Holidays, Birthdays, and the Cross Are Pagan
JWs forbid celebrating birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and other holidays on the grounds that they have 'pagan origins.' They also reject the cross as a Christian symbol, claiming Jesus died on an upright stake and that the cross is a pagan fertility symbol adopted by apostate Christianity. Any practice with a historical connection to paganism is considered contaminated and must be avoided — regardless of its current meaning or cultural context.
The 'pagan origins' test, applied consistently, would eliminate practices the Watchtower itself uses. Wedding rings, neckties, the seven-day week, and the names of months all have pagan roots. The Watchtower selectively applies this standard — banning Christmas trees while wearing wedding rings. Paul addresses this principle directly in 1 Corinthians 8–10: food offered to idols is not inherently contaminated because 'an idol is nothing.' What matters is not historical origin but present meaning and conscience. , the Watchtower's go-to text against Christmas trees, describes the carving of an idol — read to verse 5, where it says the object 'cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good.' It is not about a decorated tree.