A woman on her 18th birthday.
A
birthday, as the term implies, is the
anniversary of the particular day on which a
person was born. Though by no means universal, such occasions are
celebrated in numerous
cultures, often with
a
party or, in some instances, a
rite of passage.
Though major
religious traditions such as
the
Buddhist or the
Christian celebrate the birth of their
founders, the most obvious example of which is
Christmas, principled opposition to the very idea
of celebrating birthdays is to be found among certain religious
groups.
Cultural and legal conventions
In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular
birthday (often 18th or 21st), and at different ages gains
different rights and responsibilities –
voting, certain
drug use (for example,
alcohol, purchasing
tobacco),
eligibility for
military
conscription or voluntary enlistment, purchasing
lottery tickets, vehicle driving licenses,
etc.
Many cultures have one or more
coming of
age birthdays:
- In some Christian traditions, generally Catholic and Anglican, Confirmation
is the ritual by which a young person receives a Sacrament thought
to bestow certain gifts of the Holy Spirit. The timing of the
reception of this Sacrament serves, on a sociological level, as a
sort of "rite of passage" into adulthood.
- In Hispanic countries the quinceañera celebration traditionally
marks a girl's 15th birthday.
- Some girls and a few boys in the United States have "sweet sixteen" birthday
parties.
- In India, the 12th or 13th birthday is replaced with a grand
"thread ceremony." The child takes a blessed thread and wears it,
symbolizing his coming of age. This ceremony is more common amongst
boys in the Hindu brambhins culture.
The birthdays of historically significant people, like national
heroes or founders, 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 is applied to the anniversary of an
institution (such as a university).
A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, more commonly referred to as
their "Lucky Birthday", "Champagne Birthday" or "Star Birthday",
occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when
someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25).
Name days
In some
Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as
France
, Poland
, Russia
, Bulgaria
, Hungary
, or Greece
, it is
common 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 person; the difference being that one may look
up a person's name day in a calendar, or easily remember common
name days (for example,
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, for example,
Noel or
Pascal
(French for Christmas and "of Easter").
Alternative birthdays
People born on February 29, which occurs only during leap years,
often celebrate their birthday in other years on February 28, or
March 1 (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new
age). .
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).
Official birthdays
Some notables, particularly
monarchs, have
an
official birthday on a fixed day of the year, which may
not necessarily match their actual birthday, but on which
celebrations are held. Examples are:
While it is uncommon to have an official holiday for a
republican head of
state's birthday, this can become a permanent posthumous
honour, for example
George
Washington's and
Abraham
Lincoln's birthdays are celebrated together as
Presidents' Day.
Frequency
According to public record births database Anybirthday.com,
birthdays are evenly distributed throughout the year, except for
the months of October and September, which follow the
holiday season by
nine months. The most frequent birthday is
cited as October 5, with an average of 12,576 people born each
year, while the least frequent birthday is cited as May 22 with an
average of 10,259 persons born annually.
Celebrations
A child's birthday celebration,
complete with cake
The
birthday cake is traditionally
highly decorated, and typically covered with lit
candles when presented, the number of candles
signifying the age of the celebrant. The person whose birthday it
is may make a silent
wish and then
blow out the candles. After that, the person can open their
presents. It is also common for the person celebrating their
birthday to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple
might with a
wedding cake.
Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person
finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become
wealthy; a person discovering a thimble would never marry.
Sometimes special candles are substituted for the many individual
candles in the shape of a
numeral.
For example, on the first birthday, there may be one candle on the
cake in the shape of the numeral one, and on the tenth birthday
there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the
numeral one followed by the other in the shape of the number
zero.
In addition to parties, it is common for people to receive
gifts on their birthdays or
surprise parties.
The popular gifts include toys, books, jewellery, clothes, flowers,
technical devices, etc. However, sometimes it is expected of the
person celebrating their birthday to treat their party guests
instead; this varies depending on the local culture and may involve
party gifts or other gestures, for example inviting to the
restaurant or bar (some of them offer special birthday programs),
arranging party at home, or at work.
In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the
song
Happy Birthday to
You to the honored person celebrating a birthday. Happy
Birthday songs are common worldwide. Similar songs exist in other
languages such as "Zhu ni sheng ri kuai le" in Mandarin Chinese,
"Lang zal hij/zij leven" in Dutch, "Õnne soovime Sul" in Estonian,
"Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Nα ζήσεις και χρόνια πολλά
" in Greek, "Hayom Yom HUledet" in Hebrew, "Que los cumplas feliz"
or "Feliz cumpleaños a ti" in Spanish, "Parabéns a você" in
Portuguese, "Maligayang Bati" in Filipino, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Lá
Breithe Shona Duit" in
Irish, "multi
ani traiasca" in Romanian, "Ja må du leva" or "Med en enkel
tulipan" in Swedish, "Joyeux Anniversaire" or "Bonne Fête" in
French, "Tanti Auguri a te" in Italian and "Iyi ki dogdun, Mutlu
Yillar Sana" in Turkish. This song is a common greeting used on
birthdays, along with
greeting cards
and verbal greetings with messages such as "I wish you a Happy
Birthday" or "Happy Birthday."
