birthday traditions

For other uses of the term, see Birthday (disambiguation).

A birthday is the date on which a person is born, marking the day a life outside the womb begins. It is customary in many cultures to celebrate the anniversary of one's birthday, for example by having a birthday party with family and/or friends. Gifts are often given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a rite of transition.

Western private birthday traditions

History of celebration of birthdays in the West

It is thought that the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Before this, such celebrations were not common; and, hence, practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took up Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity.

Birthday celebrations were rare during the Middle Ages but saw a resurgence with the advent of the Reformation. During this period, they were seen as a good way to transfer customs from the saint's days to other dates not linked to the newly repudiated veneration of saints.

Even today, the celebration of birthdays is not universal in the West; in addition to those people preferring name day celebrations, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate either, considering them to be pagan festivals along with Christmas and Easter. Many adults loathe celebrating it as it reminds them that they are getting progressively older.

Festive

In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the song Happy Birthday to You to the honored person celebrating his birthday. Similar songs exist in other languages such as "Lang zal hij/zij leven" in Dutch, "Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Cumpleaños Feliz" in Spanish, or "Sto lat" in Polish. This happens traditionally at a birthday party while someone brings a birthday cake into the (often darkened) room.

• The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented; the number of candles often equals the age of the person. The person whose birthday it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles; if done in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true. It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake like as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake. Birthday cakes have been a tradition dating back as far as the Middle Ages when the English would conceal symbolic items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles inside their cakes. Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become wealthy where a person discovering a thimble would never marry.

Typical birthday party decorations include balloons, streamers and confetti.

For special birthdays and for when the number of candles might be considered impractical or a fire hazard, special candles might be substituted for the many individual candles. These candles are in the shape of a numeral; for example, on the fifth birthday there may be one candle on the cake in the shape of the numeral 5, and on the fiftieth birthday there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the numeral 5 followed by the other in the shape of the numeral 0.

• A birthday is considered a special day for the person, and so the person will often get special treatment from friends and family. This is especially true for children who cannot wait for their own special day. In addition to parties, people often get gifts on their birthday.
• Birthday parties for children often include fun games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, musical chairs, and hitting piñatas.
• There are also traditions of surprise parties.
• Not all traditions are equally generous. In certain circles the birthday boy or girl is expected to treat the fellows, often by shouting one or more round of drinks (not always compensated for by a gift). The birthday that means reaching the legal age limit for drinking may be celebrated with richly flowing alcohol.
• Another tradition enjoyed by girls that was popularized in the 1950s and 60s: receiving a special corsage (or several) that was decorated with candy or another inexpensive item that corresponded to age. The items were priced within reach of the peer group, and all were light enough so they could fasten easily to curly ribbons and be worn throughout the school day without problem.

10th birthday - lollipops

11th birthday - gum drops

12th birthday - tootsie rolls

13th birthday - bubble gum

14th birthday - dog biscuits

15th birthday - life savers

16th birthday - sugar cubes

17th birthday - lemon drops

18th birthday - fake key of a car

Testing

Since every year of age can be seen as a minor transition, this can be accompanied by some traditional initiation rite such as a birthday spanking, after which the honoree may in some traditions receive a "pinch to grow an inch." It is also traditional in schools in some areas of Britain to 'bump' people on their birthday. This involves them being hoisted face up by arms and legs and allowed to fall; pulling on the limbs restrains the fall so that the victim does not quite hit the ground. This is repeated for the number of times equal to their birthday age. On one last hoist the celebrant is often allowed to fall to the ground with a bump. A less painful way is to be lifted in the air while sitting on a chair. Then the last lift is usually made higher than the others.

A similar tradition in schools are 'birthday beats' or 'birthday bashings' in which the birthday child receives a number of punches on their arm that equals their age (e.g. 14 punches on the arm for a 14-year-old). Usually it is followed with a 'one for luck' punch which tends to be harder than the rest. Birthday beats are not often malicious but sometimes can be considered bullying and may ruin a child's special day.

Special birthdays

Notable birthdays can include

• When the most significant digit changes, for example one's 1st, 10th, 30th, 50th, or 100th birthdays, as well as significant years such as the 18th and 21st.
• One's golden birthday, also called a champagne birthday, is the day when the age one turns is the same as the day of the month they were born. (e.g. someone turning 20 on September 20th celebrates his golden birthday).
• In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular birthday, and at different ages gain different rights and responsibilities — voting, certain drug use (e.g. alcohol, tobacco), eligibility for military draft or voluntary enlistment, driving etc.
• Most cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:
  • Jewish boys have a bar mitzvah on or around their 13th birthday. Jewish girls observe a bat mitzvah on or around their 12th birthday, or sometimes on or around their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism.
  • In some Christian traditions, generally Catholic and Anglican, Confirmation is the ritual by which a young person becomes an official member of the Church. This sometimes includes the bestowal of a 'Confirmation name,' generally the name of a saint, which is often worn as a second middle name. Confirmation also bestows the Holy Spirit upon the confirmand, and in some churches is received concurrent with baptism or first communion.
  • In Latin America the quinceañera celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.
  • Some girls in the United States have "sweet sixteen" birthday parties.
• The birthdays of historically significant people, like Jesus Christ, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, or the father of the fatherland, are often commemorated by an official holiday, some saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). By analogy, the Latin term Dies natalis 'birthday' is applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university)

Official/Alternative birthdays and name day

Some notables, particularly Monarchs, have on a fixed day of the year an official birthday which do not match their actual birthday, but on which celebrations are held. Examples are:

• King's or Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
• Commonwealth Day, originally called Empire's Day, is on the Queen-Empress Victoria's birthday: May 24
• The Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg: 23 June
• King's official birthday in Belgium: November 15 (on saint Leopold, liturgical feast of the dynasty's founder's patron saint)
• in Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (federal King, elected for 5 years) on 3 June
• Koningsdag or Koninginnedag in the Kingdom of the Netherlands is fixed on 30 April (Queen's Day; celebration of the reigning Queen's accession; birthday of former queen Juliana) to avoid winter weather (born in January).

