Birthdays provide the opportunity to celebrate the past, the coming of the new, and the hope of the future. In common custom, birthdays are celebrated on the day of birth by month and day of each subsequent year since birth. I was informed by my South Korean foreign-exchange student cousin that Korean custom increases every person's age each January 1, regardless of actual day of birth. It is still common to celebrate the day of birth, however.
There are several official birthdays that are celebrated. The birth of Christ (Christmas), the birth of the Japanese Emperor and George Washington's birthday (Presidents' Day) are among the renowned birthdays.
Each celebration of birth is a reminder of the beginning of life, the inevitable end of life, and the hope for eternal life. Birthdays are not a commercialized means for consumerism but is an opportunity for worship to the Creator for what has been, what is, and what will be to come.
I'm a faithful reader, too.
ReplyDeleteI like Korea's idea of changing it for everyone on January first. Of course, that wouldn't matter for you but it would for the rest of us!