Happy birthday, wishes vary from different religion to religion.
Ancient Rome
The Romans enthusiastically celebrated birthdays with hedonistic parties and generous presents.In contrast, the early Christians rejected the practice as inherently pagan.
Islam:
Some clerics consider the celebration of a birthday to be a sin, as it is considered an “innovation” of the faith, or bi’dah while other clerics have issued statements saying that the celebration of a birthday is permissible.
Some Muslims (and Arabian Christians) migrating to the United States adopt the custom of celebrating birthdays, especially for children, but others resist.
There also is lots of controversy regarding celebrating Milad-ul-Nabi – the anniversary of the birth of Muhammad. While a section of Islam strongly favors it, others decry such celebrations, terming them as out of the scope of Islam.
Hindus:
Hindus celebrate the birth anniversary with gorgeous, happy birthday wishes. They celebrate the day every year when the day that corresponds to a lunar month or solar month (Sun Signs Nirayana System – Sourav Mana Masa) of birth and has the same asterism (Star / Nakshatra) as that of the date of birth. That age is reckoned whenever Janma nakshatra of the same month passes.
Buddhism:
Many monasteries celebrate the anniversary of Buddha’s birth, usually in a highly formal, ritualized manner. They treat Buddha’s statue as if it were alive, bathing and “feeding” it.
Sikhism:
Sikhs celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak.
North Korea:
In North Korea, people do not celebrate birthdays on July 8 and December 17 because these were the dates of the deaths of Kim ll-sung and Kim Jong-ll respectively. More than 100000 North Koreans celebrate displaced birthdays on July 9 or December 18 to avoid these dates. A person born on July 8 before 1994 may change their birthday, with official recognition.
Superstitious Origins of Celebrations:
Many possible Superstitious origins for customs associated with birthday parties have been suggested. One source states that the tradition of happy birthday wishes parties started in Europe. It was feared that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on the anniversary of their birth and to protect them.
In many portions of the world, an individual’s Happy birthday wishes are celebrated by a party where a specially made cake, usually decorated with lettering and the person’s age, is presented. Gifts are bestowed on the individual by the guests appropriate to her/his age. Other happy birthday wishes activities may include entertainment.The guests typically sing the last stanza of Patty Hill’s and Mildred hill’s famous song, “Good Morning to You” (unofficially titled “Happy birthday wishes”) at some point in the proceedings.
#
#
Birthday wishes:
A birthday is a day when a person celebrates the anniversary of his or her birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party, or rite of passage. The celebration of a birthday usually is thought to mark how old a person is, traditionally stopping when death occurs and only stating that if still alive, they would have been (number of years) old. Some contemporary writers ignore this aspect, however, and keep counting the years since the date of birth of famous people, such as, proclaiming that it is Shakespeare’s “four hundredth birthday” (although he died at the age of fifty-two) instead of noting that it is the four hundredth anniversary of his birthday.
Many cultures have one or more coming of age birthdays:
- In North America, families often mark a girl’s 16th birthday with a “sweet sixteen” celebration.
- In some Hispanic-American countries, as well as in Portuguese-speaking Brazil, the quinceañera (Spanish) or festa de quinze anos (Portuguese) celebration traditionally marks a girl’s 15th birthday.
- In India, Hindu male children of some castes like Brahmins have the 12th or 13th birthday replaced with a grand “thread ceremony.” The child takes a blessed thread and wears it, symbolizing his coming of age. This is called the Upanayana. This ceremony is practiced amongst boys in the Hindu Brahmin culture.
- In the Philippines, girls on their 18th birthday or boys on their 21st birthday celebrate a debut.
- In some Asian countries that follow the Zodiac calendar, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday.
- In Korea, many celebrate a traditional ceremony of Baek-il (Feast for the 100th day) and Doljanchi (child’s first birthday).
- In Japan, there is a Coming of Age Day, for all of those who have turned 20 years of age.
- In the United Kingdom cards from the Royal Family are sent to those celebrating their 100th and 105th birthday and every year after that.
In many portions of the world, an individual’s birthday is celebrated by a party where a specially made cake, usually decorated with lettering and the person’s age, is presented. The cake is traditionally studded with the same number of lit candles as the age of the individual, or a number candle representing their age. The important person usually will make a silent wish and attempt to blow out the candles in one breath; if successful, a tradition holds that the wish will be granted. In many cultures, the desire must be kept secret, or it won’t “come true.”
