The birthday is the anniversary of the day on which a person was born, typically celebrated as an occasion for friends and family to give that person gifts. It is one of the most common holidays celebrated in many cultures around the world. In some countries, it is a public holiday and others treat it as a private affair for family members. A cake is usually eaten at the celebration, and often decorated with lettering and/or images or numbers indicating the person’s age. The person who has the birthday may be required to make a wish before blowing out the candles, and superstition holds that if the person successfully makes their wish, it will come true in the following year.
The word “birthday” derives from the Latin term natalis, meaning “of the birth”. Birthdays have long been an important cultural and social event, and the modern celebration of the birthday has roots in Western European culture. The earliest records of the birthday as a significant event in human life are found in pagan festivals, such as Saturnalia. This festival, like the Christmas and New Year holiday seasons, was observed in Ancient Greece and Rome as a time for gift-giving and for honoring the dead. In early Christianity, Origen wrote that birthdays were a pagan practice and that Christians should not celebrate them.
Birthdays of important people, such as national heroes and religious figures, are celebrated as holidays. Romans commemorated saints by feasting on their “death-anniversary” — their dies natalis, or “day of birth” into heaven — on the anniversary of their death, which was also their birthday. The term died natalis has also been used to refer to the anniversary of an institution such as a temple or a university.
There are so many ways to send a special someone wishes for their birthday, and it is easy to personalize them by adding an inside joke or other personal element. Here are a few ideas to help you get started on your next card, and don’t forget that a handwritten message goes a long way in showing the other person how much you care.