What a quiet week in the blogging world…. I mean really quiet. I think everyone has a case of blogger’s block. I know I do. I can only write about how frustrating moving is so many times before it starts to drive me crazy.
I haven’t really had any interesting thoughts this week. I have wondered about something though. I hope I don’t offend anyone, but I will be the first to admit that I am ignorant in the realm of religion. What is the significance of Easter? Is the main point that it is the commemoration of the rising of Christ?
I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness so everything that I remember about holydays as I grew up was the isolating feeling that I didn’t belong anywhere because I couldn’t participate with the festivities. No Valentine’s exchanges, no egg hunt, no trick-or-treating, or birthdays. I think I was about 9 when I realized that we had a long break from school during the winter because it was Christmas. Other children in my class would ask me what I got for Christmas and I had no idea what they were talking about. I think once I actually asked, “Santa who?”
This upbringing has made celebrating holidays very stressful for me. I like holidays because of the fellowship shared between friends and family, but I don’t understand the symbolism of the holidays, specifically religious holidays. I think that I would have been fine as an adult, not celebrating holidays, but now that I am a parent I don’t want to isolate Dani. I don’t want her to feel like she doesn’t belong anywhere. I hated that feeling. At the same time, I don’t want to overcompensate. I want her to at least have the choice of what she wants to celebrate. Maybe that’s what I miss the most about my childhood…. I didn’t have a choice.
Religion is such a huge responsibility for a parent. There is a lot of pressure to make the right choice in your religion so that your children will grow up with faith. I don’t want to be a hypocrite but I don’t want to leave Dani without any foundation at all. It’s very conflicting and confusing.
So, Happy Easter everyone, or Spring, or Passover.
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4 comments:
Good post,i was raised a Jehovah's Witness also and there is life after the cult!
Cheers,Danny Haszard http://www.dannyhaszard.com
My great grandmother was also Jehovah's witness and I can remember my cousins on that side going through the same issues with holidays. I can understand why you don't want Dani to feel that way. I am naive on the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, so I never knew why they didn't celebrate.
But you are correct...for Christians, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
Happy Easter! Are you going to do an egg hunt?
My neighbors are JW and she repeatedly brings me Awake and the Watchtower. I read them on occasion, but just to be informed as to what this group of people believes. It is simply fascinating.
Rhonda is correct, Easter is the celebration of Jesus being raised from the dead (ressurection). It is the basis of the Christian faith that Jesus died for our sins. He was crucified on Good Friday and on the 3rd day (Easter) was ressurected.
Just a little biblical background for you there. I think you are wise to let Dani select her own faith, but the key to that is to expose her to what is there. Even if it just teaching about different faiths in your own home. My mother allowed me to choose my own faith and I am grateful for that.
I am similar in that I wasn't raised with religion, so don't know all of the religious meanings behind holidays. But we do celebrate them. My husband was raised Catholic, so we are now going to church on Sunday (we've been two weeks now) so that we can meet people, and I can learn about religion. I don't know if I want my children raised a certain religion, but I want them to know more about it than I did... and enough so they can make their own choice about whether they want religion in their life and which one to practice.
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