Birthday is the name given to the date of the anniversary of the day of a person's birth. People in many cultures celebrate this anniversary. In some languages, the word for birthday literally translates as "anniversary". Birthdays are traditionally marked by celebrations including a birthday party or, in some particular cases, a rite of transition.
Origin
It is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the non-Christian cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia, and was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Such celebrations were uncommon previously so practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays.
Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it was distributed widely and its influence was spread throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity.
Opposition
The celebration of birthdays is not universal. Orthodox Christianity prefers the celebration of name days. Some Christian communities may celebrate both naming days and birthdays.
The Jewish 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 Pharaoh. The bar mitzvah of 13-year-old Jewish boys, or bat mitzvah for 12-year-old girls, is perhaps the only Jewish celebration undertaken in conjunction with a birthday; however, the essence of the celebration is entirely religious in origin (the attainment of religious maturity according to Jewish law) not secular, despite modern celebrations where the secular "birthday" elements predominate. With or without the "birthday" celebration, the child still automatically attains his or her bar or bat mitzvah, and its celebration may be any date following his or her 13th year anniversary of birth.
Some Sunni and Shia Muslim scholars oppose birthdays, but some allow celebration of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad, although it is important to note there is no basis for this practice ( i.e. , no evidence in the Quran or Authentic Hadith).
Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays. They point to the birthday celebrations in the Bible for Pharaoh, and for Herod, the latter being the occasion for the beheading of John the Baptist.
Celebration
Birthday 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.
Birthday cakes date 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; 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 fifth birthday, there may be one candle on the cake in the shape of the numeral five, and on the fiftieth birthday there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the numeral five followed by the other in the shape of the number zero.
Traditions
In addition to parties, it is common for people to receive gifts on their birthdays or surprise parties. 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.
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, "Que los cumplas feliz" or "Feliz cumpleaños a tí" in Spanish, "Parabéns a você" in Portuguese, "Maligayang Bati" in Filipino, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Lá Bhreithe Shona Duit" in Irish, "Ja ma 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." In Denmark, aside from cards and songs, the Danish flag is often raised and used as decorations at birthday parties. In Belgium, birthdays are celebrated in festivals over the course of several months.
Birthdays in the legal system
- 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 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 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 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 the United Kingdom 18th and 21st are traditional coming of age birthdays.
- In some Asian countries, the 14th birthday is celebrated as the day one becomes a man, or a woman, in society.
- Many Filipino girls celebrate their 18th birthdays with a cotillion and debutante ball, commonly known as a debut.
- 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 the "Star Birthday" occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (i.e. when someone born on the 12th of the month turns 12).
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:
- The King's or Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; in Canada this day is known as Victoria Day.
- Jesus of Nazareth's traditional birthday is celebrated as Christmas Day around the world: 25 December. As some Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, 25 December falls on 7 January in the Gregorian calendar every year until 2100.
- The Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg: 23 June.
- The King's official birthday in Belgium: November 15 (on saint Leopold, liturgical feast of the dynasty's founder's patron saint).
- The Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia celebrates his federal official birthday on the first Saturday of 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). Queen Beatrix fixed it at the birthday of her mother, the previous Queen, to avoid the winter weather associated with her own birthday in January.
- The 21st of August is the date on which the Irish celebrate the birthday of Aoife Cooper, the Druid Queen who was driven mad by secret love (Paramore).
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 and Abraham Lincoln birthdays are celebrated together as Presidents' Day.
Name day
In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France, 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
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