History of Birthdays
Boldly Seeking is turning five years old this week, and we could not be more excited about it! What do birthdays look like in your family? My husband’s side of the family always has a meal together with cake, candles, and presents. The meal is usually lasagna and the birthday cake is chosen based on who we are celebrating. Lately, I have been planning my own birthday party for the past few years and love having friends over for food and games. Maybe birthdays aren’t as important in your family or do not hold as much tradition as other holidays might. In researching birthdays, I found out that some of the first “ birthdays” were centered around celebrating Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. These celebrations were not necessarily about the day Pharaoh was born, but more like a coronation day of when he became the leader. “Like many things, this Egyptian tradition came into use by Ancient Greeks. They similarly celebrated their gods as a form of tribute. To do this, they offered moon-shaped cakes to the lunar goddess Artemis. As a way to recreate the Moon’s radiance and Artemis’ beauty, the Greeks added lit candles to make the cakes look as if they were glowing. This became a tradition carried on to this day.” https://www.rebounderz.com/the-history-of-birthdays/ My family loves to use the trick candles or even the candles that have music playing! I love how creative people are in their cake decorations and depending on the theme, some of those cakes look so realistic and beautiful! If you check out the podcast episode on Between the Pages this week, you’ll see our cute little birthday cake in the podcast studio. :)
The Bible also mentions birthdays! And although it does not look like the more modern celebrations we have today, take a look at Job 1:4-5: “His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.” So we see Job’s boys celebrate birthdays and how they could get pretty rowdy sometimes. We also see another birthday mentioned in Genesis 40:20 when Joseph is in Egypt. Joseph was interpreting two different dreams: the cupbearer was going to get his job back and the baker was going to be killed. “Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials.” So between Job’s son’s birthdays and Pharaoh’s birthday, the Bible does not paint these parties in a positive light. Birthdays were not celebrated as often back then because it was considered a pagan “holiday” because of the sinful things people would do at these parties.
After the birth of Jesus, aka Christmas, Christians accepted birthdays as a way to honor and give glory to God for getting a whole year older. Several cultures have specific celebrations for birthday milestones. Quinceañeras are parties for girls turning fifteen years old in Hispanic countries. A Mitzvah is a Jewish party honoring boys and girls who turn twelve or thirteen. And on the Coming of Age Day in Japan, the country celebrates all people turning twenty that year on the second Monday in January. For Boldly Seeking’s fifth birthday, we went all out! We have reflected on how far Jesus has walked with us in this journey. It is so exciting, heartwarming, and humbling to turn five years old as a ministry. If you have been with us since the beginning, you have seen how much God has grown our blog, website, podcast, speaking events, worship nights, camp/ retreat, and more! If you are just joining us, pull up a chair, there is plenty of room to include you in the conversation of celebration. Thank you for joining us in celebrating all that God has done and is continuing to do through Boldly Seeking.
