Birthday Highlights

Today, people are often asked for their birthdate. Mine is September 11, 1947. We usually celebrate with a birthday party, sing a song, and receive birthday cards and presents. We eat cake and ice cream, give children treats, play games, and fly balloons. Have birthday parties always been celebrated this way?

Early History of Birthday Parties

People have celebrated birthdays for 5,000 years. The first mention of a birthday came from Ancient Egypt, where large celebrations were put on for the Pharaoh. These celebrations were coronation dates, symbolic of the Pharaoh’s birth as a ‘god. ‘ The first of these is said to have occurred around 3,000 B.C.E.

Ancient Greeks added circular moon cakes with lit candles dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Wealthy Greeks placed lit candles on round cakes so they shone as bright as the moon. As time progressed, Greek “moon cakes” became today’s birthday cake.

By the beginning of Christianity, the church considered birthday celebrations as Pagan rituals. Christians were forbidden to celebrate their birthdays. This idea changed in the fourth Century, 469 A.D. when people celebrated the Birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.

During the Middle Ages (469 A.D. — 1450 A.D.), noblemen and the elite celebrated their birthdays while the commoner observed their “Saint Day.” My birthday would…