Objection #1: Holidays usually have a pagan origin and are often accompanied by licentious practices such as drunkenness, fornication, etc.
     It is true that most holidays have their origins in idolatry or pagan practices, it is also true that many other things we do in life have their origin in pagan things, such as using our calendar (names of the days and months are named after the pagan gods). The celebration of wedding anniversaries and the giving of rings in marriage also has pagan roots. Symbols used in the modern business world, and artwork on stationery, wallpaper, etc. are often borrowed from pagan sources. Are we to separate ourselves into some kind of monastery or private community where all vestiges of paganism have been carefully screened from our presence?
     Note that statements from a 1976 AWAKE! article regarding the use of pagan symbols, such as the heart, the swastika, and the cross:

     "What should be a Christians attitude toward shapes and designs that have at some time or place been connected with false religion?
     .....So the Christian needs to be primarily concerned about what? Not what a certain symbol or design possibly meant thousands of years ago or how it might be thought of on the other side of the world, but what it means now to most people where he lives.
     .....With so many different designs having been used in false worship, if a person went to the trouble and took the time, he might find an undesirable connection with almost every design he sees around him. But why do that? Would it not be needlessly upsetting? And is that the best use of one's time and attention?" AWAKE! 12-22-76, pp. 12-15

     We concur with them that it certainly is a waste of time looking for pagan connections in every object. Note similar statements made in this Watchtower article:

     "Whether an object is an idol or not depends on how it is viewed.....the fact that various creatures, plants and heavenly bodies - all parts of God's creative works - have been and still are being given veneration would not in itself unacceptable for decorative or ornamental purposes. Many things that were at one time worshipped by the ancients have lost their idolatrous significance and are generally regarded as being merely ornamental." WT 5-15-72 p.295

     The Watchtower is emphasizing that:
(1) Designs and symbols in themselves are not necessarily wrong to use, even if once used by pagans in false worship.
(2) It is a waste of time and needlessly upsetting to concern ourselves with what an object may have meant in times past, or even elsewhere on the earth in our day.

     The inconsistency of the Watchtower now becomes manifest, for most all the holidays celebrated in the Western world have lost their original pagan significance.Take Christmas for example. Long before the time of Christ, pagans worshipped the sun on December 25, the time of the winter solstice. As with all pagan holidays, it was a time for generosity and licentiousness. When the Catholic Church instituted the celebration of the birth of Christ as December 25 around the year 336 A.D., it was to replace the Sol Invictus festival introduced by the emperor Aurelius in the 3rd century. It was considered the victory of Christianity over paganism. The later canonizing of Saint Nicholas and the giving of gifts was tied in with church history.
     According to the Watchtower's reasoning, the question we should ask is: Does Christmas mean to us what it did to the pagans? Do people in our part of the world still worship the sun on December 25? The answer is NO. Though it is a time of year that is abused and exploited by many, that cannot be used as a case against the Christian concept of Christmas. Additionally, the Watchtower complaint that Christ was not born on December 25 is probably true. But remember, a celebration need not take place on the actual day of its memorial. Even if Scripture DID tell us when Christ was born, the Jews used a lunar calendar; not a solar one as we do. Most of us get holidays off from work on different days than the historically accurate date and we don't consider such a practice wrong.
     Easter has a more church-related history. Originally, the early church celebrated Easter on every Sunday, in expectation of the return of the Lord. Later, in linking the Crucifixion and the Resurrection story, Easter was scheduled on the Passover, the Jewish feast celebrating the Exodus from Egypt. The date for Easter was finally set by the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. as the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. As early as the 8th century, the name "Easter" was transferred by the Anglo-Saxons to the Christian festival. The name itself was apparently borrowed from a celebration to Astarte, the goddess of fertility. Also borrowed from this celebration was the use of rabbits and eggs, common symbols of fertility in the pagan culture.
     While the trappings of both church history and the pagan holiday are still with us, their significance has changed. Today we do not connect rabbits and eggs with fertility rites, and neither do most consider Easter as a time for general licentiousness

