Why We Celebrate Birthdays
A Year in the Life of my Substack
Happy Valentine’s Week Curious Readers! Wait… don’t click off if V-Day isn’t your thing. I get it. People vibrating with romantic expectations and chocolate. But for me, it’s personal.
This week marks the first anniversary of Research for Writers and Other Curious people and… my Valentine’s Day birthday - yup, I was born on the big heart day.
Over the years, I too have felt the pull of romance or wanting romance on Valentine’s Day. These days, I don’t like going out on Valentine’s Day because I really just want to celebrate my birthday without overpriced menus and people in their rituals of love. However, I’m no cupid killer. I send Valentines to dozens of people because getting actual mail is awesome and it’s my thing. Saying I love you, I care about you, and thank you shouldn’t be relegated to one day but that aside, some people do on occasion need to be reminded.
Thank You Curious Readers
On this special week of gratitude and birthdays, thank you to everyone who has come along for the curious journey. Welcome to my new subscribers, too!
And all this birthday business has me thinking, why do we celebrate birthdays?
Birthday Lore
Turns out there is a lot more to birthday celebrations than I considered. This Farmer’s Almanac Article provides a nice run through. I’ve read several sources that cite Egyptians and Greeks and something about it doesn’t ring 10% authentic. So disclaimers on the information below. I must follow that these sources are based on known research or everyone is writing the same article based on flawed research and myth - which happens.
A long time ago in the BCE…
The earliest mention of a birthday celebration is 3,000 BCE in Egypt. Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birthdays of their gods and since a pharaoh was considered to be a living god, his birthday was celebrated too.
The birthday baton was passed to the Ancient Greeks who honored Artemis the god of the moon with moon shaped cakes and candles to represent moonlight. But I also read that the ancient Greeks believed the day of birth was an open invitation to bad spirits. They would light candles and invite people to gather and offer good cheer to chase those spirits away.
The next birthday baton pass moves to the ancient Romans. Calendars and rituals abound. (article from Forbes.)
Birthday parties were a key mix of religion and friendship, where sacrifices were made, incense was burned, ritual cakes were made and eaten, and white robes were worn. It was also a Roman rather than Greek tradition, and one where the person with the birthday was much more generous than those attending the celebration.
Then Time Passes
Research jumps a few centuries and sources say the origin of the “modern” Western birthday party/celebration began in Germany with kinderfest celebrations and then adopted by the Victorians in England. These children’s parties were a way to show off wealth and allow children to practice their manners. I know practically nothing about Victorian England so - ok?
But, here we are today with birthday parties well entrenched on our culture - how Instagrammable, right?
Cultural Birthday Celebrations
In China people are considered a year old at birth - this accounts for time in the womb. Birthdays are celebrated with long noodles to represent long life, the color red and special foods. Check out the link above!
The Latina Quinceañera marks a girl’s 15 birthday, a transition to womanhood. The celebration has both religious and cultural roots.
The Jewish Bar/Bas/Bat Mitzvah marks a Jewish child’s 13 birthday when they are recognized as a spiritual Jewish adult. Someday yours truly will write about her own Bas Mitzvah at 13 but it’s still too soon…
Sweet 16. The celebration of a girl’s 16th birthday is popular in the United States and Canada. This Western cultural event has roots in Victorian England and also tracks with debutante parties where girls were often old enough to consider marriage.
A Potpourri of Birthday Customs and Links
A Substack’s Journey Around the Sun
As I mentioned earlier, this issue marks one year since I launched the newsletter. I’ve learned so much and have had a blast. I especially loved writing about frozen mice on Amazon and all the comments I received from readers. Check out the archives.
A shout out to a few of my favorite Substacks and people I’ve met because of this venture:
- and her Cartoon Every Thursday. Thanks for the laughs.
Linden Stewart,
for featuring me and connecting me to the larger writer community.- for welcoming me into the community.
- Kate McKean’s newsletter on the ins and outs of the publishing and writing world. It’s been grounding.
- Brain Health Kitchen. I can’t recommend this medically and food minded resource enough. I interviewed Annie last year and continue to learn from her no nonsense approach to brain health science and food.
And there are plenty more, but space is limited. Please see my list of Substack recommendations!
A Birthday Request!
Visit the Restore Grand Isle page on my website and learn how you can help!
Write a review for The Pelican Tide where ever you review books. Reviews are super helpful.
If you’ve downloaded a Kindle Unlimited (KU) version of The Pelican Tide, but haven’t read it, read and enjoy it. And if you have KU but haven’t downloaded the book, what are you waiting for.
Oh, and that goes too for Audible.
Recommend The Pelican Tide to your favorite bookclub and I’ll Zoom in for the meeting and send book swag.
Give The Pelican Tide as a Valentine’s gift. It’s a story about love in many different ways with a chocolate chili brownie recipe and tea cake recipe in the back. But you can also get them for free here.
Thank you for an amazing year. I have so much more planned.
Happy Birthday to your Substack! I’m here because of you 😉💐
I have been proposing the widespread adoption of 'International Birthday Rules' for many years. They are, at the time of writing, as follows:
#1 you are king or Queen for a day. You get what you want. you can do what you want. you don't have to explain yourself.
#2 It is your birthday until the next person you know has a birthday. This could be several days or even weeks.
#3 You get to decide how old you are and no one can take that away from you.
#4 You are not obliged to eat or do anything that is healthy for you. This is a direct call back and reinforcement of rule #1.
#5 Friends who do not wish you a happy birthday are excluded from festivities at your discretion.
Amendment #A: people who wish you happy birthday only because they learned about it from facebook are also subject to rule #5