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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Candles spell out the traditional English birthday greeting
A girl 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, birthdays 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.[citation needed]

Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:

  • In some Christian traditions;Anglican view 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. Catholic views this ritual as taking place at the "age of discretion" where a person has an understanding of right and wrong [1]. It is not seen so much as a "rite of passage" as a fulfillment of baptism, the first sacrament, and a personal declaration and election to accept the Faith.[2]
  • In Hispanic countries the quinceañera celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.[citation needed]
  • 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.[citation needed]
  • In the Philippines , girls on their 18th birthday or guys on their 21st birthday celebrate a debut.[citation needed]

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).



Name days

In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, or Greece and Latvia 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"); for one, Togliatti got Palmiro as first name because he was born on Palm Sunday.

Official birthdays

Colored lanterns at the Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul, South Korea, celebrating the Buddha's birthday

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 is celebrated as Presidents' Day.


According to a public record births database, birthdays in the United States are evenly distributed throughout the year, except for the months of September and October, which follow the holiday season by nine months.[3]


A child's birthday celebration, complete with 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.[4] The origin of the birthday gift giving originates from the gift giving celebration of Christmas.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]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[5].

Religious opposition


In Judaism, the perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.[6] 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,[7] 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".

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.


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. 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.[8]

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, who was born in a stable full of animals, particularly common farm mammals such as cows. 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.[citation needed] In ancient times, people prayed over the flames of an open fire. They believed that the smoke carried their thoughts up to the gods. 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."[9]

See also


Further reading

  • Curtis Regan, Dian (March 1991). The Class With the Summer Birthdays. Henry Holth & Co. ISBN 978-0805016574. 


Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From Wikiquote


See also Growing old


  • "The more things change, the more they remain the same." -- Alphonse Karr
  • "Every ten years a man should give himself a good kick in the pants." -- Edward Steichen
  • "A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." -- Robert Frost
  • "A well adjusted woman is one who not only knows what she wants for her birthday, but even knows what she's going to exchange it for." -- Anonymous
  • "There is still no cure for the common birthday." -- John Glenn
  • "Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again." -- Menachem Mendel Schneerson
  • "We know we're getting old when the only thing we want for our birthday is not to be reminded of it." -- Anonymous
  • "A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip." -- Anonymous
  • "Birthdays are just nature's way of telling us to eat more cake." - - Anonymous
  • "Think of birthdays this way: you're not getting older, you're getting wiser."-- Anonymous
  • "Today's your Birthday! Its my birthday too, yeah! Today's your birthday! And happy birthday to you!" -- The Beatles

External links

Look up birthday in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Source material

Up to date as of January 22, 2010
(Redirected to A Birthday article)

From Wikisource

A Birthday
by Christina Rossetti

My heart is like a singing bird
   Whose nest is in a watered shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
   Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
   That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
   Because my love is come to me.

Raise me a dais of silk and down;
   Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves, and pomegranates,
   And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
   In leaves, and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
   Is come, my love is come to me.

Bible wiki

Up to date as of January 23, 2010

From BibleWiki



Biblical References.


Birthdays might not have been celebrated by the common people with great solemnity, yet they did not pass wholly unnoticed, and were remembered by congratulations, as in modern times. Jeremiah not only cursed the day of his birth, but wished that it should not be blessed (Jer 20:14), as though such had been the custom.

It is said of Job, "and he cursed his day" (Job 3:1). The emphatic and determining expression "his day" implies the idea that he, like everybody else, had a certain day of the year singled out for a certain purpose, which we learn further was the anniversary of his birth.

Weaning on Second Birthday.

The second or third birthday of a child whose coming into the world was very much desired by his parents was usually made the occasion of a feast, because the child was then weaned, and had consequently passed the dangerous and uncertain stage of infancy. Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned (Gen 21:8). This occurred, according to Rashi, at the expiration of twenty-four months. Bishop Ely ("Holy Bible Com." l.c. on the passage) says: "By comparing I Sam. it would seem that this was very probably a religious feast." Hannah postponed the yearly family feast at Shiloh until she had weaned Samuel, in order to celebrate his birthday at the same time (1Sam 1:23, 24). According to Rashi and Midr. R. Samuel, l.c., this also occurred at the end of twenty-four months. Yet from 2Chr 31:16 it may be inferred that Samuel was weaned at the end of his third year; for only from that age were children admitted to the service of the Temple.

In Post-Biblical Times.


The Bar Miẓwah.


Special Birthdays of Scholars.



The birthday anniversaries of heathen kings, (missing hebrew text) , are considered by the rabbis of the Talmud as legal heathen holidays, which count among those holidays on the three days preceding which Jews are by Talmudic law required to abstain from concluding any business with a heathen (Mishnah 'Ab. Zarah i. 3).

About the meaning of (missing hebrew text) of the Mishnah, which seems to correspond with ἡμέρα γενεσεώς (LXX., Gen 40:20), some doubts have been raised because, by the side of (missing hebrew text) ("birthday of the king") mention is also made of (missing hebrew text) (missing hebrew text) ("the day of birth and the day of death"). In the Babylonian Talmud ('Ab. Zarah 10a) the decision is reached in favor of (missing hebrew text) as meaning "the day of coronation." It is accepted by Maimonides (see Commentary to the Mishnah, and Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah, 'Akkum we-Ḥukotehem, ix. 5). The glossary "Kesef Mishneh," ad loc., thinks that Maimonides may have read (missing hebrew text) ("assembly") for (missing hebrew text) . Rasḥi explains (missing hebrew text) as equivalent to "the birthday of the king"; while the Talmud Yerushalmi ('Ab. Zarah i. 39) explains (missing hebrew text) as "birthday." This agrees with the use made of the word in many instances (Gen. R. lxxxviii.; Ex. R. xv.; Yer. R. H. iii. 8; Yalḳ., Job. 584; Compare Rashi, Gen 40:20). Graetz (in "M. G. Y." 230) is of the opinion that (missing hebrew text) means the day of death of the king.

All these difficulties and differences may be obviated if (missing hebrew text) be explained as indicating Christian festivals of the early Church. By (missing hebrew text) may be understood the Nativity, or Christmas, and by (missing hebrew text) Easter, or the Resurrection. Cave (in "Primitive Christianity," part 1, vii. 194, cited in McClintock and Strong's "Cyclopedia," s.v. "Christmas ") traces the observance of Christmas to the second century, about the time of the emperor Commodus. According to David Ganz ("Ẓemaḥ David," i., year 3881), Commodus reigned 183-185, at the time of Rabbi Meïr of the Mishnah, who counted those days as legal holidays.

This entry includes text from the Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906.

Simple English



Western birthdays

Not everyone celebrates birthdays, including Jehovah's Witnesses.

In many English-speaking countries, people sing the song "Happy Birthday to You" to the person celebrating his birthday. There are similar songs in other languages.


Coming of age

A birthday can give a person new responsibilities and rights.


A person's astrological sign is based on his birthday.




Month Modern Birthstone[1] Alternate Traditional Birthstone[2]
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
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


  1. Timewell Corp. Website.Birthstones and Gemstones Color
  2. Timewell Corp. Website.Birthstones and Gemstones Color


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