While it is uncommon to have an official holiday for a republican head of state's birthday, this can become a permanent posthumous honour, especially in the case of a so-called father of the fatherland, e.g. George Washington (best known as Presidents' Day, which sounds like the incumbent's party; also celebrated in the US is Lincoln's Birthday)

In cases where a historical figure's actual birthday is unknown, e.g. Jesus, it is common for a particular date to be substituted.

People who are born on the leap day 29 February, which only occurs during leap years, often celebrate their birthday in other years on the 28th (the last day of February), or 1 March (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new age).

In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France, Hungary, or Greece, it is common also to have a 'name day'/'Saint's day'. This is celebrated in much the same way as a birthday, but is held on the official day of a saint with the same Christian name as the birthday boy/girl; the difference being that one may look up a person's nameday in a calendar, or easily remember common namedays (e.g. John or Mary); however in pious traditions, the two were often made to concur by giving a newborn the name of a saint celebrated on its birthday, or even the name of a feast, e.g. Noel or Pascal (French for Christmas viz. Easter). In some countries, name days are celebrated with much more elaborate festivities than birthdays; in the past, birthdays often weren't celebrated at all in those countries.

In school, a half-birthday or other unbirthday is sometimes celebrated for those whose birthdays do not fall on a school day (especially for birthdays falling during holiday and vacation periods).

All racehorses traditionally celebrate their birthday on (i.e. calculate their age in years from) 1 August in the Southern Hemisphere, and on 1 January in the Northern Hemisphere.

Birthday gift symbolism

Birthstones

A birthstone is a gift of a precious material (jewelry, mainly gemstones; themselves traditionally associated with various qualities) that symbolizes the month of birth (in the Gregorian Calendar).

It is sometimes also called birthday stone (cf. infra; but that word is, confusingly, sometimes used as a synonym for an anniversary gift, which is related to the recipient's age, i.e. year of birth).

There have been many different sets of birthstones used throughout history and in different cultures, but in 1912 the American national association of jewelers, Jewelers of America, officially adopted the following list; it is currently the most widely used list in the United States and many other places, including Australia (a jeweler's 'modern' list states they are selected for bright colors) and Thailand; some alternatives are added:

Tanzanite was added to December by the American Gem Trade Association in 2002.

Some alternates have been adopted to be a less expensive substitute or a cut stone.

The birthstone seems to originate from Biblical times. The Breastplate of Aaron, referred to in Exodus 39:10-14:

10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;

11 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;

12 in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;

13 in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings.

14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

The precise list of birthstones however can be found in Revelation 21:19-20 where the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem are listed, in the order of the Roman calendar:

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Zodiac stones

There is an astrological version of the birthstones using the twelve zodiac signs instead of the twelve calendar months. Listed below are the corresponding dates for the tropical sun signs and their associated birthstone.

• Aries (March 21 - April 20) Diamond
• Taurus (April 20 - May 20) Emerald
• Gemini (May 21 - June 20) Spinel
• Cancer (June 21 - July 22) Pearl
• Leo (July 23 - August 23) Ruby
• Virgo (August 24 - September 22) Sapphire
• Libra (September 23 - October 23) Peridot
• Scorpio (October 24 - November 21) Aquamarine
• Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) Topaz
• Capricorn (December 22 - January 21) Garnet
• Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Amethyst and moonstone
• Pisces (February 19 - March 20) Diamond

Trivia

The most common birthday in the USA is October 5, whereas the least common birthday is May 22. ^[1]

Technical issues

A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30pm will record their birthdate as one day before UTC and those born in the Line Islands will record their birthdate one day after UTC. They will apparently be born two days apart, while some of the apparently older ones may be younger in hours. Those who live in different time zones from their birth often exclusively celebrate their birthdays at the local time zone.

Birthday stones

While this word has also been used as synonym of Birth stone (see above), there is a separate list of assignment according to the day of the week of the recipient's birth:

• Monday : Pearl (the only non-gem)
• Tuesday : Garnet
• Wednesday : Cat's eye (Chatoyant Chrysoberyl)
• Thursday : Emerald
• Friday : Topaz
• Saturday : Sapphire
• Sunday : Ruby

See also

• Various birthdays are mentioned on the pages devoted to each day of the year, from January 1 to December 31
• Birthday paradox
• Birthday attack
• East Asian age reckoning - a different method of age reckoning to birthdays that is used in some Asian countries.
• Half-birthday
• Natal chart
• Unbirthday

References

1. ^ [1]

2. "Christmas birthdays really suck" autobiography by Michael Jansen

External links

• Famous Birthdays
• Birth-Flower.com Discover info, meanings, history, pix, and more of your birth month flower.