This Way To My Blog

This Way To My Blog

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Birthday Traditions

After reading about the nice birthday Jack over at "Shipslog" had for his 75th I got to thinking how different people celebrate birthdays. Do you have any unusual traditions? When I married into a German family I had no idea I was giving up my birthday as I had known it in the past. They believed in getting together at the house of the birthday person. That person was to furnish the ice cream, coffee, and coolaid. No alcohol or beer in spite of the way people think German people are big drinkers. Each family was expected to show up with a dessert. Even sickness was not an excuse to not show up. This was true for anniversaries too. Never mind if there were three or four birthdays or anniversaries in the same month. No lumping together, each celebrated on the correct date. They loved to talk and discuss and have loud friendly arguments. Coming from a family who barely paid attention to birthdays it was a shock. We may have had a cake and usually a gift but it wasn't a big event, we just became a year older. I really came to hate birthdays and especially anniversaries. I felt our anniversary was personal and we should have done something special, just the two of us. Now my newest son-in-law is also German. They believed in the entire week belonging to the birthday person. I think more just letting them be first and treating them special  all week. I'm not sure what they did on anniversaries but I guess my daughter will find out this summer when she has her first anniversary with him.

8 comments:

jack69 said...

I have read of different traditions. We have always done as you mentioned your family did. The Tradition sounds interesting, but Three days is ENOUGH! (smile)
Sherry and I have always felt that way (the way your felt) about our anniversary, it is ours. We even did the 50th ourselves so we would be incontrol. Anyway you always have a little bit of 'SPECIAL' in your blog entries. I did always picture the German celebrations with a lot of beer, because they are famous for the best.

TexWisGirl said...

i am half german and my mother was not raised that way at all. we never paid much attention to birthdays or anniversaries, etc.

Chatty Crone said...

I married a Polish guy and it was very similar. They took to family very seriously! I loved it and I miss it.

Love, sandie

TARYTERRE said...

This was interesting. I guess everyone celebrates differently.

Lynne said...

I am one of the many that was sitting in a delusion with regard to German's celebrations always included drinking.
I actually lived in Heidelberg, Germany and the German family we rented from (upstairs) did like to party. So, if I am reading this correctly, I am left to assume the German family we rented from was partying around all the birthdays and anniversaries! No wonder they drank so much! (j/k). Great story!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

My only birthday tradition is to get an Oreo Ice Cream Cake every year on my birthday lol.

Lucy said...

I noticed Chatty said she married into a Polish faMILY and I think Polish and Bohemian are a lot the same in their heritage but my husband never had a BD cake till he married me. As poor as my family was my sisters always got my brother in out of the field and brought cake and Jello to school for me, and classmates. It is interesting how families differ ob celebrations and traditions..

Barbara In Caneyhead said...

Though there is no hint of German in Pete's name, his family has always had that idea about birthdays...with the birthday person funding the party. All the family and friends are guests. They almost never bring a dish. But in their case, each person/couple brings their own beer. And it is an event that lasts from noon til the wee hours of the morning. Even for little children!