Where did birthday originates | birthday vs birthdate
Channel: romel andoy
Date: 24/10/2021

Where did birthday originates

A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
A birthday is a momentous occasion to be commemorated just as a nation commemorates its birth or as an organization celebrates its founding. Your birthday is a chance to remember the day that a major event occurred, celebrate, give thanks, and reflect upon how you are still alive to celebrate the day you were born.
The Greeks most likely took the idea of birthday celebration from the Egyptians, since just like the celebration of the pharaohs as “gods,” the Greeks were celebrating their gods and goddesses. 

It is believed that the custom of celebrating birthdays started in Europe back before the rise of Christianity. In Paganism culture, it was believed that evil spirits visited people on their birthdays. The superstition stated that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays, so to protect the birthday boy or girl, family and friends would visit. To protect them from the evil effect, people used to surround them and make merry. A lot of noise used to be created in such parties to scare away the evil spirits.

And so followed the custom of birthday cakes and burning candles. Some believe the tradition of birthday cake was started by early Greeks who used to take round or moon shaped cake to temple of Artemis - the Goddess of Moon. Others believe the custom of Birthday cake initiated in Germany where people used to make bread in the shape of baby Jesus’s swaddling cloth.

The popular custom of lighting candles on cake is said to have originated because Greeks used to light candles on the cake taken to Artemis to make it glow like a moon. Some though believe that custom originated because of a religious belief that Gods lived in the sky and lighted candles helped to send a signal or prayers to the god. Germans are said to have placed a big candle in the centre of the cake to symbolize ‘the light of life’. Even today people make silent wishes as they blow out candles. It is believed that blowing out all candles in one breath brings good luck.

Historians believe that the origin and tradition of birthday celebrations come from the ancient Persian religion, and appeared first in ancient Greece. Ancient Greek people celebrated their Gods’ birthdays every year. This was a special occasion when they gave the Gods different kinds of presents – food, drink, treasure, gold – and begged them to protect Greece in the future.