Why Birthdays Beat New Years Every Time

There was a brief time when New Years Eve was one of my favorite holidays. This phase of my life parallels, no, overlaps the brief period of time when I wanted to stay up late but wasn’t usually allowed to. On behalf of children everywhere, I felt it was my duty to make it to midnight on New Years Eve. It was suspenseful. It was a frightening thriller!

Now – not so much.

Like a lot of holidays, New Years Eve just doesn’t seem to have the same feel to it. Watching people freeze their butts off to watch an apple-like chandelier drop just doesn’t seem to have that same ole feeling attached to it. And then there are those darned resolutions. Nobody likes those.

Truth is, I get much more excited about birthdays than I do about New Years Eve, which is why I was so excited that the awesome Nancy Davis suggested this topic! I mean, first of all, it’s a special day just for you (and the millions of other people who have the same birthday). What could be better than that? But there’s more to it than just the customization factor.

A Blank Slate

When you think about it, a birthday is really a note that you should celebrate the fact that you, you specifically, have made it through another year. You can look back at each birthday, each anniversary of your time with yourself, and mark where you have made progress. On your birthday, you can look at the years of your life, just yours, and decide where you want to be when your next birthday comes. It’s a blank slate, but there’s nothing arbitrary about it. It’s not based on just any calendar like New Years Eve is. It’s your time frame. It’s the “you” calendar.

Celebrating Others

Of course, there is also the importance of noting and celebrating other peoples’ birthdays. I worry that with Facebook reminders, saying “Happy Birthday” is, like so many things, starting to lose its meaning. What does saying “Happy Birthday” mean? Well, to me it always has been a matter of literal translation. Happy day of your birth. I am happy you were born. I’m happy you’re here.

There aren’t a lot of times when we’re nudged by societal convention to express gratitude for the special people in our lives, and the opportunities to do so seem to be shrinking away. Even Thanksgiving is getting overrun by the craziness of Black Friday commercialism. But birthdays are still a free-for-all. They can be marked however you want. They can mean, to you, whatever you want them to mean. but in my humble opinion, they really do mean something special.

What do you think?

Image by Bartek Ambrozik. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Ambrozjo

14 comments

  1. I love birthdays. They are my favorite holiday too. After all it is someone’s birthday every day. And it is August.

    My birthday is August 7th. I complete 56 revolutions around our Sun at 1am Central Time. Birthdays are a new year for sure; they are YOUR new year. I look forward to starting my 57th trip.

    Celebrate Life.

  2. What? Somebody has the same birthday as me? I thought it was my day………….drat……….

    I love ’em; love participating in them and having them. I’ve had a few memorable ones and some that have lasted a week. I’ll tell you straight up, I like the attention. I’m not an attention hog, but I’m ok with somebody taking the time to make that day special for me.

    I see what you are saying about FB, but on my last bday I had some many well wishes it took me two days to respond to everyone (because I acknowledge individually).

    Birthday’s are cool, no two ways about it.

    So, Nancy D right out of the shoot; can’t wait to see the rest.

    1. Hi Bill,

      You’re right, it’s nice to see all of those pleasant wishes on Facebook…but sometimes you get them from people you don’t know at all and it’s kind of odd 🙂

      So glad you liked this post! And of course, you’re the only one who has your birthday!!!

  3. I love this Margie and not just because it was my idea! 🙂 Every year starting with August 1st, I think back on the past year and see what I learned, and what I want to change. Something about gaining another year of experience in life really makes me think. I will be 43 on the 11th. My son tells everyone my age, so why lie?

    I always loved my birthday as a kid. We had a big pool,and so we always had huge pool parties. When i think back on being a kid, I think of those and smile. 🙂

    I also like cake. Your birthday is not complete without cake!

      3. Birthdays are so special. I love celebrating, surprising and delighting others on theirs, and I enjoy my own May Day (May 1st…yes, Taurus).

        I wanted to have my first child before I turned 30, and my eldest was born on April 30th, just hours before I turned 30…I’ll leave it to you to ponder what the math might be on that:) My second son was born 5 years later. Birthdays remain fun and frivolous, despite the aging part of it all:) Cheers! Kaarina

    2. Yes, cake is definitely a bonus, although being a Fall baby I sometimes ask for peach pie instead 🙂

      Thanks for this idea, Nancy. I hope I did it justice for ya!

  4. Wow, I never thought of birthdays like that. I look forward to Christmas and New Year’s but birthday have always been ‘just another day’ for me. But I do get that same feeling you’ve described – on new year’s. haha

    1. Always a trouble-maker 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Jan. I know a lot of people actually hate birthdays – takes all kinds is my motto! 🙂

  5. Birthdays are my second favorite day of the year. (Christmas is still my #1)

    I don’t think there is a particular reason, I just like them. Maybe it’s the stuff you mentioned. Maybe it’s just a day that feels like it belongs to me. I don’t know. But I do agree with the New Years thing. It’s a bit overrated anymore.

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