Birthday Celebrations from England

Vocabulary

 

To celebrate

celebration

candles and torches

noisemaker

to blow out the candles

to gather around

birthday cake

Fortune Telling Cake

candy

cookie
cupcake

sweets

frosting

delicacies

paper plate
party
party favors
party hat

to throw a party

birthday card

feast

balloon

birth date

jubilee

entertain

gift
gift wrap

goodie bags

guests

invite
invitation

wish

tape dispenser

wrapping paper

 

Birthday Celebrations from Around the World:

How Birthdays Came About

Thousands of years ago birthdays were considered a time when the bad spirits as opposed to the good spirits were able to harm you as this day changed a person's life. It was believed that the only way to keep the bad spirits at bay was to have your friends and family around you so that their good wishes and present giving would keep them at bay.

Also noisemakers are thought to be used at parties as a way of scaring away the evil spirits.

The custom of lighting candles originated with people believing that the gods lived in the sky and by lighting candles and torches they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods so they could be answered. When you blow out the candles and make a wish this is another way of sending a signal and a message.

This is how the way we celebrate our birthday came about. But different cultures celebrate in different ways.

 

Birthday Celebrations from Europe

In some parts of Europe they have a birthday tree planted when the new child is born. This was done as they believed that if the tree grew to be healthy and strong, the child would also.

The tradition of birthday parties began in Europe centuries ago. It was feared that evil spirits searched out people on their birthdays. To protect the birthday person from harm, friends and family would gather around them and bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to ward off the evil spirits.

At first, only kings and royalty were recognized as important enough to have a birthday celebration.

 

Birthday Celebrations from England

In England there are cakes known as Fortune Telling Cakes which are made for the birthday.

Certain symbolic objects are mixed into the birthday cake as it is being prepared.

If your piece of cake has a coin in it, then you will be rich.

Also, when its your birthday your friends give you the "bumps", they lift you in the air by your hands and feet and raise you up and down to the floor, one for each year then one for luck, two for luck and three for the old man's coconut!

Sending birthday cards is a custom that began in England about 100 years ago. Today, millions of cards are sent around the world each year to wish family and friends a happy birthday.

Being given the key to the house is still considered an important sign of coming of age in England. This takes place when someone turns the age of twenty-one. The young man who was given the key to the house is said to be given permission to come and go as he pleases and to stay out as late he liked.

 Birthday Celebrations from Africa

 In Africa people celebrate with joy the birth of a new baby.

The Pygmies would sing a birth-song to the child. In Kenya the mother takes the baby strapped to her back into the thorn enclosure where the cattle is kept. There, her husband and the village elders wait to give the child his or her name.

In West Africa after the baby is eight days old the mother takes the baby for it's first walk in the big, wide world, and friends and family are invited to meet the new baby.

In various African nations they hold initiation ceremonies for groups of children instead of birthdays. When children reach a certain designated age, they learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs and dances of their tribes.

Some African tribes consider that children from nine to twelve are ready to be initiated into the grown up world. They may have to carry out several tests.