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It is assumed
that carousing Birthdays in Europe
commenced with the originally Iranian cult
of Mithras in Roman Empire. It was very
rare during the middle ages but with the
advent of reformation it was resurrected.
A happy Birthday
song is
conventionally sung to accolade the person
celebrating his birthday. The carnival
is followed by the blowing out of candles
and then slicing the highly decorated birthday cake.
The rite of blowing out of candles has got
a significance which is believed by most
people. It is a means of wish fulfillment.
If all the candles can be blown out with
one breath then the wish
is believed to come true. The birthday cake is very nicely decorated and it
is garlanded with lit candles. The singing
of birthday song can be performed
at any place, even in restaurants at the
delivery of the dessert or the very
special birthday cake.
Numeral candles
are also used where the number of candles
may prove to be a fire hazard. Numeral
candles means the shape of the candle will
be numeral, for e. g. if the person’s age
is fifty then instead of lighting fifty
candles only a numeral 5 followed by a
numeral 0 will be placed on the cake.
On Birthday, the
honored person gets a hug, a call or
letters from his friends
and family. Kids
usually enjoy this special day by playing
games such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey,
Musical Chairs and hitting Piñatas. Adults
prefer to celebrate their birthday
privately in some restaurants by having a
dinner with their friends.
A tradition of
Surprise Parties is also popular. The
Birthday boy or the Birthday
girl receives no greetings from his/her
family at the beginning of the day because
a surprise party has been organized to
delight the honored person.
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