I have noticed that with young children now there is an expectation there will be a party every year. Also, at some schools if you have a party, you must invite the whole class.

I know people who don’t celebrate birthdays as the pressure to be happy can be too much. My mother once had a boyfriend whose mum insisted, she get a present on her boy’s birthdays - she had seven!!

I wondered about the tradition of celebrating birthdays. It goes back to ancient Egyptians. Birthdays didn’t start until there were calendars. The Ancient Greeks were the first to have candles on cakes. Early Christians felt Birthdays were a pagan ritual.

The tradition of celebrating everyone's birthday is recent. It started with several socioeconomic trends in the 19th and 20th centuries.

As Moodscopers come from diverse cultures, backgrounds and everyone has a birthday, I thought it would be interesting to find out if people find birthdays fun and enjoyable or to others it may be just another day.

Are you someone who loves a birthday as an adult and enjoyed them as a child? Do you want to share a birthday story? Do you get anxious on your birthday as you feel there are too many expectations? Can you explain why?

Is a birthday synonymous with party and celebration? Are birthdays a sad time for you?

Feel free to share your thoughts.

Leah 

A Moodscope member