Birthday

For other uses, see Birthday (disambiguation).

File:Niki first birthday.jpg

Niki Karimi's first birthday party.

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 to Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity. The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.

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 their origins to be pagan festivals along with Christmas and Easter. Some adults loathe celebrating it as it reminds them that they are getting progressively older. And in some activities that are not year-round, birthday acknowledgements may be discouraged because of some birthdays not falling during the season.

In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the song Happy Birthday to You to the honored person celebrating his birthday. The Happy Birthday Song melody is thought to be the most frequently sung melody in the world. Similar songs exist in other languages such as "Lang zal hij/zij leven" (and several others) in Dutch, "Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Cumpleaños feliz" in Spanish, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Joyeux Anniversaire" in French, and "Tanti Auguri a te" in Italian. 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, but only if the person keeps the wish to himself (or herself). It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake.

If the knife touches the bottom or when withdrawn from the cake comes out dirty the Birthday boy or girl may have to kiss either the nearest boy or girl (Opposite sex).

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 which are relevant to the local culture.
• 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 their party guests, this varies depending on the local culture and may involve party gifts or a nice gesture. In some cultures the birthday that means reaching the legal age limit for drinking alcohol may be celebrated with a party with free or abundant alcoholic drinks.

Special birthdays

Notable birthdays can include:

• When the most significant digit changes, for example one's 1st, 10th, 15th, 30th, 50th, or 100th birthdays, as well as significant years such as the 18th (Legal adult age in many western countries including US, UK and Aus, UK alcoholic beverage drinking age), 21st (US alcoholic beverage drinking age), and 13th (when someone officially becomes a teenager.
• One's golden birthday, also called a champagne birthday, is the day when the age someone turns is the same as the day in the month he or she was born. (for example, someone turning 26 on December 26 celebrates his or her golden birthday).
• In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular birthday (often 18th or 21st), and at different ages gain different rights and responsibilities — voting, certain drug use (for example, alcohol, purchasing tobacco), eligibility for military draft or voluntary enlistment, purchasing lottery tickets, vehicle driving licences, etc.
• Many 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 and a few boys in the United States have "sweet sixteen" birthday parties.
  • In many Asian countries the 14th birthday is celebrated as the day one becomes a man, or a woman, in society.
• 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 '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
• Jesus of Nazareth's official birthday is celebrated as Christmas Day around the world: 25 December or 7 January in Julian calendar interpretations.
• 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). It was fixed by queen Beatrix at the birthday of former queen Juliana, to avoid the winter weather associated with her own birthday 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, for example George Washington (best known as Presidents' Day; also celebrated in the US is Lincoln's Birthday)

In cases where a mythical figure's actual birthday is unknown, 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 (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"). 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 (that is, 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, that is, year of birth).

There have been many different sets of birthstones used throughout history and in different cultures. In 1912, in an effort to standardize them, 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 locations, including Australia and Thailand. Some alternates have been adopted to be a less expensive substitute for a cut stone.

Month	Modern Birthstone	Alternate	Traditional Birthstone
January	Garnet	Rose Quartz	Garnet
February	Amethyst	Onyx	Amethyst
March	Aquamarine	Red Jasper (Bloodstone)	Bloodstone, Jasper
April	Diamond	Rock Crystal (Quartz)	Diamond, Sapphire
May	Emerald	Chrysoprase	Emerald, Agate
June	Pearl (the only non-mineral), Moonstone	Alexandrite	Alexandrite, Emerald
July	Ruby	Jade or Carnelian	Ruby, Onyx
August	Peridot	Aventurine, Sardonyx, or Sapphire	Sardonyx, Carnelian
September	Sapphire	Lapis lazuli	Sapphire, Peridot
October	Opal	Pink Tourmaline	Tourmaline, Aquamarine
November	Yellow Topaz	Citrine or Turquoise	Citrine, Topaz
December	Turquoise, Blue Topaz	Lapis Lazuli or Tanzanite	Zircon, Ruby

Tanzanite was added to December by the American Gem Trade Association in 2002. Most organizations do not recognize tanzanite as a December birthstone, however, and the AGTA's move to make it a December birthstone has generally been viewed as a marketing ploy.

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.

Birth flowers

Month	Flower
January	Carnation
February	Violet
March	Daffodil (Jonquil)
April	Dahlia, Sweet Pea
May	Sunflower, Lily of the Valley
June	Honeysuckle, Rose
July	Larkspur
August	Lily, Gladiolus
September	Forget-me-not, Aster
October	Calendula (Marigold), Rose, Camellia
November	Chrysanthemum
December	Holly, Narcissus

Just as there are alternatives with birthstones, there are also alternatives with birth flowers. For example, October is often listed as Calendula (Marigold) , but is also occasional noted as being rose or camellia.

Trivia

• The most common birthday in the USA is October 5, whereas the least common birthday is May 22.

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 organic 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
• Astrology
  • Natal chart
  • Horoscope
• Unbirthday
• Decimal Birthday
• Sashtiabdhapoorthi, a kind of Hindu meta-birthday for those turning sixty.

External links

• Did Early Christians Celebrate Birthdays? This article provides additional details on some of the early Christian and Judaic views concerning the celebration of birthdays.