Candles spell out the traditional English birthday greeting

A birthday is a day when a person celebrates the anniversary of his or her birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party, or rite of passage. The celebration of a birthday usually is thought to mark how old a person is, traditionally stopping when death occurs and only stating that if still alive, they would have been (number of years) old. Some contemporary writers ignore this aspect, however, and keep counting the years since the date of birth of famous people, such as proclaiming that it is Shakespeare's "four hundredth birthday" (although he died at the age of fifty-two) instead of noting that it is the four hundredth anniversary of his birth.^{[citation needed]}

Many religions celebrate the birth of their founders with special holidays (e.g., Buddha's Birthday, Christmas).

Legal conventions [edit]

In most legal systems, one becomes designated as an adult on a particular birthday (often between 14 and 21^[1]), and reaching age-specific milestones confers particular rights and responsibilities. At certain ages, one may become subject to military conscription or become eligible to enlist in the military, to marry without parental consent, to vote, to run for elected office, to legally purchase (or consume) alcohol and tobacco products, to purchase lottery tickets, or to obtain a driver's license.

Cultural conventions [edit]

Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:

Little girl in traditional U.S. birthday hat

• Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday, or sometimes on their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism. This marks the transition where they become obligated in commandments of which they were previously exempted and are counted as part of the community.^[2]
• In the United States and Canada, families often mark a girl's 16th birthday with a "sweet sixteen" celebration.
• In some Hispanic countries, as well as in Portuguese-speaking Brazil, the quinceañera (Spanish) or festa de quinze anos (Portuguese) celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.^[3]
• In India, Hindu male children of some castes like Brahmins have the 12th or 13th birthday replaced with a grand "thread ceremony." The child takes a blessed thread and wears it, symbolizing his coming of age. This is called the Upanayana. This ceremony is practiced amongst boys in the Hindu Brahmin culture.^[4]
• In the Philippines, girls on their 18th birthday or boys on their 21st birthday celebrate a debut.
• In some Asian countries that follow the Zodiac calendar, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday.^[5]
• In Korea, many celebrate a traditional ceremony of Baek-il (Feast for the 100th day) and Doljanchi (child's first birthday).
• In Japan there is a Coming of Age Day, for all of those who have turned 20 years of age.
• In the United Kingdom cards from the Royal Family are sent to those celebrating their 100th and 105th birthday and every year thereafter.^[6]

The birthdays of historically significant people, such national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday marking the anniversary of their birth. Catholic saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). The ancient Romans marked the anniversary of a temple dedication or other founding event as a dies natalis, a term still sometimes applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university).

A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, also 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 21st of the month turns 21 or when someone born on the fourth turns four).^[7]

In many cultures and jurisdictions, if a person's real birthday is not known (for example, if he or she is an orphan), then their birthday may be considered to be January 1.^[8] That tradition is followed with horses, their age becoming one, on the first day of the year following their birth and being counted annually after that.

The Chinese count age without zero; a newborn's age is one, a 12-month old is two, and so on.^[9]

Birthday traditions [edit]

Child with Snow White Cake, circa 1930–1940

In many portions of the world an individual's birthday is celebrated by a party where a specially made cake, usually decorated with lettering and the person's age, is presented. The cake is traditionally studded with the same number of lit candles as the age of the individual, or a number candle representing their age. The celebrated individual usually will make a silent wish and attempt to blow out the candles in one breath; if successful, a tradition holds that the wish will be granted. In many cultures, the wish must be kept secret or it won't "come true". Presents are bestowed on the individual by the guests appropriate to her/his age. Other birthday activities may include entertainment (usually by a hired professional, i.e. a clown, magician, or musician), and a special toast or speech by the birthday celebrant. The last stanza of Patty Hill's and Mildred Hill's famous song, "Good Morning to You" (unofficially titled "Happy Birthday to You") is typically sung by the guests at some point in the proceedings. In some countries a piñata takes the place of a cake. An occasional activity is spanking the birthday individual, with one usually gentle "swat" for each year since birth.^{[citation needed]}. In North America, the celebration of a birthday is fundamentally about celebrating the role of friends and families in an individual's life and recognizing their importance.

Name days [edit]

In some historically Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as Italy, Spain, France, parts of Germany, Poland, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, and throughout South America, it is common to have a 'name day'/'Saint's day'. It is celebrated in much the same way as a birthday, but it 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 possibly the name of a feast, for example, Noel or Pascal (French for Christmas and "of Easter"); as another example, Togliatti got Palmiro as his first name because he was born on Palm Sunday.

Official birthdays [edit]

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

Some notables, particularly monarchs, have an official birthday on a fixed day of the year, which may not necessarily match the day of their birth, but on which celebrations are held. Examples are:

• Jesus Christ's traditional birthday is celebrated as Christmas Eve or Christmas Day around the world, on December 24 or 25, respectively. This anniversary date was chosen to fall on a traditional holiday that was celebrated by contemporary cultures during the early years of Christianity. As some Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, December 25 will fall upon January 7 in the Gregorian calendar.
• The Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Fiji, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
• The Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg is typically celebrated upon June 23.
• Koninginnedag in the Kingdom of the Netherlands is typically celebrated upon April 30. 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 current Japanese Emperor Akihito's birthday is December 23, which is a national holiday in Japan.
• The previous Japanese Emperor Showa (Hirohito)'s birthday was April 29. After his death, the holiday was kept as "Showa no Hi", or "Showa Day". This holiday falls close to Golden Week, the week in late April and early May.
• Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-Il's birthday are celebrated in North Korea as a national holiday.
• Washington's Birthday, commonly referred to as Presidents' Day, is a federal holiday in the United States that celebrates the birthday of George Washington. President Washington's birthday is observed on the third Monday of February each year. However, his actual birth date was either February 11 (Old Style), or February 22 (New Style).
• In India, every year October 2nd which marks the Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, is declared as an holiday. All the liquor shops across the country will be closed in accordance with the principal followed by Gandhi in not consuming liquor.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

