Birthday Celebrations
Here at Tall John’s House we have been privileged to help several different gatherings of family and friends to celebrate big and not-so-big birthdays. It is great to see family and friends together and Ken is often asked to bake one of his splendid sponge cakes to add to the festivities.
Birthdays feature hugely in western celebrations and our idea of celebrating a birthday with cake and candles has certainly caught on in other parts of the world, but many cultures have long-standing traditional ways to celebrate that don’t involve a sugar rush.
On the Atlantic side of Canada, birthday boys and girls are sometimes “ambushed” and their noses are greased , usually with butter, to ward off bad luck.
Chinese birthday tradition maintains that one should symbolize their longevity by eating a plate of long noodles , slurping them in as far as possible before biting.
When single men in Germany turn 30, an old tradition is for them to sweep the steps of their local city hall as their friends toss rubble onto them. The ordeal, meant to embarrass, is supposed to carry on until the birthday boy is able to plant a kiss on a passing woman. Also, you buy the drinks for your friends on your birthday in Germany, unlike in the States where it is the other way around.
The tradition of giving bumps on your birthday is an Irish tradition. A child is held upside down and is “bumped” on the floor, once for every year of their age plus one for good luck. Only quite fun!
Jamaicans think covering their friends with flour is fun on their birthday. Regardless of age, tradition calls for the birthday boy or girl to be or coated with flour , by friends and family, either at an organized party or as part of an ambush. They call this “antiquing!
Mexicans make a birthday piñata filled with sweets . Grab a blindfold and a broomstick, and let the celebrations begin!
Strangely everyone celebrates their birthday on New Year’s Day in Vietnam. They call this day “ tet.” Vietnamese tradition is that the actual day of birth is not to be acknowledged . Rather, people become a year older every year at tet . Although this means you never forget a person’s birthday, not many of us would opt for this wholesale solution!
