About « birthday

About

Written By: Birthday

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A birthday is a day or anniversary of the particular month and day on which a person was born. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders (e.g., Buddha’s Birthday), Christmas – which is celebrated widely by Christians and non-Christians alike – is the most prominent example. In contrast, certain religious groups express principled opposition to the very idea of celebrating birthdays.

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Legal conventions
In most legal systems, one becomes a legal adult on a particular birthday (often the 14th through 21st[1]), and reaching age-specific milestones confers particular rights and responsibilities. At certain ages, one may become subject to military conscription or become eligible to enlist in the military, to marry without parental consent, to vote, to legally purchase (or consume) alcohol and tobacco products, to purchase lottery tickets, or to obtain a driver’s license.

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Cultural conventions

Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:

Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday, or sometimes on their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism.^[2]

In North America, families often mark a girl’s 16th birthday with a Sweet sixteen (birthday) celebration.

In Hispanic-American countries the quinceañera celebration traditionally marks a girl’s 15th birthday.^[3]

In India, Hindus have the 12th or 13th birthday replaced with a grand “thread ceremony.” The child takes a blessed thread and wears it, symbolizing his coming of age. This is called the Upanayana. This ceremony is practiced amongst boys in the Hindu Brahmin culture.^[4]

In the Philippines, girls on their 18th birthday or boys on their 21st birthday celebrate a debut.

In some Asian countries that follow the Zodiac calendar, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday.^[5]

In Japan there is a Coming of Age Day, for all of those who have turned 20.

The birthdays of historically significant people, like national heroes or founders, are often commemorated by an official holiday. Some saints are remembered by a liturgical feast (sometimes on a presumed birthday). By analogy, the Latin term Dies natalis is applied to the anniversary of an institution (such as a university).

A person’s Golden or Grand Birthday, also referred to as their “Lucky Birthday”, “Champagne Birthday” or “Star Birthday”, occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25).^[6]

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Name days

In some Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox countries such as Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, or Greece and Latvia it is common to have a ‘name day‘/’Saint’s day’. It’s common in Latin America too. 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 person; the difference being that one may look up a person’s name day in a calendar, or easily remember common name days (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”); for one, Togliatti got Palmiro as first name because he was born on Palm Sunday.

Official birthdays

Some notables, particularly monarchs, have an official birthday on a fixed day of the year, which may not necessarily match their actual birthday, but on which celebrations are held. Examples are:

Jesus Christ’s traditional birthday is celebrated as Christmas Day around the world, on December 25. As some Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, December 25 will fall upon January 7 in the Gregorian calendar.
The Queen’s Official Birthday in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, as well as the United Kingdom; in Canada, this day is known as Victoria Day.
The Grand Duke’s Official Birthday in Luxembourg is typically celebrated upon June 23.
Koninginnedag in the Kingdom of the Netherlands is typically celebrated upon April 30. Queen Beatrix fixed it at the birthday of her mother, the previous Queen, to avoid the winter weather associated with her own birthday in January.
The Current Japanese Emperor Heisei (Akihito)’s birthday is December 23, which is a national holiday in Japan.
The previous Japanese Emperor Showa (Hirohito)’s birthday was April 29. After his death, the holiday was kept as “Showa no Hi”, or “Showa Day”. This holiday falls close to Golden Week, the week in late April and early May that contains several national holidays and is a popular week-long vacation for many workers in Japan.

While it is uncommon to have an official holiday for a head of state‘s birthday in a republic, this does occur; for example, George Washington‘s birthday in the United States, which is commonly called Presidents Day.