International Birthday Traditions

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

 

Norwegians celebrate birthdays with chocolate cake and by dancing with a friend. 

Russian children celebrate by giving their classmates candy on their own birthdays. Adults also hang gifts from clotheslines for children's birthday parties. 

German children get candles, cake, and presents on their birthdays. They also get out of homework and household chores. 

Single adult men over 30, however, have to sweep the stairs at their local courthouse while their "friends" throw garbage at them. 

Ecuadorian children are traditionally named for a patron Saint.  So they celebrate their birthdays on the date their saint was born. On their actual birthdays, children just get a card. 

Vietnamese adults and children all celebrate their birthdays on the same day: Tet. This is also the first day of the new year. 

Indian children get to celebrate their birthdays in three ways: they put on a new set of clothes in the morning, they eat a special meal, and they get to touch their parents' feet!

Dutch children celebrate ages 5, 10, 15, 20, and 21 as their crown years. On these days they receive big gifts and get to drink lemonade and hot chocolate.

Australians get to have fairy bread on their birthdays (i.e. buttered bread with sprinkles).

 

Jamaicans throw flour at each other on their birthdays. 

Canadians are likely to have someone sneak up on them on their birthdays and smear butter or grease on their noses. 

Argentinians pull the ears of the ones having birthdays. 

One year for Will's birthday, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. I had gone ahead of time and had taken a cake and candles for the waitresses to bring out to us. Not having been there when someone else had had a birthday, I had no idea what was on the horizon.

When the time came to bring out the cake and candles, the whole staff came out with it, singing "Happy Birthday" with very distinctive Chinese accents and with the music playing overhead -- and they sang it THREE times! The first time was sweet. The second time was a bit embarrassing -- for ALL of us. And the third time was just plain AWKWARD!!

But it did establish a fun Birthday memory for our family!

Lord, I firmly feel that it is pleasing to you for us to find things in this life to celebrate. And honoring someone on their birthday can really be important to them. Help us to do a good job of valuing each others' lives and celebrating the masterpiece You created.