- The day of one's birth.
- The anniversary of one's birth.
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A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.
— Robert Frost, American poet, winner of Pulitzer prize in 1923, '30, '36, & '42.
Quotes:
"Here lies interred in the eternity of the past, from whence there is no resurrection for the days -- whatever there may be for the dust -- the thirty-third year of an ill-spent life, which, after a lingering disease of many months sank into a lethargy, and expired, January 22d, 1821, A.D. leaving a successor inconsolable for the very loss which occasioned its existence."
- Lord Byron
"To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry on its dull wall-existence by the arbitrary timetables we have drawn up in consultation with those permanent commuters, Earth and Sun. But we, unlike trees, need grow no annual rings."
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"The return of my birthday, if I remember it, fills me with thoughts which it seems to be the general care of humanity to escape."
- Samuel Johnson
"I'm sorry you are wiser, I sorry you are taller; I liked you better foolish and I liked you better smaller."
- Aline Murray Kilmer
"Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time."
- Jean Paul Richter
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.
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.[1]
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 tune 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 with pieces of cake adhering to it, the birthday boy or girl may have to kiss the nearest boy or girl (of the 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; 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 impracticable or a fire hazard, special candles may 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.
Notable birthdays can include:
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 republican 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 years, 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 racehorses 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.
A birthstone is a gift of a precious material (jewelry, mainly gemstones; 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.
| Month | Modern Birthstone[2] | Alternate[citation needed] | Traditional Birthstone[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Garnet | Rose Quartz | Garnet |
| February | Amethyst | Onyx | Amethyst |
| March | Aquamarine | Red Jasper (Bloodstone) | Bloodstone, Jasper |
| April | Diamond | Rock Crystal (Quartz) | Diamond, Sapphire |
| May | Emerald | Chrysoprase | Emerald, Agate |
| June | Pearl, Moonstone | Alexandrite | Alexandrite, Emerald |
| July | Ruby | Jade or Carnelian | Ruby, Onyx |
| August | Peridot | Aventurine, Sardonyx, or Sapphire | Sardonyx, Carnelian |
| September | Sapphire | Lapis lazuli | Sapphire, Peridot |
| October | Opal | Pink Tourmaline | Opal |
| November | Yellow Topaz | Citrine or Turquoise | Citrine, Topaz |
| December | Turquoise, Blue Topaz | Lapis Lazuli or Tanzanite | Zircon, Ruby |
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:[citation needed]
The precise list of birthstones however can be found in Revelation 21:19-20[citation needed] where the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem are listed, in the order of the Roman calendar:
| Month | Flower |
|---|---|
| January | Carnation |
| February | Violet |
| March | Daffodil (Jonquil) |
| April | Dahlia, Sweet Pea |
| May | Sunflower, Lily of the Valley |
| June | Rose, Honeysuckle, |
| July | Larkspur |
| August | Lily, Gladiolus |
| September | Forget-me-not, Morning Glory |
| October | Calendula (Marigold), Camellia |
| November | Chrysanthemum |
| December | Holly, Narcissus |
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.
A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30pm will record their birthdate as one day before 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.
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:
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Dansk (Danish)
n. - fødselsdag
idioms:
Nederlands (Dutch)
verjaardag, geboortedag
Français (French)
n. - anniversaire
idioms:
Deutsch (German)
n. - Geburtstag
idioms:
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γενέθλια
idioms:
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
n. - aniversário (m)
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
день рождения
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
n. - cumpleaños
idioms:
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - födelsedag
中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
生日
idioms:
中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 生日
idioms:
idioms:
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) عيد الميلاد
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - יום הולדת
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Some good "birthday" pages on the web:
American Sign Language commtechlab.msu.edu |
| birthday | Birthday Gift For Him |
| Birthday Cakes | Birthday Invitation |
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