A birthday is the anniversary of a person’s birth, usually celebrated with gifts, cake, parties, or a rite of passage. Birthdays are observed around the world, with a majority of cultures celebrating their members’ annual return to life. Often, birthdays are seen as a special occasion for friends and family to gather together, remember the past year of the person’s life, and look forward to their future.
A popular tradition in many cultures is for people to offer a gift, typically a cake, to the celebrant, often with a number of candles on the cake matching the age of the person being celebrated. It is also common to give a card with wishes for health, success, happiness and love to the celebrant. Various religious cultures often celebrate the birthdays of their founders or key figures, such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Krishna Janmashtami.
In Western culture, a birthday is typically marked by a cake, a card with wishes for health, happiness, and love, or some other treat, depending on the traditions of that culture. In addition, many people give their birthday celebrant a special present, traditionally given on a milestone age, such as a child’s first birthday, the sweet sixteen of a young woman, or the 21st birthday of a man.
Many cultures have their own ways of marking a person’s birthday, such as lighting an altar or table of candles, giving prayers, making vows, wreathing or anointing a statue of the natal god (usually the Genius for a man or Juno for a woman), or sacrificing to the patron deity of longevity. These celebrations are generally called birthday observances, or narodennastya.
People often mark their own ages in milestone ways, such as by wearing a crown or putting a flower on the head to signify that they are now the same age as a certain monarch. In the United States, for example, a person’s 16th birthday is commonly referred to as their “sweet sixteen” and a young woman’s 18th birthday is known as her debut.
A person’s birthday can be a sad reminder of those who have passed away, especially if they died on that day. Some people choose to memorialize the deceased by visiting a place where they once lived, or by putting flowers on their gravestone.
Whether you want to be funny, heartfelt or all of the above, it’s important to use your best efforts when wishing someone a happy birthday. Adding a personal touch to your words can really help them resonate and make the day even more memorable. So get out your pen and paper, or open your smartphone app, and start writing! Your friend or loved one will appreciate the effort and thought that went into your wish. Taking the time to send a message on their special day can be one of the best gifts they receive all year.