Hey all, my mother is a JW and has recently told my family she does not wish to attend a family members graduation party from nursing school. She claims she can attend the ceremony because it’s a form of recognition of achievement. But she cannot go to the party because it’s a celebration and she is prohibited from taking part in any sort of celebratory occasion.

I’m curious as to what the church’s official stance on this sort of thing is. Briefly googling things say that JWs celebrate graduations and lifetime achievements but of course shy away from birthdays and holidays as we all know. So I’m confused as to why she’s saying this.

I’m worried of the further rift this will cause in my family. She seems to be going to more and more extremes and I can’t help but think it’s someone in her church pushing her to be this way. She claims she’s lonely but yet here she is excluding herself from family functions. Also I know my brother will probably be getting married in a year or two. He’s already in the works of buying his gf a ring. Will she not want to attend his wedding now because it’s not a JW wedding? She was present at mine in a Catholic church and I can imagine it almost have her an aneurism. Just baffles me the sheer randomness of things that members of this religion decide they can and cannot do.