Birthday Traditions

The birthdays have got long history. The various traditions and customs people follow, to celebrate their birthdays have their origin lying in the sphere of religion and pleasing the supernatural powers for safety of the person. It is an occasion of offering congratulations, presentation of gifts and celebrations.

History
It is believed that Europe has started celebrating birthdays. If you turn the pages of history then you can trace these traditions in the cult of Mithras which was initiated in Persia and later spread through out Roman Empire by the then soldiers.

Although, superseded by Christianity in the Middle Ages, it again started spreading after the movement of protestant reformation. During the middle ages, people used to conceal gold coins, rings or thimbles inside their cakes as symbol. This symbolic item was associated with a certain prediction. If a person found a gold coin in a birthday cake then it was considered as symbol of wealth and if someone found a thimble then it was predicted as life time bachelorhood.

Over the years many birthday traditions hold the roots in different cultures across the globe. Some of them are quite identical to each other while others are distinguished.

Similar traditions
One of the most observed birthday tradition is a traditionally decorated bithday cake covered with lit candles. the birthday boy or girl makes a silent wish and blows out the candles.In most english speaking countries, it is very common to sing the famous Happy Birthday Song on the occasion of birthday.Even in non english speaking countries, local versions of these songs are sung by the people like"Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German or "Sto lat" in Polish.

It is believed that bithday candles carry the wishes to god. Another commonly observed traditin is birthday games in which child is judged on comparision between his present achievements with the last year’s in the same game. In some parts there is a tradition of pinches.

Other Birthday Traditions
Some traditions are more specific to certain countries.
1. In Argentina, on the occasion of fifteenth birthday, they have tradition of a huge party which involves the birthday girls to dance the waltz with their father and other boys.
2. In Canada, the birthday boy or girl is ambushed and their nose is greased by butter or margarine. It is believed that the greased nose makes the birthday child too slippery that bad luck can’t catch them. This tradition is presumed to have origination from Scottish culture. In some parts like Quebec, the birthday boy or girl receives the punches equal to the number of their ages plus one for good luck.
3. In most of the African nations, they have a tradition of initiation ceremony instead of birthday ceremony. When children reach a specific chosen age, they are taught the traditional laws, customs, beliefs, songs and dances of their tribes.
4. In China, the birthday boy or girl pays respect to his/her parents. The friends are invited to lunch and noodles are served to wish a child a long life.
5. In Denmark, a flag is hoisted outside a window to symbolize that someone in the house is having a birthday. Generally, parents used to place the presents around the child's bed in the night itself so the birthday child will see them immediately upon awakening.
6. In Holland, special years such as 5, 10, 15, 20, and 21 are celebrated as "crown" years. The birthday boy or girl receives particularly large gift on such birthday occasions. The family of the birthday child decorates the chair at the dining room table with seasonal flowers or paper flowers and balloons. The birthday child offers his/her classmates something to eat and their teacher offers a birthday hat to the child usually made up of paper streamers.
7. In South Africa, they follow a tradition of presentation of a key made up of aluminum foil to silver or gold at age twenty-one. It is presented by the parents as a symbol of the child’s readiness to unlock the door to their future.
8. In Israel, tradition of chair raising is observed. A birthday child sits in a chair while grown-ups raise the chair and lower it for number of times depending on the child's age, plus one for good luck.
9. In countries like Ireland or U.K. tradition of bumping is also common.
10. In Nepal, a certain mixture of color and rice yogurt is placed on the birthday boy’s forehead to fetch a good luck.
11. In Russia, they celebrate the occasion with a birthday pie instead of a birthday cake.
12. In Scotland, a birthday child usually gets a note of pound and soft smacking.
13. In Vietnam, they do not recognize their individual birthdays, but used to celebrate at the beginning of the New Year.
14. Another tradition made popular by girls in America in the 60s is offering a special inexpensive item corresponding to age of birthday girl.lollipops were presented on 10th birthday, while sugar cubes mrked the 16th birthday.

Birthstones
A birthstone is a gift of a precious gemstones that are traditionally believed to posess various qualities and associated with certain month of Gregorian Calender. In certain cases, they are also associated with the zodiac signs or week days.

There are numerous traditions observed from generation to generation to preseve those moments of birthdays- the cherished momentos of sweet memories!