Objection #2: Holidays and birthdays are not mentioned in the Bible, except in perhaps a negative sense. Also, we are not commanded to celebrate anything but the Lord's Evening Meal.
     Though the Watchtower admits to only two birthdays being mentioned in the Bible, there are actually three that were celebrated. One was the birthday of Pharoah, on which a criminal was beheaded. (Gen. 40:20) The second was the birthday of Herod when John the Baptist was beheaded reluctantly by Herod.(Matt. 14:6) The third was the birth of Christ, celebrated by the angels in song and glory over the fields of Bethlehem.(Luke 2:10-14)
     It was convenient to the Watchtower to leave this very positive and important birthday out of their consideration, for it destroys their point in saying that all birthdays in the Bible were "negative." Additionally, Job apparently observed the birthdays of his children, and this was never mentioned negatively. (Job 1:4,5)
     The Watchtower claims that since the Bible does not tell us to celebrate certain holidays, we should not have anything to do with them. This is a false assumption from two angles. First of all, Jesus nor the apostles mention modern holidays as we know them, for they did not exist in their present form yet. All the Jewish holidays were national religious holidays, which they were allowed to observe even after the coming of Christ and the abolition of the Law.(Col. 2:16,17) The Watchtower should consider Paul an apostate for he said that observing or not observing special days was up to the individual (Romans 14:5,6), and even CONTINUED in certain practices of the Law though it had passed away.(Acts 13:14,15; 21:20-26)
     The Watchtower practices many things that the bible does not tell them to do, such as counting time spent in their magazine and book work and book studies, setting aside certain days on the calendar to go spreading Watchtower doctrine, singing Kingdom songs, having District and Circuit Assemblies, answering dozens of questions for baptism, etc. None of these do they consider wrong, yet such practices have become traditional for them.

Objection #3: Holidays idolize something or someone other than God, and the Bible says to "Flee from idolatry" and be "no part of this world."
     Worshipping Christ is proper according to the New Testament. Not only did the angels worship Him (Heb. 1:6), but so are all creatures to worship Him, both in heaven and on earth, along with the Father.(Rev. 5:13,14) Furthermore, we are to give Him equal honor with the Father.(John 5:23) To worship Christ on ANY day is proper, including December 25th and Easter.
     As far as birthdays, people do not worship their family or friend on their birthdays. What is wrong with doing something special for someone on a certain day, or even considering someone as being special for one day? Witnesses usually celebrate their wedding anniversaries, which is a celebration of the birth of their marriage. Perhaps they should not consider each other special at all, whether on their anniversary or any day. Perhaps marriage is unwise for them by the same token, as a mate could risk being someone "special."
     Trying to discern just how a symbol or holiday is viewed by others is very subjective. Few people in modern society would be "stumbled" by seeing another celebrate Christmas. Ironically, the only ones "stumbled" seem to be the Jehovah's Witnesses. The apostle Paul did not apply his own counsel regarding the stumbling of others at Romans 14:21 to legalistic sects of Christianity, for their very legalism was a cause of their disapproval.(Gal 5:1-4)

THE REAL ISSUE OF IDOLATRY

OUR "PAGAN" CALENDAR

Sunday - was named for the sun's day
Monday - for the moon's day
Tuesday - for Mar's day (Tues in Norse)
Wednesday - for Mercury (Woden's day)
Thursday - for Thor's day (Jupiter's)
Friday - for Venus day (Frigga's)
Saturday - for Saturn's day

January - named in honor of the Roman god Janus, the deity of the gates.
February - for the Sabine festival of purification (called "februa")
March - for Mars, the Roman god of war
April - for Venus (known among the Greeks as the goddess Aphrodite)
May - for Maia, an Italian goddess
June - for the Roman god Juno
July - for Julius Caesar, noted Roman warrior and politician
August - for Augustus Caesar, noted Roman emperor, acclaimed to be a god
     The remaining months of the year derive their names from the Latin numbers seven through ten. (September through December)

MISCELLANY