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BIRTHDAY
CELEBRATIONS
It
is assumed that carousing
Birthdays in
Europe commenced with the originally Iranian
cult of Mithras in Roman Empire. It was very
rare during the middle ages but with the advent
of reformation it was resurrected.
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A
happy
Birthday Song
is conventionally sung to accolade the person
celebrating his birthday. The carnival is
followed by the blowing out of candles and then
slicing the highly decorated
birthday cake. The
rite of blowing out of candles has got a
significance which is believed by most people.
It is a means of wish fulfillment. If all the
candles can be blown out with one breath then
the
wish is believed
to come true. The
birthday cake is very
nicely decorated and it is garlanded with lit
candles. The singing of birthday song can
be performed at any place, even in restaurants
at the delivery of the dessert or the very
special
birthday cake.
Numeral candles are also used where the number
of candles may prove to be a fire hazard.
Numeral candles means the shape of the candle
will be numeral, for e. g. if the person’s age
is fifty then instead of lighting fifty candles
only a numeral 5 followed by a numeral 0 will be
placed on the cake.
On Birthday, the honored person gets a hug, a
call or letters from his
friends and family.
Kids usually enjoy
this special day by playing games such as Pin
the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs and
hitting Piñatas.
Adults prefer to
celebrate their birthday privately in some
restaurants by having a dinner with their
friends.
A tradition of Surprise Parties is also popular.
The Birthday boy or the Birthday girl receives
no greetings from his/her family at the
beginning of the day because a surprise party
has been organized to delight the honored
person.
There is also a practice of treating friends and
that is not always compensated by
gifts.
Another custom which was commonly practiced by
the girls in 1950’s and 60’s in their school
days was receiving of a bouquet of flower,
ornamented with inexpensive gifts such as
candies, lollipops, bubble gums, sugar cubes,
lemon drops and many more on their Birthday
depending on their age.
Birthday bumps are also eminent; here the
Birthday boy/ girl is lifted on air by his/ her
friends and family and then placed on the ground
lightly so that they don’t get hurt. The number
of bumps equals the age that the honored person
reaches on his Birthday. ‘Birthday beats’ and
‘Birthday bashes’ are also practiced on this day
which is similar to the Birthday bumps, that is
the Birthday person gets a number of friendly
thumps on his arm or back corresponding to the
age he has reached.
Birthdays are celebrated specially on
notable ages
such as 1st, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, and
so on. One’s golden Birthday is also called as
one’s Champagne Birthday, this happens when
one’s age coincides with his date of birth, for
e. g, if the age of the Birthday guy turns 30 on
his date of birth, supposedly 30th of may then
it is celebrated as his golden Birthday.
Many girls in the United States have sweet
sixteen birthday parties. In Latin America, the
15th Birthday of a girl is a marked one and is
traditionally celebrated.
The Birthdays of historically significant people
such as Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammad are
usually commemorated as official holidays
followed by celebrations in
religious
places and at people’s home. Some notables,
particularly Monarchs, on a fixed day of the
year celebrate his Birthday which does not match
their actual date of birth yet celebrations are
held on that day. Examples such as King or
Queen’s Birthday in U.K under British crown;
Commonwealth Day, originally called Empire’s Day
is on the Queen Empress Victoria’s Birthday held
on May 24; in Luxemburg the national holiday is
on June 23. These are some of the well known
Birthdays nationwide.
Symbolical Birthday gifts
are very illustrious which includes various
stones depending on the honored person’s zodiac.
It is supposed to have originated from Biblical
times. The statistics is as follows: January –
garnet, February- amethyst, March- aquamarine or
bloodstone, April- diamond, May- emerald, June-
pearl or moonstone or alexandrite, July- ruby,
August- peridot or sardonyx or sapphire,
September- sapphire, October- tourmaline or
opal, November- yellow topaz or satrine and
December- zircon, turquoise or lapis lazuli,
blue topaz.
This list is officially adopted by the American
National association of jewelers in 1912 and it
is currently the most widely used list in the
United States and in many other places including
Australia and Thailand. |
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