How Birthday Celebrations Began

In ancient times, no one paid much attention to the anniversary of important events, such as birthdays, cause humans had no way of keeping time. It was only when ancient peoples began taking notice of the moon's cycles that they began to pay attention to the changing seasons and the pattern that repeated itself over and over. Eventually, the first calendars were formulated to mark time changes and other special days. From this tracking system came the ability to celebrate birthdays and other significant anniversaries the same day each year.

There is evidence of birthday observances even before the rise of Christianity. In pagan cultures, people feared evil spirits, especially on their birthdays. It was commonly believed that evil spirits were more dangerous to a person when he or she experienced a change in their daily life, like turning a year older. So birthdays were usually merry occasions, celebrated with family and friends, who surrounded the person with laughter and joy to protect them from evil. Instead of birthday gifts, the guests would bring positive thoughts and happy wishes for the upcoming year. However, when guests did bring birthday gifts, it was considered an especially good sign for the birthday person.

Although it is believed that people have observed their birthdays for quite some time, there are few records of such celebrations in existence today. Of these few records, only those birthdays of kings, high-ranking nobility and other important figures have been documented. Common people, especially children, never celebrated their birthdays when the idea came about. This trend might have existed because nobility were the only people wealthy enough to throw such celebrations, and quite possibly were the only ones deemed important enough to have been written about or remembered. Some historians believe these early birthday bashes resulted in the custom of wearing birthday "crowns" as the birthday celebrations grew of time.

Eventually, birthday celebrations became a tradition around the world with young and old, rich or poor. Although birthday customs are quite similar in some countries today, not everyone celebrates in the same way. Different people have incorporated their own rituals into the birthday celebration, based on spiritual beliefs and ancient cultural traditions.