Birthday celebrations have persisted since as early as 3000 B.C., evolving and changing with the people. Naturally, the “normal” celebrations people hold today vastly contrast from those held 150 years ago.
Just as birthdays have evolved throughout centuries of history, the way people celebrate their birthday changes throughout their lifetime as they grow older.
“When I was little, I would just celebrate with my family,” said junior Alex Pate. “As I’ve become more social, I feel like I’ve had more friends to hang out [with] … Recently, I really have enjoyed playing board games at my birthdays, eating cake [and] chit-chatting. Just having an overall community experience with those I care about.”
Who a student celebrates their birthday with can vary.
“In Germany, I got my friend group together and [we] would usually do something like bowling or going to the movie theater or a shopping trip,” said junior Lisa Fruecht. “Last time … we went to [an] Instagram photoshoot location.”
Some students enjoy spending their birthday more with family.
“My mom will make me breakfast and then I’ll just do whatever I kind of want to do throughout the day, usually [play] video games,” said freshman Odin Le. “Sometimes I’ll go for a walk or something and then we’ll get dinner.”
In such a diverse student body, culture can play a big part in how students celebrate their birthdays.
“Many cultures have different traditions,” said junior Sheyla Hernandez. “For example, [in my culture], we go all out. We try to have a party. That’s just the way we celebrate it. But in other cases, like [my] friends, they don’t really go all [in their] culture. They just have a small little dinner.”
For each year, you add a wagon [on a toy train]
In some cultures, turning certain ages changes on how students celebrate.
“[Similar] to a sweet 16, for us [we hold] a quinceañera [at the age of 15],” Hernandez said. “If a family member had passed away it’s tradition to dance with a picture or something that’s memorable to remind them they’re still [there].”
In addition to culture, some families have specific birthday traditions.
“I have a silly tradition with my parents,” Fruecht said. “They started doing this when I was one year old and for each year, you add a wagon [on a toy train] and so there are 17 wagons on this train [right now].”
Some students celebrate birthdays by adding a little twist to conventional norms.
“Aside from the typical traditions of cake [and] presents … my family tends to [sing] happy birthday in Spanish and English,” Pate said.
Birthdays are a time for students to come together with the people they are closest to in order to celebrate their livelihood. While each may look unique, birthdays can be one of the most treasured and meaningful holidays.
