What should a birthday wish look like?

Cross your fingers, put your arms on your chest, and put your hands near your chin and lips. Close your eyes and make a wish. As shown in the figure below:

Just do whatever you want. In fact, it doesn't matter what your birthday wish should look like.

Birthday refers to the day when a person is born. Generally in China, we pay more attention to the birthdays of the elderly. Every birthday is a family gathering, so in China, birthdays can be regarded as a family holiday. In China, in the old society, only children and old people usually celebrate their birthdays. However, influenced by cultural exchanges, many people in China have westernized their views on birthdays.

origin

In Greek culture, Greeks believe that everyone is protected by elves. Elves have been serving people since they were born, taking care of them all their lives. This elf has a mysterious relationship with a god, and the person the elf cares for was born on the birthday of this god. The Romans felt the same way. This concept has been handed down and can still be seen in the beliefs about the patron saint, fairy mother and patron saint.

The custom of lighting candles on cakes originated from the Greeks. The Greeks lit small candles on a full-moon honey cake and put them on the altar of the temple in themis to worship the moon god. According to traditional folk beliefs, candles lit on birthdays have magical power and can realize wishes. Since humans began to set up altars to worship the gods, lighting small candles or making a fire has a mysterious and special significance. Lighting birthday candles is a tribute to the children who celebrate their birthdays and can bring good luck to them. Congratulations and blessings are both indispensable links. This custom comes from magic. Birthday wishes can bring good luck or bad luck. Because people are closer to the devil on their birthdays.

Today, various customs related to birthday celebrations have a long history, all of which originated from magic and religion. In ancient times, customs such as congratulations, gifts, celebrations and lighting candles were designed to protect people who turned one year old that day from evil spirits and ensure their well-being in the coming year.

Until the 4th century, Christians didn't celebrate their birthdays because they thought it was a pagan custom.

Date definition

Different countries and cultural traditions have different definitions of birthdays. Therefore, people in the East and the West often disagree on the explanation of birthdays. This is one of the remarkable features brought about by cultural differences.

China

For thousands of years, the method of recording birthdays in China is quite different from that in the West. China people's new year begins on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which means that after New Year's Eve, everyone grows up by one year. Therefore, the meaning of "saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new" in the New Year has a certain age meaning. However, the general birthday is still used to the lunar calendar. So from the Republic of China, everyone can have two birthdays, one in the lunar calendar and the other in the solar calendar. Because the China Lunar Chronology Law is a revised monthly calendar, which is related to the moon period of revolution, the corresponding Gregorian calendar date is different every year. Generally speaking, in everyone's 19, 38, 57, 76 and 95th birthdays, there are always several times when the solar calendar and the lunar calendar coincide with the year of birth, but not everyone's19th birthdays are on the same day as the solar calendar and the lunar calendar, but on the day before and after, and it is more likely that they will not coincide for life.

The first birthday is called "one year old", which is almost the most important birthday.

In the old society, the birthdays of the elderly were carefully divided. If respected parents in a big family celebrate their birthdays, there will be corresponding celebrations, called birthdays. Traditional birthdays are generally calculated in nominal years.

Whole birthday: refers to birthdays with 9 or 0 as single digits, such as 59, 60, 49, 50, etc. Every birthday has a different name:

Anniversary: Every birthday is the 9th birthday, such as 39, 49, 59, 69, 79 and so on.

Zhengqing: Birthday is 0, such as 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, etc.

Birthday: the birthday company number is 1-8, for example, 5 1-58 years old.

The birthday of the emperor (or monarch) of China is more important. The birthdays of rulers in the Jin Dynasty include: Tianqing Festival, Wanshou Festival, Tianshou Festival, birthdays and so on. In the Qing Dynasty, whenever there were celebrations such as the emperor's birthday and his accession to the throne, there was an extra exam called Cohen. If Zheng Ke and Cohen merge, it will be called "Zheng En and Keke". In the 30th year of Guangxu, Chen Jia (1904) was the seventieth birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. At that time, this day was called "Longevity Day" and was celebrated all over the world. Cohen was added to the imperial examination, and finally Liu Chunlin won the first place. The following year (1905), the imperial examination was abolished, and Liu Chunlin became the last scholar in China.

Long Tail: China classical folk slang used to address the birthdays of children or unmarried young people. There is a saying in both the north and the south, which usually means that the elders have said their birthdays to the younger generation. /kloc-Being an adult at the age of 0/6 is the most important birthday. Parents will say that the tail is older in the future. There may be two reasons: first, medicine was underdeveloped in the past and the infant mortality rate was high. In folklore, the uglier children's names are, the longer their lives will be. Second, it's very formal to celebrate the birthday of the elders, and children don't have to pay so much attention to ostentation and extravagance on their birthdays. So the elders at home are called birthdays or birthdays, and the puppies are called long tails.

the west

Westerners' birthday dates are relatively simple. Date is the Gregorian calendar date of birth. If the birthday is February 29th, there will be a birthday in every leap year.