Significance of Birthdays....

As I prepare to go to the Highbury Vaults to have some celebratory drinks in the honour of my good course mate's birthday, I question the significance of birthdays to ourselves. Before I continue, let me state that I've never....I repeat never... ever known so many birthdays happening in such a short period of time (Feb-Mar) until this year. I just had mine 2 weeks ago, and 2 girls in my Spanish class just had theirs too (amazingly, one of them a day after mine!). A friend's brother just had his too. I'm honoured to know so many fellow pisceans....its the sexiest sign to be ;-)
But apart from all that, what is the birthday worth to us? It is, after all, the day we were brought into this world. One could say that it is a sacred day. The Sri Aurobindo Society states :

"It is truly a special day in one's life. It is one of those days in the year when the Supreme descends into us - or when we are face to face with the Eternal - one of those days when our soul comes in contact with the Eternal and, if we remain a little conscious, we can feel His Presence within us. If we make a little effort on this day, we accomplish the work of many lives as in a lightning flash. That is why I give so much importance to the birthday - because what one gains in one day is truly something incomparable… My child, it is a very very special day, for it is the day of decision, the day one can unite with the Supreme Consciousness. For the Lord lifts us on this day to the highest region possible so that our soul, which is a portion of that Eternal Flame, may be united and identified with its Origin."

That was quite a lenghty explaination, but in short, it means that it is sacred and hence one should treat it with respect and make full use of it. The AskMoses.com states:

"A Jewish birthday is a very auspicious day. Our sages tell us that on a person’s birthday his “mazel” is dominant. Indeed, according to the Talmud, the miracle of Purim is largely credited to the fact that Moses’ birthday occurs during the month of Adar! Two of our major holidays celebrate birthdays: Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of Adam, and Passover is the collective birthday of the Jewish Nation (see Ezekiel, chapter 16). Your birthday is a day to express gratitude to G-d for bringing you into this world, entrusting you with the mission of illuminating it with the radiance of Torah and Mitzvot. This day, which is akin to a personal Rosh Hashanah, is the appropriate time to recommit to the mission at hand, resolving that the added maturity and experience gained during the past year will cause the following year to be even more productive and fruitful."

In short, pretty much the same thing as the one above. So in the light of all these religious context, how do people spend their birthdays? Some go out and get so drunk that they wish its not their birthday the next morning. Others throw a big party. Some treat themselves to a nice milkshake ;-) or a really posh full body massage. As for me, I didn't want to do anything as I had too much work to do that night (lazy excuse you might say), but due to my pushy housemates, we ended up having a surprisingly nice dinner and quite a few bottles of wine (so much so that one of them got a bit too talkative). I guess it all boils down to the individual in the end. Sure, friends might treat you extra special on your birthday, but you can only be 21 once in your life (25 in my case). You are who you want to be. You can be 8, 18 or 80.

So for tonight, how will it all end? Will we drink like there's no tomorrow? Will we all scream, shout, laugh, cry to vent our happiness at the anniversary of a birth? Will we end up like hedonistic cavemen with pints in our hands? Probably not, as we are all responsible final year students........;-)

Happy 23rd birthday Tom!