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Birthday Traditions Around the World

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Africa
Children learn birthday dances and go through an initiation ceremony on their birthday. They have a great time!
Argentina
Girls will have a special birthday party that symbolizes the transformation into womanhood when turning 15. They'll wear a white dress, similar to a wedding dress, and have a dance at what will be her biggest birthday party. They will get money inside birthday cards.
Aruba
School children will bring birthday gifts for their classmates.
Bolivia
A young woman will have a special birthday party that symbolizes the transformation into womanhood when she turns 15. She'll wear a white dress, similar to a wedding dress, and have a dance at the party.
Brazil
Most girls have special birthday party that symbolizes the transformation into womanhood when becoming 15. They'll wear a white dress, similar to a wedding dress, and have a dance at the party.
Canada
Children grease their noses with butter to prevent bad luck on their birthday.
China
Children eat noodles for lunch, and receive money from their families on their birthday.
Cuba
Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to birthday parties that will have music, food, piñatas and cake.
Denmark
Flags are put outside the windows so everyone knows someone in the house is having a birthday.
Educator
Similar to the traditions in Mexico and South America, girls will have a big party when they turn 15, but will have a pink dress instead of white.
German
Candles are lit for the entire day of someone's birthday.
Ghana
People will have a special birthday meal, which can sometimes include brown rice, beans and corn beef.
Holland
On fifth, tenth, fifteenth, twentieth and twenty-first birthdays, people receive an extra special birthday gift.
Hungary
While people are opening birthday gifts and birthday cards, family and friends will pull on their earlobes and say a rhyme for good luck.
India
People wear colorful clothing and eat chocolate on their birthdays.
Ireland
Children are held upside-down and their heads are bumped on the floor on their birthdays for each year that has passed.
Israel
Children are lifted on a chair while adults raise the chair according to the number of years that have passed.
Japan
People wear new clothes, and visit a temple shrine on their birthday.
Korea
On the first birthday, a baby chooses and item off a table with a pencil, ruler, thread and money. Whatever the baby picks up will predetermine if the child is a good scholar, good at building things, have a long life, or will be rich.
Mexico
A girl will have a special birthday party that symbolizes the transformation into womanhood when she turns 15. She'll wear a white dress, similar to a wedding dress, and have a dance at the party.
New Zealand
People clap for the number of years passed and the birthday person blows out candles on a birthday cake.
Russia
People eat pies instead of birthday cakes with a birthday greeting carved in the crust.
Scotland
Children get a pound note for every year that has gone by, and a punch for each year of their age on their birthdays.
South Africa
Children are given a key on their birthdays to symbolize that they are ready to unlock what the future holds.
United States
People celebrate with birthday cake, music, singing and birthday gifts.
Vietnam
Everyone celebrates their birthday on New Year's Day, called "tet". They get red envelopes of money.
Germans
Birthdays were usually only celebrated by nobility until the Germans began the practice of celebrating children's birthdays called "kinderfeste."
Greeks
Putting candles on a cake came from ancient Greek goddess worship when people would bring cakes with candles that symbolized the moon to the temples.
North America/Europe
The Western custom of having a party on the day of your birth, giving gifts, singing songs, and blowing out candles to make a wish came from pagan European superstitions that evil spirits were attracted to people on their birthday, and so people would gather and cast spells to protect that person.