Birthday Traditions For Various Nations
Birthdays are a cause for celebration in most countries. However, the style or way of party might vary from place to place. Different lands have different birthday customs and while some are sweet; others are downright hilarious. Here’s a glance at some of the birthday traditions of individual countries.
Talking of a distinct birthday celebration, the first nation that deserves a mention is Africa. In Africa, people celebrate initiation ceremonies instead of regular birthday parties. Initiation ceremony concentrates on providing learning to the child as related to the laws, customs, and beliefs of the country. Nevertheless, the ceremony is performed only when the child reaches a particular age.
Another country which has a very entertaining birthday celebration is Argentina. The girls are required to celebrate their 15th birthday by dancing with their fathers and other boys, specifically a waltz dance. This is surely an exclusive yet very healthy birthday tradition. It helps maintain good health by preventing rise in blood pressure readings.
Canada too makes to the list of countries following funny birthday traditions. The birthday celebration centers on greasing the nose of the birthday girl or boy with butter. This is done as a good omen so that bad luck slips away from the nose of the person. Another tradition followed in Canada, primarily in Quebec on occasion of birthday is to punch the birthday boy or gal. The number of punches must be equivalent to the age of the person.
Another funny birthday celebration tradition as followed in Brazil is pulling of earlobes. Here again, the number of pulls are equivalent to the age of the person. In addition, the birthday boy or gal is required to offer the first slice of cake to the person who holds the maximum importance in his/her life. Furtheron, girls are meant to dance with fifteen partners on their 15th birthday. Dancing with 15 distinct boys symbolizes 15 distinct years of her life. The best part is that the dance moves help boost fitness levels substantially.
If you’d like to get rich on your birthday, China is the country for you. Parents in this country, frequently gift their kids a substantial sum of money as birthday gift . Visitors are commonly invited for a birthday lunch and noodles are the staple dish for this occasion.
Keeping your birthday a secret, can be difficult in Denmark. People of this country tend to hang flags outside their home to indicate that someone’s celebrating their birthday within. Another popular tradition is to place presents along the bedside while the kid is sleeping. This is done, to ensure that the child opens his/her eyes to the gifts first. Needless to say, the day is off to a delighted start after that.
Even with such wide varieties of birthday traditions; the principle thoughts behind the celebrations remain the same the world over. In the end, it is all about imparting good luck and contentment to the person.
