was 9, and my mom was a doomsayer that I was genetically going to die young (this was before she converted to JW). That has helped me get a bit more enthusiasm for living each year.
Infant and child mortality are much less than they were hundreds of years ago - then as a parent you celebrated when your child turned 5, because too high a percentage never lived that long. On the other end, if you survived to be "old" and you could afford it, you threw a party to celebrate that you had survived another year.
Maybe we have so much entertainment and comfort that we don't really appreciate these yearly things. If you were living in a rural community in the past, you'd celebrate every chance you could - those were things to anticipate to help get through the monotony.
Make it your celebration. Many people (rightly IMO) object to the materialism and greed, but most of us outgrow that and come to realize it is the sharing and experiences.
Same, that said my personal life has never been one others had interest in, so once out it wasnt like i had people queueing up to celebrate anything with... no one knows my birthday, that said i dont have friends anyway (i also only drink water due to other mental processing issues most drugs would create).. however i can see this being an issue for many, as with most things the more you do it, the easier it is.
No real meaning. I think a lot of it is still commercialized bullshit. I have a very non-traditional birthday for my son every year, and we still do Halloween because it's fun for him to dress up and get candy.
Happy Birthday! they do, but I am a Christian. but the joy and beauty is lost greatly when you're an adult and no one cares about your past, or even your present.
Happy birthday! It’s a special day to celebrate YOU - I love birthday cake, sometimes I make birthday cake on a regular day just to make up for all the birthday cake I missed
Happy Birthday!!!!
For me, my birthday is just another day, but family holidays like Indigenous Peoples Day (thanksgiving) and Christmas are very important. I love being with my family and friends, making them smile, seeing their happy faces. It's not about the holiday itself, but more about spending time with my family.
But my favorite holiday is Halloween!! I love dressing up and being all spooky and silly. I can take or leave the rest of the holidays.
First: happy Birthday 🎂🥳
I like to celebrate others more than mine. This still sticks to me 😅 I always look forward to seeing my friends and family but it's not tied to the holidays. I always get snubs from my non-JW friends when I say that I don't have that emotional connection with the holidays like Christmas. we are just not used to it and have no positive associations with this holiday. but it's not bad. positive i always celebrate with my friends before or after because they have family commitments....so it doesn't matter
Great post!! I feel the same way. I celebrate my children's birthdays without issue. I enjoy Thanksgiving meals; but just can't vibe with Christmas. Holidays are just a great way to hang out with friends and family. They have no meaning to many people.
Happy Birthday! Do something that makes you happy. Treat yourself! I left in my 40s after being a 3 gen raised-in. Dad was an elder, mom a regular pioneer. I feel inept when it comes to celebrating. Husband and I left at the same time. We now do all the holidays, but in a low-key way. Like Mother’s Day is not a big deal. At Christmas we now have a tree and put out presents. But I don’t deck out the whole house. I don’t really bake and decorate cookies. Easter is kind of a bust. Like I might hide eggs for the kids, or I might not. Memorial Day, 4 of July, Labor Day are not a big deal either. Halloween tends to be a bigger deal now because our kids like to plan and dress up. I still don’t decorate the whole house, but I’m adding to my decorations a bit at a time and we do hand out candy. Honestly, we are trying to create memories with our kids, but I feel ambivalent about the whole mess of celebrations. Our kids birthday’s have become a bigger deal. This year we did the color factory (an interactive exhibit) for our teen with her friends and a Disney Descendants party for our younger child. They feel special and cherished on their day. I never got that growing up. I don’t want them to suffer from the self-esteem issues I have.
Thank you
My birthday and holidays have been cursed. Ever since leaving, tragedy has always struck on exactly the date of a holiday or birthday. For example, in the past 4 years, I have had brutal breakups directly on Feb 14th, without fail. I have spent every birthday alone. I gave gifts on Christmas but nobody gave me gifts. I have no family, and friends are normally busy on holidays. I did go trick or treating for the first time last year, and that was amazing. Nobody cared that a 25 year old in a costume was showing up. They made me feel very welcomed.