Timezones and birthdays
A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone
of the place of birth.
Thus people born in Samoa
at
11:30 pm will record their birthdate as one day before
Coordinated Universal
Time (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. In addition, the
intervention of
Daylight Saving
Time can result in a case where a baby born second being
recorded as having been born up to an hour before their
predecessor.
Religious opposition
Judaism
In
Judaism, the perspective on birthday
celebrations is disputed by various
rabbis. In
the
Hebrew Bible, the one single
mention of a celebration being held in commemoration of someone's
day of birth is for the Egyptian
Pharaoh,
while
Leviticus 18:1-3 states "And the
LORD spoke to
Moses, saying, "Speak to the
people of Israel and say to them, I am
the LORD your God.
You shall not do as they do in the land of
Egypt
, where you lived". Note: You shall not do as
they do in Egypt can pertain to a lot of things not specifically a
birthday. It also seems to suggest not to as an opinion other than
saying specifically not to.
The
bar mitzvah of 13-year-old Jewish
boys, or bat mitzvah for 12-year-old Jewish girls, is perhaps the
only Jewish celebration undertaken in what is often perceived to be
in coalition with a birthday. However, the essence of a bar/bat
mitzvah celebration is entirely religious in origin (i.e. the
attainment of religious maturity according to Jewish law) and not
secular, despite modern celebrations where the secular "birthday"
element often overshadows the essence of it as a religious rite.
With or without the "birthday" celebration, the child nevertheless
becomes a bar or bat mitzvah, and the celebration can be on that
day or any date after it.
Christianity
Since the foundation of
Christianity
historically lies in Judaism, if there is a stance against the
celebration of birthdays, it often mirrors the Jewish religious
arguments. Few branches of Christianity, however, actually hold any
official stance in regards to birthdays, be it in favour or
against.
Orthodox Christianity
prefers the celebration of name days only, though it is not because
of any active theologically-based prohibition or discouragement.
Some Christian communities, especially in the
Hispanosphere, celebrate both naming days and
birthdays.
Jehovah's Witnesses
and some
Sacred Name groups, among
others, do not celebrate birthdays at all, actively discouraging or
prohibiting it. They point to, for example, the birthday
celebrations in the Bible for Pharaoh and for
Herod, the latter being the occasion for the
beheading of
John the
Baptist. Also, the origins, magic, and superstitions
surrounding the pagan celebration of birthdays are also a some
other reasons for some Christian groups rejecting birthday
celebrations.
In the branches of Christianity where there is active
discouragement or prohibition against birthdays, by default, this
also affects their stance in regards to
Christmas. After all, in its religiously presented
form, Christmas is the commemoration of the birth of
Jesus of Nazareth, that is, a birthday
celebration for Jesus. Hence, Jehovah's Witnesses do not espouse
the celebration of
Christmas either,
although additional theological arguments are also cited. Because
of the very existence of Christmas as an integral celebration
espoused by most branches of modern Christianity, it could be
argued that this constitutes implicit acceptance of birthdays,
contrary to this, it might put into question the legitimacy of
Christmas altogether.
Superstitious Origins of Birthday Celebrations
A number of possible superstitious origins for customs associated
with Birthday celebrations have been suggested. One source states,
that the tradition of birthday parties started in Europe a long
time ago. It was feared that evil spirits were particularly
attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm,
friends and family would to come be with the birthday person and
bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good
cheer to ward off the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties
began. In ancient times, people prayed over the flames of an open
fire. They believed that the smoke carried their thoughts up to the
gods. Today, we believe, that if you blow out all your candles in
one breath, your wish will come true...Another reference comments,
"The various customs with which people today celebrate their
birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of
magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations,
presenting gifts and celebrating - complete with lighted candles -
in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from
the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year. . . .
Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday
celebration as a pagan custom."
See also
References
- Anybirthday.com - A public records birthdate database
"with over 135,000,000 birth records"
- Unique Birthday Wishes
- WRAL.com Daylight-Saving Causes Twin Arrival Pickle
- Reb Chaim HaQoton: Happy Birthday!April 17,
2007
- Are Birthday Celebrations Christian?
- Origins and Meanings of Birthday Traditions
- Re: Happy Birthday - The Phrase Finder
Further reading
, New Zealand
, and the United Kingdom; in Canada this day is
known as Victoria Day.
: 23 June.
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Misc
Search
