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It is customary in many cultures to Celebrate the Anniversary of one's birthday, for example by having a birthday Party with family and/or friends. Gifts are often given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a Rite Of Transition . WESTERN PRIVATE BIRTHDAY TRADITIONS History of celebration of birthdays in the West It is thought that the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras , which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire . Before this, such celebrations were not common; and, hence, practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism , it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity . The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various Rabbis . Reb Chaim HaQoton: Happy Birthday! April 17, 2007 The celebration of birthdays is not universal in the West; in addition to those people preferring name day celebrations, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate either, considering their origins to be Pagan festivals along with Christmas and Easter . Some adults loathe celebrating it as it reminds them that they are getting progressively older. And in some activities that are not year-round, birthday acknowledgements may be discouraged because of some birthdays not falling during the season. In most English -speaking countries it is traditional to sing the Song '' Happy Birthday To You '' to the honored person celebrating his birthday. The Happy Birthday Song melody is thought to be the most frequently sung melody in the world. Similar songs exist in other languages such as "Lang zal hij/zij leven" (and several others) in Dutch, "Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Cumpleaños feliz" in Spanish, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Lá Bhreithlá Shona Duit" in Irish, "Joyeux Anniversaire" in French, and "Tanti Auguri a te" in Italian. This happens traditionally at a birthday party while someone brings a birthday Cake into the (often darkened) room.
If the knife touches the bottom or when withdrawn from the cake comes out dirty the Birthday boy or girl may have to kiss either the nearest boy or girl (Opposite sex). Birthday cakes have been a tradition dating back as far as the Middle Ages when the English would conceal symbolic items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles inside their cakes. Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become wealthy where a person discovering a thimble would never marry. Typical birthday party decorations include Balloons , streamers, and confetti. For special birthdays and for when the number of candles might be considered impractical or a Fire Hazard , special candles might be substituted for the many individual candles. These candles are in the shape of a Numeral ; for example, on the fifth birthday there may be one candle on the cake in the shape of the numeral 5, and on the fiftieth birthday there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the numeral 5 followed by the other in the shape of the numeral 0.
Special birthdays Notable birthdays can include:
OFFICIAL/ALTERNATIVE BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAY Some notables, particularly Monarchs, have on a fixed day of the year an ''official birthday'' which do not match their actual birthday, but on which celebrations are held. Examples are:
While it is uncommon to have an official holiday for a Republic an Head Of State 's birthday, this can become a permanent posthumous honour, especially in the case of a so-called Father Of The Fatherland , for example George Washington (best known as Presidents' Day ; also celebrated in the US is Lincoln's Birthday ) In cases where a mythical figure's actual birthday is unknown, it is common for a particular date to be substituted. People who are born on the Leap Day 29 February , which only occurs during Leap Year s, often celebrate their birthday in other years on the 28th (the last day of February), or 1 March (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new Age ). In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France , Hungary , or Greece , it is common also to have a ' Name Day '/'Saint's day'. This is celebrated in much the same way as a birthday, but is held on the official day of a saint with the same Christian name as the birthday boy/girl; the difference being that one may look up a person's nameday in a calendar, or easily remember common namedays (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 even the name of a feast, for example, ''Noel'' or ''Pascal'' (French for Christmas and "of Easter"). In some countries, name days are celebrated with much more elaborate festivities than birthdays; in the past, birthdays often weren't celebrated at all in those countries. In school, a Half-birthday or other Unbirthday is sometimes celebrated for those whose birthdays do not fall on a school day (especially for birthdays falling during holiday and vacation periods). All Racehorse s traditionally celebrate their birthday on (that is, calculate their age in years from) 1 August in the Southern Hemisphere, and on 1 January in the Northern Hemisphere. BIRTHDAY GIFT SYMBOLISM Birthstones A birthstone is a gift of a precious material (jewelry, mainly Gemstone s; themselves traditionally associated with various qualities) that symbolizes the Month of birth (in the Gregorian Calendar ). It is sometimes also called ''birthday stone'' (cf. infra; but that word is, confusingly, sometimes used as a synonym for an Anniversary gift, which is related to the recipient's age, that is, year of birth). There have been many different sets of birthstones used throughout history and in different cultures. In 1912 , in an effort to standardize them, the American national association of jewelers, Jewelers Of America , officially adopted the following list; it is currently the most widely used list in the United States and many other locations, including Australia and Thailand. Some alternates have been adopted to be a less expensive substitute for a cut stone. Tanzanite was added to December by the American Gem Trade Association in 2002. Most organizations do not recognize tanzanite as a December birthstone, however, and the AGTA's move to make it a December birthstone has generally been viewed as a marketing ploy. The birthstone seems to originate from Biblical times. The Breastplate of Aaron, referred to in Exodus 39:10-14: :10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a Ruby , a Topaz and a Beryl ; :11 in the second row a Turquoise , a Sapphire and an Emerald ; :12 in the third row a Jacinth , an Agate and an Amethyst ; :13 in the fourth row a Chrysolite , an Onyx and a Jasper . They were mounted in gold filigree settings. :14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. The precise list of birthstones however can be found in Revelation 21:19-20 where the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem are listed, in the order of the Roman calendar: :19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper ; the second, Sapphire ; the third, a Chalcedony ; the fourth, an Emerald ; :20 The fifth, Sardonyx ; the sixth, Sard ius; the seventh, Chrysolyte ; the eighth, Beryl ; the ninth, a Topaz ; the tenth, a Chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a Jacinth ; the twelfth, an Amethyst . Birth flowers Just as there are alternatives with birthstones, there are also alternatives with birth flowers. For example, October is often listed as Calendula (Marigold) , but is also occasional noted as being Rose or Camellia . TECHNICAL ISSUES A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in and those born in the Line Islands 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. Birthday stones While this word has also been used as synonym of Birth stone (see above), there is a separate list of assignment according to the day of the week of the recipient's birth:
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