As yet another birthday approaches I find myself once again trying to figure out a way to avoid the entire day! I sometimes think I should have been born in a time before the advent of the calendar when the signs of growing old were marked by visual changes in a person rather than simply a number on a page. I have never really cared much for my birthday, and there have been some birthdays I have found quite traumatizing. For example -- I cried on my 18th when I realized I was now legally considered an adult. My 25th brought on more tears upon the discovery that I had become a quarter of a century old. Hitting 30 was a definite hardship for me, and then ... well ... let's not go any further than that!
There doesn't seem to be very much consensus on how birthday celebrations began. It may have all started with the Egyptians and Greeks who would celebrate the birth date of their Gods. The Ancient Romans were the first to celebrate birthdays for the common man (and "man" means men because females did not begin to celebrate their birthdays until the 12th century). Early Christians considered the celebration of birthdays to be evil because they were tied to celebrations for "pagan" Gods, but changed their minds around the 4th century and began to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ as the holiday of Christmas. Of course, December 25 isn't really the birthdate of Jesus Christ -- there is no historical fact as Jesus' birthday was never documented.
So as I see it -- if Jesus didn't have to celebrate his birthday, why must I?
Another interesting thing I learned regarding birthdays is the history of the "Birthday Song". Sisters Patty & Mildred J. Hill wrote a song in 1893 called, "Good Morning to All". It was sung in schools across America and there were many variations that came out of it, although the melody stayed the same. The lyrics were eventually changed to "Happy Birthday to You" and this was first found in print in 1912. Eventually, a third sister, Jessica, copyrighted the song & today the song is still under copyright. Being a lover of all useless facts and information it was interesting to learn that every time the song "Happy Birthday" is played commercially, in a movie or on TV for example, some large conglomerate is making a buck off of it. How silly that seems to me ...
And what about birthday cake, the one and only good thing I like about birthdays? Well, it seems that all started a long time ago in Ancient Greece where a cake, lit with candles, was offered to Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting, wilderness & wild animals but also of childbirth (interesting, huh?). The smoke from the candles was believed to carry your thoughts up to the Gods. Today we make a wish when we blow the candles out which isn't very different. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Blowing out those candles won't be quite the same anymore.
So it seems history has not helped to change my cynicism in regards to birthdays. I guess I will never understand those people who, year after year, feel the need to throw themselves a huge birthday bash and be showered with gifts and adulation on their very special day. It seems so narcissistic to me. I'd much rather just take my cake and run, thank you very much!
Oh and speaking of cake ... Just so you know, Marie Antoinette did not ever say, "Let them eat cake!" That poor woman got such a bad rap for something that was actually said by someone else 100 years earlier. Hmmm, I wonder if she liked birthdays?
There doesn't seem to be very much consensus on how birthday celebrations began. It may have all started with the Egyptians and Greeks who would celebrate the birth date of their Gods. The Ancient Romans were the first to celebrate birthdays for the common man (and "man" means men because females did not begin to celebrate their birthdays until the 12th century). Early Christians considered the celebration of birthdays to be evil because they were tied to celebrations for "pagan" Gods, but changed their minds around the 4th century and began to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ as the holiday of Christmas. Of course, December 25 isn't really the birthdate of Jesus Christ -- there is no historical fact as Jesus' birthday was never documented.
So as I see it -- if Jesus didn't have to celebrate his birthday, why must I?
Another interesting thing I learned regarding birthdays is the history of the "Birthday Song". Sisters Patty & Mildred J. Hill wrote a song in 1893 called, "Good Morning to All". It was sung in schools across America and there were many variations that came out of it, although the melody stayed the same. The lyrics were eventually changed to "Happy Birthday to You" and this was first found in print in 1912. Eventually, a third sister, Jessica, copyrighted the song & today the song is still under copyright. Being a lover of all useless facts and information it was interesting to learn that every time the song "Happy Birthday" is played commercially, in a movie or on TV for example, some large conglomerate is making a buck off of it. How silly that seems to me ...
And what about birthday cake, the one and only good thing I like about birthdays? Well, it seems that all started a long time ago in Ancient Greece where a cake, lit with candles, was offered to Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting, wilderness & wild animals but also of childbirth (interesting, huh?). The smoke from the candles was believed to carry your thoughts up to the Gods. Today we make a wish when we blow the candles out which isn't very different. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Blowing out those candles won't be quite the same anymore.
So it seems history has not helped to change my cynicism in regards to birthdays. I guess I will never understand those people who, year after year, feel the need to throw themselves a huge birthday bash and be showered with gifts and adulation on their very special day. It seems so narcissistic to me. I'd much rather just take my cake and run, thank you very much!
Oh and speaking of cake ... Just so you know, Marie Antoinette did not ever say, "Let them eat cake!" That poor woman got such a bad rap for something that was actually said by someone else 100 years earlier. Hmmm, I wonder if she liked birthdays?