Why Don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses Celebrate Easter?

Common misconceptions

Myth: The reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Easter is that they are not Christians.

Fact: We believe Jesus Christ is our Savior, and we do our best to “follow his steps closely.”—1 Peter 2:21; Luke 2:11.

Myth: You do not believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Fact: We believe in Jesus’ resurrection; we recognize it as core to the Christian faith and highlight it in our preaching.—1 Corinthians 15:3, 4, 12-15.

Myth: You do not care that your children miss out on the joy of the Easter holiday.

Fact: We love our children—we expend ourselves in training them and helping them to be happy.—Titus 2:4.

Why don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate Easter?

• The Easter holiday celebration is not based on the Bible.

• Jesus commanded that we commemorate his death, not his resurrection. We observe this Memorial each year on the anniversary of his death according to the Bible’s lunar calendar.—Luke 22:19, 20.

• We believe that the origins of Easter customs, which come from ancient fertility rites, make Easter unacceptable to God. God requires that we give him “exclusive devotion,” and he is offended by worship that includes practices that he does not approve of.—Exodus 20:5; 1 Kings 18:21.

We believe that our decision to abstain from celebrating Easter is based firmly on the Bible, which encourages the use of “practical wisdom and thinking ability” rather than simply following human traditions. (Proverbs 3:21; Matthew 15:3) While we share our beliefs about Easter with others when asked, we also respect each person’s right to decide what he will do.—1 Peter 3:15.