Why religious group does not celebrate birthdays

The fact that

However, not as many people know why. Pulse Religion breaks it down for you.

Why Jehovah’s Witnesses and birthdays do not mix

Birthdays are considered a taboo for a couple of reasons;

1. The group’s interpretation of the Bible. They believe that Christians should only commemorate the death of Jesus Christ, not birthdays. (See Genesis 40:20–22; Mark 6:21–29).

According to the group’s official site, “the Bible says that “the day of death is better than the day of birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1) By the end of his life on earth, Jesus had made a good name with God, making the day of his death more important than the day of his birth. — Hebrews 1:4.”

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2. Birthdays have pagan origins — History books have shown that birthdays originated from a belief that celebrations on this particular day would prevent bad things from happening to the celebrant. A book called ‘The Lore of Birthdays’ adds that “birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes.”

The origin of birthdays is a major deterrent for the group. The official website writes, “The Bible, however, condemns the use of magic, divination, spiritism, or “anything like this.” (Deuteronomy 18:14; Galatians 5:19–21) In fact, one reason why God condemned the ancient city of Babylon was that its inhabitants practiced astrology, which is a form of divination. (Isaiah 47:11–15) Jehovah’s Witnesses are not preoccupied with the roots of every custom; yet when the Scriptures give such pointed indications, we do not ignore them.”

3. Birthdays were never celebrated by the early Christians. According to The World Book Encyclopedia,“they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have chosen to follow their lead by not celebrating their birthdays too.

Note: This does not stop parents from celebrating their kids by giving them gifts. This is allowed, as long as it is not on their ‘birthdays.’