Birthdays

Today is my birthday, and since I woke up super early I decided to write a birthday blog. This information is largely copied from other websites because it is early in the morning, and I don't feel like spending time re-writing anything right now...

First I am going to share the Pagan Origins of the Birthday... after all this is a Pagan blog.

The practice of celebrating one's birth in ancient times did not exist. Typically, only kings and those of royalty were the only ones worthy enough to have their birthdays celebrated. With the perfecting of the calendar by the Egyptians, who named the days of the week in honor of the various gods they worshiped, it became possible to keep the exact date of one's birth. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia celebrated the births of their gods, kings, and nobles.

The introduction of the Egyptian calendar became linked to astrology and fortune-telling. The keeping of birthdays, then, was important in ancient times, essentially due to the fact that the date of one's birth was directly related to the casting of a person's horoscope.

In early civilizations it was believed that "the horoscopes of ruling monarchs, their successors and rivals had to be cast with care and birthday omens meticulously examined", because the prognostications of kings and those of royalty affected the entire society.

It was also believed that one could be helped by good spirits or pursued by evil spirits on one's birthday. For this reason, people would gather around the birthday person to offer protection from evil spirits. The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit that guarded over his birth and protected him during his life. This spirit, the Greeks believed, "had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born".

This belief in spirits is the reason for many, if not all, of the traditional birthday customs that are practiced today. The custom of lighting candles on the birthday cake began with the Greeks. The Greeks worshipped Artemis, the goddess of the moon. They celebrated her birthday once a month with round cakes (to symbolize her shape), using lighted candles on the cakes, to represent a glowing moon. Birthday candles, which always held mystic significance, were "an honor and tribute to the birthday child and [brought] good fortune",

Other birthday traditions, such as surrounding the birthday person, the singing of the happy birthday song, blowing out candles, and even playing such birthday games as "Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Donkey" were all associated with warding off evil spirits, guessing the future, and magic.

One day, when I am not feeling lazy, I will write my own Birthday Blog and not rely so heavily on other people's writings...

Next, I would like to share something I read from Knock on Wood  An Encyclopedia of Superstition by Carole Potter.

Celebrating birthdays dates to ancient times, when man first began to understand the stars.  It became important to know the exact moment, day, month, and year, of one’s birth.  With these all-important facts, a horoscope could be drawn, and in those days a horoscope was essential.

The Egyptian pharaohs celebrated their birthdays in a big way.  Back then the amount of celebrating a person did generally had to do with the extent of his or her money and power.  Rich Romans held circuses.

We know that Cleopatra and Nero enjoyed their birthdays, as did most Romans and Greeks.  Augustus held a birthday celebration for himself every month!

Good wishes are offered to the birthday person in an attempt to protect him or her from evil spirits.  The chances of spirits causing mischief on a birthday are considered great, because spirits of all kinds are said to be attracted by celebrations and by times of change, and this dangerous combination comes together at birthday time.

The birthday celebration dates to recorded time. The modern party probably started in early Germany, where children were given gifts and had a candle rimmed cake. 

Birthday customs changed a lot after Christ was born.  Children were named after saints and celebrated the birthday of the saints after whom they were named instead of their real birthdays.  Today many children celebrate both days.

The idea of someone “worth his weight in gold”  comes from a birthday tradition in the East. For example the Aga Khan III on his sixtieth birthday topped the scales at 243 pounds and received that amount in gold and diamonds.

One of the best birthday ideas comes from China.  There people once believed that when a person reached the age of sixty, he or she got to start all over again.

June Birth Symbols:

Flower: Rose
Stones: Pearl, Moonstone, Opal, Alexandrite, Agate
Colors: Light Blue, White, Cream

Star Signs:

Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Element: Air
Symbol: The Twins
Stones/Meanings: Citrine (lends sunniness to communication), Amber (grounds high-flying imagination), Tourmaine  (helps concentration)
Colors: Yellow, Light Green
Plants: Tansy, Yarrow, Privet, Hawthorne, Heather, Cedar, Linden, Oak

Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Element: Water
Symbol: The Crab
Stones/Meanings: Moonstone, Pearl, Peridot (balances moodiness, relieves stomachaches, soothes sadness and depression, lessens loneliness, strengthens bones, bolsters optimism, lends inner strength, resists emotional instability)

Colors: Pale Colors, Cream, White
Plants: Water Lilies, Rushes, Heather, Cedar, Linden, Oak, Holly

Happy Birthday June Babies!