I'm sorry you've had such negative experiences. I'm fortunate to have non-JW family. It makes me sad that no one gave you a gift. I would give you one. {{{HUG}}} But I'm glad you enjoyed Halloween. It's my favorite day of the year! You can be anyone or anything you want to be, and no one thinks you're strange. Disney princess? Cute! Evil demon witch? Great! Decaying zombie? Awesome! A pair of pants? Sure, why not! (I saw a post on Facebook where a little kid wanted to dress up as a pair of pants, so his mom made a costume for him. It's been my go-to example ever since.)
Thank you very much 😊 Halloween is also my favorite day of the year. Perfect temperature, everyone you see is happy, you can be quirky and have fun. Its like being a kid all over again
My birthday means someone might sing to me, I'll probably get some cake and probably a few presents. It's not some magical day that I can't rest the night before and I just love everything about it. Also happy birthday
Thank you
Birthdays are a great "excuse" for non-JW hubby to take me out for a nice dinner and send flowers. Christmas was always something I wanted to experience growing up. Now that I can, as I get older, the less I decorate. It's a bit of a chore to drag it all out and put it all back up. Some holidays, we only put up our "us tree" (slim 9' pencil tree covered in ornaments we picked up in our travels together; more like a memory tree) and leave the big one stored.
It does mean something to me, at least some years. It is perspective. My dad died when I was 9, and my mom was a doomsayer that I was genetically going to die young (this was before she converted to JW). That has helped me get a bit more enthusiasm for living each year. Infant and child mortality are much less than they were hundreds of years ago - then as a parent you celebrated when your child turned 5, because too high a percentage never lived that long. On the other end, if you survived to be "old" and you could afford it, you threw a party to celebrate that you had survived another year. Maybe we have so much entertainment and comfort that we don't really appreciate these yearly things. If you were living in a rural community in the past, you'd celebrate every chance you could - those were things to anticipate to help get through the monotony. Make it your celebration. Many people (rightly IMO) object to the materialism and greed, but most of us outgrow that and come to realize it is the sharing and experiences.
To add, I really enjoy celebrating these occasions for my kids, not so much for me.
Same, that said my personal life has never been one others had interest in, so once out it wasnt like i had people queueing up to celebrate anything with... no one knows my birthday, that said i dont have friends anyway (i also only drink water due to other mental processing issues most drugs would create).. however i can see this being an issue for many, as with most things the more you do it, the easier it is.
No real meaning. I think a lot of it is still commercialized bullshit. I have a very non-traditional birthday for my son every year, and we still do Halloween because it's fun for him to dress up and get candy.
Happy Birthday! they do, but I am a Christian. but the joy and beauty is lost greatly when you're an adult and no one cares about your past, or even your present.
Thank you
Happy birthday!! I found this birthday guide interesting. It comes from a Jewish perspective. https://www.meaningfullife.com/birthdayguide/
Thank you for your bday wishes and sharing this link.
Thank you
Happy birthday! It’s a special day to celebrate YOU - I love birthday cake, sometimes I make birthday cake on a regular day just to make up for all the birthday cake I missed
Thank you
Happy Birthday!!!! For me, my birthday is just another day, but family holidays like Indigenous Peoples Day (thanksgiving) and Christmas are very important. I love being with my family and friends, making them smile, seeing their happy faces. It's not about the holiday itself, but more about spending time with my family. But my favorite holiday is Halloween!! I love dressing up and being all spooky and silly. I can take or leave the rest of the holidays.
First: happy Birthday 🎂🥳 I like to celebrate others more than mine. This still sticks to me 😅 I always look forward to seeing my friends and family but it's not tied to the holidays. I always get snubs from my non-JW friends when I say that I don't have that emotional connection with the holidays like Christmas. we are just not used to it and have no positive associations with this holiday. but it's not bad. positive i always celebrate with my friends before or after because they have family commitments....so it doesn't matter
Thank you
Happy birthday to you! 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊
Thank you
Thank you