Hezzer

This question was raised in another thread. So as not to hijack that thread and because the response wouldn't fit in a PM, I'm posting the response here.

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My friend's son just turned 18 last week. He was born at 8:02 in the morning and on every birthday she goes in a wakes him up around 7:50 and says "Right about now, your head was coming out of me." It grosses him out every time.

Anyway, my point is that we recognize the day of our birth. When it's hubby's birthday or mine, I might say "Hey, you're 34 today" or something like that, but we don't *celebrate* it with parties or flowers or gifts or even cards.

Even though the Bible does not contain a specific prohibition against birthday celebrations, Jehovah’s Witnesses have noted the Scriptural indications and chose not celebrate birthdays.

In this, we harmonize with the pattern of the earliest Christians, who did not celebrate birthdays due to its pagan origins. Back then birthdays had strong connections with pagan religion that are less noticeable today. 'The custom of commemorating the day of birth is connected . . . in its content, with certain primitive religious principles' (Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics).

Acceptance of birthdays by Christians happened much later once false teachings crept into the congregations. Even the later Hebrews looked on the celebration of birthdays as part of idolatrous worship.

We strongly believe in the words at 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 which says 16 All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.

So, we believe it noteworthy that the Bible reports only two birthday celebrations, both of persons who were not servants of the true God.

The first was that of Pharaoh of Egypt. It was marked by the hanging of Pharaoh’s baker, who had been in prison with Joseph. The account at Genesis 40:16-22 reads:

16 When the chief of the bakers saw that he had interpreted something good, he, in turn, said to Joseph: “I too was in my dream, and here there were three baskets of white bread upon my head, 17 and in the topmost basket there were all sorts of eatables for Phar´aoh, the product of a baker, and there were fowls eating them out of the basket on top of my head.” 18 Then Joseph answered and said: “This is its interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19 In three days from now Phar´aoh will lift up your head from off you and will certainly hang you upon a stake; and the fowls will certainly eat your flesh from off you.” 20 Now on the third day it turned out to be Phar´aoh’s birthday, and he proceeded to make a feast for all his servants and to lift up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers in the midst of his servants. 21 Accordingly he returned the chief of the cupbearers to his post of cupbearer, and he continued to give the cup into Phar´aoh’s hand. 22 But the chief of the bakers he hung up, just as Joseph had given them the interpretation.

The second, some 1,800 years later, was the birthday of Herod Antipas. The account in Mark 6:21-24 reads:

21 But a convenient day came along when Herod spread an evening meal on his birthday for his top-ranking men and the military commanders and the foremost ones of Gal′i·lee. 22*And the daughter of this very He·ro′di·as came in and danced and pleased Herod and those reclining with him. The king said to the maiden: “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 Yes, he swore to her: “Whatever you ask me for, I will give it to you, up to half my kingdom.” 24*And she went out and said to her mother: “What should I ask for?” She said: “The head of John the baptizer.” (See also Matthew 14:6-11.)

We don’t look at the recorded Biblical accounts of birthday celebrations that were wholly without God’s approval as coincidental. At the very least it can be said that these two accounts put birthday celebrations in a bad light in the Bible, as a practice of those estranged from God.

Also, it is worth noting that God did not record the exact date of Jesus’ birth, which certainly would be the most important birthday if God’s servants were to celebrate birthdays. Instead, the Bible indicates the date of Jesus’ death and instructs Christians to commemorate that as an anniversary each year, (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) which we do. (On a side note, as Jesus was a Jew, he no doubt subscribed to this teaching, and I would highly doubt he would want a custom viewed so abhorrently to be associated with his birth – even if the exact date were known.)

So in a nutshell:

1) We pattern ourselves after the early Christians, who, at a time when the congregation was at its purest, rejected birthday celebrations due to pagan origins.

2) Considering that everything is recorded in the Bible for a reason and the only two birthday celebrations mentioned were by those that did not worship God and were totally unapproved by him, we subscribe to the “when in doubt – leave it out” idea and do not celebrate birthdays in any way shape or form.

Hope that answers your queston.