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All sorts of Birthdays
by Alfer Gebutstag
http://www.birthdayaide.com
The celebrations of birthdays date from many years ago.
Although the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is the most known
birthday celebration, these practices have existed long
before Christianity. For example, it was a custom in
Pagan cultures to celebrate birthdays because it was
thought that on the day of someone's birthday evil spirits
would come and capture them. In order to prevent this,
friends and family were reunited around the person to
protect them from these met wicked ghosts. So in this way
joy and merriment the evil spirits away. Gifts were
regarded as a good sign for the person celebrating the
birthday.
Another important factor that affected the possibility to
celebrate birthdays was the ability to keep time. This
opportunity arrived when people realized about the moon
cycles and the different patterns that occur over and over
again in nature. This finding allowed them to design
calendars to track the passing of time which enable them
to celebrate birthdays and other important dates. With
the passing of time birthdays festivities developed
into a tradition celebrated by everyone around the world.
People all over the world celebrate birthdays in different
ways, though the underlying idea is the same. Many a times,
these variations are attributed to spiritual beliefs, which
result in the appending of certain religious ceremonies to
the celebrations. Take the example of lighting and blowing
of candles. The religious belief behind this ritual is that
the lighting and blowing of candles act as signals and
messages to the gods. Besides cultural influences, other
factors, like the financial position, family customs and
practices, also have a bearing on the way people celebrate
birthdays. Amongst these, the spiritual beliefs and the
person's surroundings are considered to have the maximum
influence.
In African countries the birthday is not consider an
important date. They initiate into the community when they
reach a certain age and this celebration is done in
groups, not individually. In Ghana each year, it is
celebrated the krada, which means the soul day. This is
done on the day they were born and not on the date, they
clean themselves in order to purify their soul and dressed
in white clothes. In Latin America when a girl reaches
the age of 15 she is considered to go into adulthood.
One of the traditions in this celebration is that the girl
changes her flat shoes for high-heeled ones. Another
customs is to light candles naming parents, grandparents
and close friends.
In Saudi Arabia birthdays are not celebrated at all because
it goes against their religious beliefs. The custom of
birthday bounces comes from Israel, where the birthday
child is made to sit on a chair decorated with flowers, and
the friends bounce the chair and the child for as many
times as is his age on that day. They add an extra bounce
for good luck. In North America, friends get to know the
age of the child by the number of candles on the cake. It
is believed that if the child blows out all the candles
with one breath his wish will come true.
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