Serena William’s infant daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. turns 1 on Saturday, but Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian aren’t planning to celebrate with a birthday cake and gifts.
At a press conference ahead of the U.S. Open last weekend, Serena explained why she and her husband won’t mark their baby’s 1st birthday with a lavish party.
“Olympia doesn’t celebrate birthdays,” said Williams. “We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, so we don’t do that,” she said.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians who don’t celebrate birthdays or Christmas because they believe holidays have pagan origins. They also don’t believe in accepting gifts that celebrate holidays.
Other famous Jehovah’s Witnesses in Black history include Serena’s sister Venus Williams, and the late musicians Michael Jackson, Selena Quintanilla Pérez and Prince.
Michael eventually dissociated himself from the Jehovah’s Witnesses because they disapproved of his music, particularly “Thriller” with its supernatural theme.