Birthday

Birthday or B'days is the name given to the date of the anniversary of a person's birth. People in many cultures celebrate this anniversary. In some languages, the word for birthday literally translates as "anniversary". Birthdays are traditionally marked by celebrations including a birthday party or, in some particular cases, a rite of transition.

It is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the non-Christian cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia, and was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Such celebrations were uncommon previously so practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays.Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it was distribution widely and its influence was spead throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity.

The celebration of birthdays is not universal. In the Christian world, some communities do not celebrate Birthdays. For instance, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate them, because their origins are pagan and the festivities are contrary to Christian practice, along with some of the festive customs associated with Christmas and Easter.Orthodox Christianity prefer celebrations of name days. Some communities may celebrate both naming days and birthdays, as is the norm among Catholics in many communities in the Hispanic world.

The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.In the Hebrew Bible, the one single mention of a celebration being held in commemoration of someone's day of birth is for the Pharoah.The bar mitzvah of 13 year old Jewish boys, or bat mitzvah for 12 year old girls, is perhaps the only Jewish celebration undertaken in conjunction with a birthday, however, the essence of the celebration is entirely religious in origin (the attainment of religious maturity according to Jewish law) not secular, despite modern celebrations where the secular "birthday" elements predominate. With or without the "birthday" celebration, the child still automatically attains his or her bar or bat mitzvah, and its celebration may be any date following his 13th or her 12th year anniversary of birth.

The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented, the number of candles signifying the age of the celebrant. The person whose birthday it is may make a silent wish and then blow out the candles. It is also customary for the person celebrating their birthday to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake.Birthday cakes date 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; a person discovering a thimble would never marry.Sometimes special candles are substituted for the many individual candles 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 five, and on the fiftieth birthday there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the numeral five followed by the other in the shape of the number zero.

In addition to parties, it is often common for people to receive gifts on their birthdays. There are also traditions of surprise parties.In addition to parties, it is often common for people to receive gifts on their birthdays. There are also traditions of surprise parties., it is expected of the person celebrating their birthday to treat their party guests instead; this varies depending on the local culture and may involve party gifts or other gestures.

In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the song Happy Birthday to You to the honored person celebrating a birthday. The Happy Birthday song tune is thoughtto be the most frequently sung melody in the world. Similar songs exist in other languages such as "Lang zal hij/zij leven" in Dutch, "Õnne soovime Sul" in Estonian, "Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Que los cumplas feliz" or "Feliz cumpleaños a tí" in Spanish, "Parabéns a você" in Portuguese, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Lá Bhreithlá Shona Duit" in Irish, "Joyeux Anniversaire" in French, "Tanti Auguri a te" in Italian and "Iyi ki dogdun, Mutlu Yillar Sana" in Turkish.

In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France, Hungary, or Greece, it is common 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 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").

People born on February 29, which occurs only during leap years, often celebrate their birthday in other years on February 28, or March 1 (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new age).People born on February 29, which occurs only during leap years, often celebrate their birthday in other years on February 28, or March 1 (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new age).

A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30 PM will record their birthdate as one day before Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) 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. In addition, the intervention of Daylight Saving Time can result in a case where a baby born second being recorded as having been born up to an hour before their predecessor