A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or the figurative birth of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
Many religions celebrate the birth of their founders or religious figures with special holidays (e.g. Christmas, Mawlid, Buddha's Birthday, Krishna Janmashtami, and Gurpurb).
There is a distinction between birthday and birthdate (also known as date of birth): the former, except for February 29, occurs each year (e.g. January 15), while the latter is the complete date when a person was born (e.g. January 15, 2001).
Coming of age
In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular birthday when they reach the age of majority (usually between 12 and 21), and reaching age-specific milestones confers particular rights and responsibilities. At certain ages, one may become eligible to leave full-time education, become subject to military conscription or to enlist in the military, to consent to sexual intercourse, to marry with parental consent, 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 licence. The age of majority is when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and responsibilities of their parents or guardians over and for them. Most countries set the age of majority at 18, though it varies by jurisdiction.
Many cultures celebrate a coming of age birthday when a person reaches a particular year of life.
In Canada and the United States, families often mark a girl's 16th birthday with a "sweet sixteen" celebration – often represented in popular culture. In some Hispanic countries, as well as Brazil, the quinceañera (Spanish) or festa de quinze anos (Portuguese) celebration traditionally marks a girl's 15th birthday.Quinceañeras – Hispanic Culture . Bellaonline.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-01. In Japan, people celebrate Coming of Age Day for all those who have turned 18. In the Philippines, a coming-of-age party called a debut is held for young women on their 18th birthday and young men on their 21st birthday. Jewish boys have a bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls have a 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 from which they were previously exempted and are counted as part of the community.
Other landmark birthdays Some cultures celebrate landmark birthdays in early life or old age.
In Korea, many celebrate a traditional ceremony of Baek-il (Feast for the 100th day) and Doljanchi (child's first birthday). In some Asian countries that follow the zodiac calendar, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday. In British Commonwealth nations, cards from the Royal Family are sent to those celebrating their 100th and 105th birthdays and every year thereafter.Queen and anniversary messages. Royal.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2013-01-01.
In many cultures and jurisdictions, if a person's real birthday is unknown (for example, if they are an orphan), their birthday may be adopted or assigned to a specific day of the year, such as January 1.On New Year's Day, wish a 'Happy Birthday' to 202,000 refugees . syracuse.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-01. Racehorses are reckoned to become one year old in the year following their birth on January 1 in the Northern Hemisphere and August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere.
Birthday parties
In certain parts of the world, an individual's birthday is celebrated by a party featuring a specially made cake. Presents are bestowed on the individual by the guests appropriate to their age. Other birthday activities may include entertainment (sometimes 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.
Birthday cake
The birthday cake may be decorated with lettering and the person's age, or studded with the same number of lit candles as the age of the individual. The celebrated individual may make a silent wish and attempt to blow out the candles in one breath; if successful, superstition holds that the wish will be granted. In many cultures, the wish must be kept secret or it will not "come true".
Birthdays as holidays Historically significant people's birthdays, such as national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday marking the anniversary of their birth. 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. In India, Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi is an annual holiday celebrated on October 2. All liquor shops are closed across the country in honor of Gandhi, who did not consume liquor. The King's (or 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 on June 23. This is different from the monarch's date of birth, November 11.
Koninginnedag in the Kingdom of the Netherlands was typically celebrated on April 30. Queen Beatrix fixed it on her mother's birthday, the previous queen, to avoid the winter weather associated with her own birthday in January. The present monarch's birthday is April 27, and it is also celebrated on that day. This has replaced the celebration of Koninginnedag on April 30. The birthday of Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) of Japan was April 29, which was celebrated as the Emperor's Birthday. After his death, the holiday was kept as "Shōwa no Hi", or "Shōwa Day". This holiday falls close to Golden Week, the week in late April and early May. Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's birthdays are celebrated in North Korea as national holidays called the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Shining Star respectively. In the United States, Washington's Birthday, commonly referred to as Presidents' Day, is a federal holiday observing the birthday of George Washington on the third Monday of February each year. Washington's actual birth date was either February 11 (Old Style) or February 22 (New Style). Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January each year to mark the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. on January 15.
Birthdays of religious figures
Krishna
Buddha
In Mahayana Buddhism, many monasteries celebrate the anniversary of Buddha's birth, usually in a highly formal, ritualized manner. They treat Buddha's statue as if it was Buddha himself as if he were alive; bathing, and "feeding" him.Sarah J. Horton (2007) Living Buddhist statues in early medieval and modern Japan, Palgrave Macmillan p. 24
Jesus and Christian saints Jesus Christ's traditional birthday is celebrated as Christmas Eve or Christmas Day around the world, on December 24 or 25, respectively. As some Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, December 25 will fall on January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. These dates are traditional and have no connection with Jesus's actual birthday, which is not recorded in the Gospels.
Similarly, the birthdays of the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist are liturgically celebrated on September 8 and June 24, especially in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions (although for those Eastern Orthodox churches using the Julian calendar the corresponding Gregorian dates are September 21 and July 7 respectively). As with Christmas, the dates of these celebrations are traditional and probably have no connection with the actual birthdays of these individuals. Catholic saints are remembered by a liturgical feast on the anniversary of their "birth" into heaven a.k.a. their day of death.
Ganesha In Hinduism, Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival celebrating the birth of the elephant-headed deity Ganesha in extensive community celebrations and at home. Figurines of Ganesha are made for the holiday and are widely sold.
Sikh gurus Sikhs celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak and other Sikh gurus, which is known as Gurpurb.
Muhammad
Mawlid is the anniversary of the birth of Muhammad and is celebrated on the 12th or 17th day of Rabi' al-awwal by adherents of Sunni and Shia Islam respectively. These are the two most commonly accepted dates of birth of Muhammad.
However, there is much controversy regarding the permissibility of celebrating Mawlid, as some Muslims judge the custom as an unacceptable practice according to Islamic tradition.
In Iran, Mother's Day is celebrated on the birthday of Fatima al-Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad. Banners reading Ya Fatima ("O Fatima") are displayed on government buildings, private buildings, public streets and car windows.
Religious views Judaism In Judaism, rabbis are relatively divided about celebrating this custom, although the majority of the faithful accept it. In the Torah, the only mention of a birthday is the celebration of Pharaoh's birthday in Egypt (Genesis 40:20).
Christianity
Although the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth is celebrated as a Christian holiday on December 25, historically the celebrating of an individual person's birthday has been subject to theological debate. Early Christians, notes The World Book Encyclopedia, "considered the celebration of anyone's birth to be a pagan custom." Origen, in his commentary "On Levites," wrote that Christians should not only refrain from celebrating their birthdays but should look at them with disgust as a pagan custom.John Bugge (1975). The ancient Greeks, for instance, believed that each person had a protective spirit that attended the person's birth and thereafter watched over him. That spirit "had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born," says the book The Lore of Birthdays. Birthdays also have a long-standing and intimate link with astrology and the horoscope.11 Besides rejecting birthday customs on account of pagan and spiritistic roots, God's servants of old likely rejected them on principle as well. Why? These were humble, modest men and women who did not view their arrival in the world as so important that it should be celebrated. (Micah 6:8; Luke 9:48) Rather, they glorified Jehovah and thanked him for the precious gift of life.—Psalm 8:3, 4; 36:9; Revelation 4:11. Virginitas: an essay in the history of a medieval ideal, Springer , p. 69 A saint's day was typically celebrated on the anniversary of their martyrdom or death, considered the occasion of or preparation for their entrance into Heaven or the New Jerusalem.
Ordinary folk in the Middle Ages 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.Margaret Hallissy (1995) A Companion to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales , Greenwood Publishing Group , p. 300