Il Compleanno

It’s impossible, of course, to think of a life without birthdays. As with all traditions, birthdays have experienced a remarkable—if not astonishing—cultural evolution. The earliest of all birthdays were thought to have been a means of tracking time, in the practical sense, and would eventually become a tradition based only in necessity. (I’m guessing there were no gifts at this stage…)

Before the days of Christianity, birthdays weren’t all that common, and initiated as a means of staving off evil spirits. It was believed that by turning one year older, the body was at its most vulnerable stage, and a celebration full of love and revelry was thought to be enough to save one’s soul.

The traditional celebrations took centuries to catch on, and it’s thought that the Germans were the first to establish birthday parties regularly for their children. Kings the first adults, popularizing the “crowing” of the birthday boy or girl on the special day of their birth.

As my very own birthday is tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the traditions of my ancestors, way, way back, and see which wonderments I could perhaps, this year, incorporate into my own celebration.

Perhaps my Lithuanian grandmother Eva partook in the traditional garland, which is hung around the entire door of the birthday girl or boy, whilst sitting in a fanciful chair, embellished with adornments, awaiting their friends and family to lift them up towards the sky, three times, for good luck.

My other grandmother was pure Irish and born in Boston, but her mother, Eileen, came to America from her homeland of green-grassed Galway Bay. If Eileen had been a traditional Irish lass, she would have been lifted upside down as girl, and gently (carefully!) “bumped” against the ground for good luck – one “bump” for each year of her little life.

You may think that the tradition of Italian’s pulling at an innocent child’s face are only in the movies – there’s substantial evidence this annoying tradition could have originated with birthdays, where it was in keeping with tradition to pull on a child’s ear –one time for each year! I imagine my grandfather’s surviving much ear-pulling as bambinos.

My own personal birthday had gone through quite an evolution, too. Up until I was about 11 years old, I had piñatas in my front yard, until the age of 12 when I was allowed to have a sleepover (to end all sleepovers).

I’ve had some amazing birthdays as a grown-up, too. Last year I spend my birthday at the Ronald McDonald House in Long Island, where my little company, Elephant Ensemble Theater, performed Thumbelina for a bunch of amazing kids. I couldn’t think of a better birthday!!!

But I do find as I get older, quieter is better.

As I turn another year older, I’ll now wonder how others born on May 12th celebrated…. Did British-born Florence Nightingale ever find a hidden treasure planted in her birthday cake?

Did all Italian-American Yogi Berra survive a childhood of ear-pulling – for each year? (That would explain some things!!!)

Finally, a shared birthday isn't the only thing I have in common with Katherine Hepburn -- no doubt all American Kate had a birthday cake just like me.