How birthday was celebrated among different nations and at different times

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are various hypotheses for the emergence of the tradition to celebrate the day of its birth. According to one of them, the forerunners of this holiday were the solemn rites of the warriors of Ancient Rome, who personified the cult of Mithra (the sun god). These included lavish plentiful meals, presenting gifts, and solemn speeches. According to the second version, the prototype of the celebration appeared much earlier. At the time when wild tribes lived, there was a belief that on the day of his birth, an individual has the weakest protection from evil spirits and evil spirits. Let's try to figure it out.

Egyptians are the first people to celebrate a birthday

The most common version is that the founders of the celebrations are the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt. It should be noted that only pharaohs, royal persons and their heirs had the right to magnificent celebrations. At first they were predominantly men.

In the ancient years and times of the Middle Ages, among ordinary people, birthday did not really matter. Most of them were not familiar with calendars, did not count the years. And the life of a person did not then have such a value to arrange grandiose feasts on this occasion.

Celebrating divine birthdays among the ancient Greeks

In ancient Greece, there was a tradition to celebrate the birthdays of the gods 12 times a year. Each revered deity had a certain number, in which the solemn events took place. For example, Artemis (goddess of the Moon and the Hunt) was honored every month on the 6th.

If we talk about people, then only the head of the family had the right to celebrate a birthday. Unlike the divine name day, his holiday was once a year. There was no talk of making holidays for the rest of the household.

Over time, customs changed. Each country has developed original traditions and ways of celebrating birthdays.

Germany and the candles on the cake, burning from morning to night

In the 13th century, the Germans developed the custom of celebrating children's birthdays. According to her, the hero of the occasion was woken up early in the morning and his relatives presented him with a birthday cake with lighted candles. It is interesting that the number of candles corresponded to the age of the child, and an additional one was put in addition - symbolizing the immediate moment of birth. This cake could not be eaten right away, it had to stand before the gala dinner. At the same time, during the day, burned out candles were replaced with new ones.

At the evening meal, the child made a cherished wish and blew out the candles, then the treat was handed out to everyone at the table. The cherished gifts were delivered to the child by the "birthday gnome" - a character that existed in German folklore plots until the beginning of the twentieth century.

Great Britain and the custom of predicting fate

A special feature of the celebration in the UK is the advance notification of guests - invitations are sent 2 months before the celebration. It is believed that in this way, guests will be able to draw up their plans in advance and decide in advance whether they will attend the celebration or give preference to other important matters.

On this day, it is customary for the birthday person to predict fate. This is done with the help of common fortune-telling or a specially invited fortune-teller. Citizens celebrating 80, 90, 100 years anniversary receive personal congratulations from the Queen of England.

Latin America and Girls' Special 15th Birthday

In Latin America, the birthday, on which the girl turns 15, plays an important role. This age is considered a special date, and the celebration is distinguished on a large scale - a well-thought-out program, a large number of guests, expensive gifts. On this day, according to tradition, the birthday girl waltz for the first time, dancing first of all with her father, and then with potential boyfriends. In a number of countries, on this day, the girl has the right to wear the first high-heeled shoes.

The Dutch and the Crown Years Celebration

On their birthday, Dutch schoolchildren receive a distinctive sign from their teacher - a hat made of colored paper. His classmates congratulate him, give him small presents and souvenirs. The place of the birthday person at the desk is decorated with satin ribbons and balloons. And he, in turn, prepares treats for those who study with him. It is interesting that in Holland there are dates that are celebrated especially solemnly - these are 5, 10, 15, 20 years and 21 years. They are called crown years.

Russian name days - a celebration on a grand scale

Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was not customary in our country to celebrate birthdays. Instead, starting from the 17th century, the name day was pompously celebrated - the day of remembrance of the saint, in whose honor the person received his name at baptism. On the name day, large tables were laid. Kalachi, pies and loaf are among the main treats. The assembled guests congratulated the birthday man, sang songs in his honor.

In the 19th century, the custom of celebrating a birthday arose, at first it was done only by nobles and merchants. And only in the XX century, the birthday received the status of an important holiday, which was given great importance. Russians love to do everything on a grand scale, this also applies to organizing celebrations. And today they organize big holidays - they set a table full of treats and drinks, sing songs, have fun. The invitees present gifts and make beautiful and eulogy speeches in honor of the hero of the occasion.

Interesting facts about birthdays

In ancient times, the birthdays of women were not celebrated for quite a long time. The first representative of the fair sex to organize a holiday for herself was Cleopatra II, the queen of Egypt.

At the time of the widespread spread of Christianity, the custom of celebrating a birthday ceased to exist. And all because believers considered the earthly world to be a place of sorrow. While leaving the other world was perceived as a happy, joyful event.

Among the inhabitants of the African continent, the tradition of celebrating a birthday has not received mass recognition. However, in a number of countries it is still celebrated. True, either twice in life, or at a fixed frequency - once every 8 or 13 years.

In China, the main festive treat on a children's birthday is noodles. It is considered a symbol of longevity. In some provinces of the country, it is a popular custom to mark key moments in a child's life, for example, “sidin” or “hodin” - the dates on which the baby learned new skills - learned to sit on his own or took his first steps.

Believe it or not, it's up to everyone to decide. But the Indonesian assures that he celebrated his 146th birthday on New Year's Eve, and it was he the oldest person on the planet.