Holidays and Celebrations

There is one thing and one thing only that announces to everyone it is time for cake, and it is my birthday. The words are simple and everyone who can speak English knows the words, from a toddler to someone who is 100 years old.

Comprised of 4 bars, 16 words each the tune is simple and the meaning is deep.

In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Happy Birthday is the most popular song in the English Language.

And although it has been translated into many different languages, it is usually sung in English, even in countries that dont speak English as their primary language.

While we typically celebrate birthdays today with cake, treats, family and fun, the history of birthday parties was not always such a jovial occasion. Such is seen in Europe’s history thousands of years ago.

Originally, a person feared their upcoming birthday. It was seen as a fearful experience because people believed bad spirits could harm you on this day.

Birthday parties were devised as a way to keep those spirits away by surrounding yourself with friends and loved ones who often brought small tokens and food to share.

People would use noisemakers to scare off any evil spirits that may be lurking around the house.

It is commonplace in the US to celebrate our birthday with a beautiful and tasty birthday cake. Although the Greeks were the first to use cakes to celebrate birthdays, they were commonly used to celebrate the birthdays of gods and goddesses.

And the inclusion of candles on a birthday cake is also of Greek origin as the cake to celebrate the birthday of the Greek moon god Artemis was topped with lit candles.

In the middle ages, the English would conceal symbolic items inside the cake. Each item was a prediction for the finder’s future.

Usually items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles were baked into the cake. The birthday cake made its way to Western culture in the mid 19th century and has been an important part of birthday celebrations since.

In the US, we celebrate birthdays in the grandest ways. We spend countless amounts of money and time planning and carrying out these special parties that last just hours.

When we give birth to a new bundle of joy we typically spend the first year so crazed that it seems only right to celebrate that special time with a big celebration of family and friends.

Because a baby’s first birthday is usually a celebration of friends and family, they tend to be a huge milestone. All those people who watched mom grow and give birth, then see how the baby grows throughout the first year now have a reason to get together to celebrate again.

And because the baby doesn’t remember their first birthday, it really makes it about the parents.