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Birthday Greeting Cards
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Funny Birthday
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Birthday Smiles
Birthday Wishs for
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The Birthday - Birthday Celebrations Cards and Greeting Cards for everyone |
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It is
assumed that carousing Birthdays
in Europe commenced with the originally Iranian cult of
Mithras in Roman Empire. It was very rare during the
middle ages but with the advent of reformation it was
resurrected.
A happy
Birthday song is conventionally sung to accolade
the person celebrating his birthday. The carnival is
followed by the blowing out of candles and then slicing
the highly decorated
birthday cake. The rite of blowing out of
candles has got a significance which is believed by most
people. It is a means of wish fulfillment. If all the
candles can be blown out with one breath then the
wish is believed to come true. The birthday cake
is very nicely decorated and it is garlanded with lit
candles. The singing of birthday song can be performed
at any place, even in restaurants at the delivery of the
dessert or the very special birthday cake. |
Numeral
candles are also used where the number of candles may
prove to be a fire hazard. Numeral candles means the
shape of the candle will be numeral, for e. g. if the
person’s age is fifty then instead of lighting fifty
candles only a numeral 5 followed by a numeral 0 will be
placed on the cake.
On Birthday, the honored person gets a hug, a call or
letters from his
friends and
family.
Kids usually enjoy this special day by playing
games such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs
and hitting Piñatas.
Adults prefer to celebrate their birthday
privately in some restaurants by having a dinner with
their friends.
A tradition of Surprise Parties is also popular. The
Birthday boy or the Birthday girl receives no greetings
from his/her family at the beginning of the day because
a surprise party has been organized to delight the
honored person.
There is also a practice of treating friends and that is
not always compensated by
gifts. Another custom which was commonly
practiced by the girls in 1950’s and 60’s in their
school days was receiving of a bouquet of flower,
ornamented with inexpensive gifts such as candies,
lollipops, bubble gums, sugar cubes, lemon drops and
many more on their Birthday depending on their age.
Birthday bumps are also eminent; here the Birthday boy/
girl is lifted on air by his/ her friends and family and
then placed on the ground lightly so that they don’t get
hurt. The number of bumps equals the age that the
honored person reaches on his Birthday. ‘Birthday beats’
and ‘Birthday bashes’ are also practiced on this day
which is similar to the Birthday bumps, that is the
Birthday person gets a number of friendly thumps on his
arm or back corresponding to the age he has reached.
Birthdays are celebrated specially on
notable ages such as 1st, 10th, 20th, 30th,
40th, 50th, and so on. One’s golden Birthday is also
called as one’s Champagne Birthday, this happens when
one’s age coincides with his date of birth, for e. g, if
the age of the Birthday guy turns 30 on his date of
birth, supposedly 30th of may then it is celebrated as
his golden Birthday.
Many girls in the United States have sweet sixteen
birthday parties. In Latin America, the 15th Birthday of
a girl is a marked one and is traditionally celebrated.
The Birthdays of historically significant people such as
Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammad are usually
commemorated as official holidays followed by
celebrations in
religious places and at people’s home. Some
notables, particularly Monarchs, on a fixed day of the
year celebrate his Birthday which does not match their
actual date of birth yet celebrations are held on that
day. Examples such as King or Queen’s Birthday in U.K
under British crown; Commonwealth Day, originally called
Empire’s Day is on the Queen Empress Victoria’s Birthday
held on May 24; in Luxemburg the national holiday is on
June 23. These are some of the well known Birthdays
nationwide.
Symbolical Birthday gifts are very illustrious which
includes various stones depending on the honored
person’s
zodiac. It is supposed to have originated from
Biblical times. The statistics is as follows: January –
garnet, February- amethyst, March- aquamarine or
bloodstone, April- diamond, May- emerald, June- pearl or
moonstone or alexandrite, July- ruby, August- peridot or
sardonyx or sapphire, September- sapphire, October-
tourmaline or opal, November- yellow topaz or satrine
and December- zircon, turquoise or lapis lazuli, blue
topaz.
This list is officially adopted by the American National
association of jewelers in 1912 and it is currently the
most widely used list in the United States and in many
other places including Australia and Thailand |
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