Over ten years ago when my husband still worked at a family
greenhouse business he had a regular customer who had an interesting
perspective about celebrations. As a
Jehovah’s Witness he did not celebrate birthdays.[1] He explained that as a result of this he
gave special honour to anniversaries instead. He bought roses not only for his wife but for couples that were his friends who had a special day.
He pointed out
that while birthdays celebrate staying alive, an anniversary involves something
extra—the effort of staying together and working at a relationship. So, not only the milestone anniversaries
deserve to be marked. Every anniversary
is an achievement of love and cannot be taken for granted.
Sticking with your
spouse is not as common today as it once was.
It stands out and ought to be celebrated by those who are close to the
couple. It’s hurtful when this day is
ignored. A friend recently shared that
on her anniversary she especially misses her deceased parents who always made a
point of holding such a day in honour.
In contrast, her parents-in-law do not even phone and acknowledge the day.
Many readers have
witnessed dozens of weddings. These
events are full of excitement and joy, but they also involve a duty to track
with these couples, encourage them as we have opportunity, and to celebrate
their anniversaries one by one. Maybe it’s
time to take a second look at how much value we place on those special days
that celebrate commitment.
[1] The only two
mentions of birthdays in the Bible have highly negative associations. The birthday of Pharaoh in Genesis 40 was
the occasion of executing his chief baker and a day of feasting. On the birthday of Herod the Tetrarch in
Matthew 14 & Mark 6 there was drunkenness, provocative dancing and a call
for the head of John the Baptizer. This
is the main reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays.
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