Frequency [edit]

Picture of a cake indicating a sixty-fourth birthday celebration

According to a public record births database, birthdays in the United States are quite evenly distributed for the most part. However, there tend to be more births in September and October. This may be because there is a holiday season nine months before, or from the fact that the longest nights of the year happen in the Northern Hemisphere nine months before as well.^[10] Based on Harvard University research of birth records in the United States between 1973 and 1999, September 16 is the most common birthday in the United States and December 25 the least common birthday (other than February 29, because of leap years).^[11]

More recently October 5 and 6 have taken over as the most frequently occurring birthdays.^[12]

According to a study by the Yale School of Public Health, positive and negative associations with culturally significant dates may influence birthrates. The study shows a 5.3 percent decrease in spontaneous births and a 16.9 percent decrease in cesarean births on Halloween, compared to other births occurring within one week before and one week after the October holiday. Whereas, on Valentine’s Day there is a 3.6 percent increase in spontaneous births and a 12.1 percent increase in cesarean births.^[13]

Time zones and birthdays [edit]

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A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in American Samoa at 11:30 pm will record their birthdate as one day before Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and those born in the Samoa 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.

Leap day [edit]

See: Leapling and February 29

Birthdays in cultures and religions [edit]

Ancient Rome [edit]

The Romans enthusiastically celebrated birthdays with hedonistic parties and generous presents.^[14]

Judaism [edit]

In Judaism, the perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.^[15] 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 which is recorded in Genesis 40:20.^[16] Rabbi Moshe Feinstein always acknowledged birthdays.^[17] The Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged people to celebrate their birthdays, by gathering friends, making positive resolutions, and through various religious observances.^[18] According to Rabbi Yissocher Frand, the anniversary of a person's birth is a special day for that person's prayers to be accepted.^[19]

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. Despite modern celebrations where the secular "birthday" element often overshadows the essence of it as a religious rite, the essence of a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah celebration is entirely religious in origin (i.e. the attainment of religious maturity according to Jewish law), however, and not secular. With or without the birthday celebration, the child nevertheless becomes a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, and the celebration may be on that day or any date after it.

Christianity [edit]

Christianity: Early centuries [edit]

Origen in his commentary "On Levites" writes that Christians should not only refrain from celebrating their birthdays, but should look on them with disgust.^[20]

Orthodox Christianity still prefers the celebration of name days only.

Christianity: Medieval [edit]

Ordinary folk celebrated their saint's day (the saint they were named after), but nobility celebrated the anniversary of their birth. The "Squire's Tale," one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, opens as King Cambuskan proclaims a feast to celebrate his birthday.^[21]

Christianity: Modern [edit]

Jehovah's Witnesses and some Sacred Name groups refrain from celebrating birthdays. They believe that birthday celebrations are portrayed in a negative light in the Bible and have historical connections with magic, superstitions, and Paganism.^[22][23][24]

Islam [edit]

Some clerics consider the celebration of a birthday to be a sin, as it is considered an "innovation" of the faith, or bi'dah while other clerics have issued statements saying that the celebration of a birthday is permissible.^[25][26]

Some Muslims (and Arabian Christians) migrating to the United States adopt the custom of celebrating birthdays, especially for children, but others resist.^[27]

There also is a great deal of controversy regarding celebrating Milad-ul-Nabi – the anniversary of the birth of Muhammad. While a section of Islam strongly favours it,^[28] others decry such celebrations, terming them as out of the scope of Islam.^[29]

Hindus [edit]

Hindus celebrate the birth anniversary day every year when the day that corresponds to lunar month or solar month (Sun Signs Nirayana System – Sourava Mana Masa) of birth and has the same asterism (Star / Nakshatra) as that of the date of birth. That age is reckoned whenever Janma Nakshatra of the same month passes.

Buddhism [edit]

Many monasteries celebrate the anniversary of Buddha's birth, usually in a highly formal, ritualized manner. They treat Buddha's statue as if it were alive, bathing and "feeding" it.^[30]

Sikhism [edit]

Sikhs celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak.

North Korea [edit]

In North Korea, people do not celebrate birthdays on July 8 and December 17 because these were the dates of the deaths of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, respectively. More than 100,000 North Koreans celebrate displaced birthdays on July 9 or December 18 to avoid these dates. A person born on July 8 before 1994 may change their birthday, with official recognition.^[31]

See also [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Birthday

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Birthday

• 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
• Death anniversary / Yahrzeit
• Unbirthday
• Decimal birthday
• Sashtiabdhapoorthi
• Birthstones

References [edit]

Further reading [edit]

• Curtis Regan, Dian (March 1991). The Class With the Summer Birthdays. Henry Holth & Co. ISBN 978-0-8050-1657-4.