Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
This podcast is designed to give English students extra practice by discussing events, history, culture and language.
Arianne: Hi Kari! How are you today?
Kari: Hi Ari! I’m well! Actually, I’m very excited! How about you?
Arianne: I’m also doing well, Kari. I’m looking forward to the weekend. What are you doing this weekend, and why are you excited? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Isn’t it your husband’s birthday? Are you having a party for him?
Kari: Yes, it is and we ARE having a party! I can’t wait!
Arianne: I love birthday celebrations. What are you going to do at the party?
Kari: Oh, me too! Hmmm… the usual things, you know: bake a cake, light some candles, blow up balloons. I still need to bake the cake though! I wonder why we do those things? Do you know?
Arianne: Ooh, Kari, that’s one of my favourite topics. But first, let me ask you and our listeners a question. Where does the idea of birthday parties originally come from? Is it? A: Ancient Greece B: Ancient Egypt C: Germany
Kari: Hmmm, I’m not too sure, Ari… I think I’ll say Ancient Egypt?
Arianne: Good guess, Kari! I’ll tell you at the end of this podcast, but I think I need to tell you about the story of birthday celebrations. It actually goes back really far and has many different pieces. It all started in Ancient Egypt where people used to throw huge celebrations for the Pharoah, who Ancient Egyptians believed was a representation of the gods on Earth. Back then, regular people like you and me didn’t get to celebrate their birthdays. But then, the idea of celebrating the gods spread to Ancient Greece and people used to make moon-shaped cakes for the goddess Artemis. Do you know what else they did for her cakes?
Kari: Oh, yes! I think I’ve heard about this before! Didn’t they start the tradition of lighting candles? Because the candles looked like the light of the moon – which was perfect for Artemis, the moon goddess?!
Arianne: You’re exactly right, Kari! And people believed that the light of the candles actually carried their prayers up to Artemis, so she could hear them.
Kari: Okay, so now, we’ve made it to birthday cakes, candles and Ancient Greece. But no regular people like you or me are allowed to celebrate birthdays, so, what happened next?
Arianne: I know. It’s crazy, right? Well, in the 4th century, Christians started celebrating Christmas, which was of course, the birthday of Jesus. This made the idea of a birthday celebration more popular. And then in Ancient Rome, the nobility, but only the men, not you and me, started celebrating their birthdays. The peasants celebrated their Saints Day.
Kari: Oh Ari, we still have Saints Days in the Czech Republic where I live! They exist in France and Greece, and other parts of Europe as well. But is there a difference between Saints Day, and a Name Day?
Arianne: Oh, good question! We don’t actually have either of those in South Africa where I live, but a Saint Day is when the Roman Catholic Church commemorates a specific saint, so it could be the day they passed away, for example. But it’s always a fixed date on the calendar. Name Days are celebrated by everyone who shares the same name as a saint. So, even though Name Days and Saints Days are often used interchangeably, they don’t mean the exact same thing. In fact, the Saint Day for my name is 18 September, but depending on the country, my name day is either 1 October, 22 February or even 17 September. It’s crazy.
Kari: That is crazy. That’s really interesting. In fact, I just remembered that Name Days originated from Saints Days, but evolved over time to include more modern names, as well. But, what about people who weren’t named after saints? When do they celebrate their name days?
Arianne: I actually didn’t know that, but if you don’t have a Saint Day, you can celebrate your name day on All Saints Day which is always just after Halloween. This year in 2026, it will be on 1 November. In fact, Kari, your name day is on 2 August on the Scandinavian calendar, but if your name comes from a version of Katherine, your saint day is on 25 November!
Kari: Wow that’s quite cool! Well, in the U.S.A., we don’t have name days, as well, so technically I can’t celebrate it. And where I live – Yes, I know. Right? Where I live in the Czech Republic, I also don’t have name day because the names are all Czech names. So … I decided to choose July 16th at my name day because it’s my half birthday.
But back to your fun fact, peasants got to celebrate their name or saint days, but then how did we get to birthday parties?
Arianne: Well, from there the story moves on from Greece and Rome to Germany! Germany had something called the Kinderfeste, and I’m sorry to all the German listeners if I mispronounced that, but this was a big party for a child’s birthday celebration. The big difference is that they would have a cake and candles, but they added extra candle for the year ahead! This is also when people started blowing out the candles to make a wish. They used to play music, games and have gifts and goodie bags to take home with them after the party! Some historians even say that all the children in a village celebrated their birthdays at the same time, during the Kinderfeste, because it was more affordable to throw one big party for everyone rather than having a single party for each person.
Kari: Okay, so I’ve also heard something about a German Count named Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf? Didn’t he have a huge party for his own birthday?
Arianne: Kari, you know so much about birthdays! Well done. You’re right again. Yes, Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf decided he wanted to have a huge, blowout celebration for his 46th birthday. This was kind of around the mid-1700s. So, he had a massive party, and had German bakers bake him a cake, which he added 46 candles to, to show his age. He invited many people, because he was influential, and they all brought him some gifts. And, because he was kind of important at the time, he made it fashionable for adults to celebrate their birthdays by throwing parties, not just the kids having kinderfeste.
Kari: And at the same time, baking cakes was cheaper than before, so everyone just started celebrating their birthdays with a party and cake, not just the nobility.
Arianne: Pretty much, right? So, yay, equality for everyone. Of course, around the world there are many special birthday celebrations and traditions. ge Day, which is beautiful,and girls in South American celebrate their Quinceneras, which are just two examples. But when we think about birthday traditions, most of what we do to celebrate today, comes from all these ancient traditions we spoke about.
Kari: You know, last question Ari. What about the “Happy Birthday” song? Where does that come from?
Arianne: Oh, that one is so cool. That one actually comes from America! There were two sisters, Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill, I’m not sure what the J stands for. They were teachers that wrote a song in 1893. The song was called “Good Morning to All,” and it was supposed to be sung by children before they started school in the morning. But then there was a man named Robert Coleman who published a songbook which had the song in it, and he added some extra lyrics to it. So, in 1924 his book was released. Then in 1933 it was used in a musical, and the sisters sued for copyright infringement! Right? So, the song was supposed to be copyrighted until the year 2030, which means every time we’ve sung it, it’s kind of been illegal, right? But in 2016, there was a huge court case which brought it into the public domain. Before that, it was earning about 2 million U.S. dollars a year – every time it was used in a movie, a series episode or any recorded media!
Kari: WOW! That’s a lot of money for a song we sing at least once a year while someone blows out the candles! Well, Ari, I have to go get some ingredients to bake my husband’s cake before the party!
Arianne: Well, I can’t wait to see a photo. What kind of cake is it going to be? Chocolate, vanilla?
Kari: Oh, I’m not sure yet. I will come up with something.
Arianne: Okay. Well, your baking always looks so tasty, but before I let you go, Kari, do you remember the question I asked you?
Kari: Yes – you asked: Where does the idea of birthday parties originally come from? Is it: A: Ancient Greece B: Ancient Egypt C: Germany
And I said… Ancient Egypt
Arianne: And now you know! It was a trick question. So, birthday traditions come from all those places, but the party itself comes from Germany!
Thank you, Kari! I hope you enjoy your baking! And, have fun at the party!
Kari: Thank you also, Ari, and talk to you soon!