Should We Celebrate Birthdays?
As diligent seekers of Yahweh’s Truth we
come upon this question often: “Are birthdays appropriate to celebrate?” The
answer can be somewhat different depending on to whom you speak. The Bible
seems clear on the subject, so why do some of those who follow Yahweh still
participate?
Etymology
There are many words that have similar
meanings to the root word “birth” or “birthday.” Note the following related
words and phrases. Become familiar with them, and see how often they appear in
the Bible: birthday 3, birth 14, each on his day 1, beget 201, bare 110, born
79, bring forth 25, bear 23, travail 16, midwife 10, child 8, delivered 5,
borne 3, labour 2, brought up 2 (this list depends on
which version of the Bible you read).
We will focus on the first two words,
birthday, birth, and the phrase from Job 1:4 “each on his day” will also be
important. Strong’s Concordance has at least 3 different entries for the word
“birthday”: Strong’s #’s 3117, 3205, 1077. Strong’s #3117
Heb. Yowm:
can mean in the daylight hours or from sunset to sunset. Strong’s #3205 Heb. Yalad: literally
means to give birth, to bear, bring forth. Strong’s #1077 Greek genesia: birthday
ceremonies, birthday.
From The Beginning
Looking to the first account pertaining to
birth in the Scriptures we see in Gen. 3:16 Yahweh Elohim speaking to Eve:
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (Gen. 3:16 KJV)
We must have a clear idea of the tone set
by the Scriptures from the very beginning. In reference to “in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children”, it is a vivid illustration of how Yahweh punished Eve
and women following her for the sin committed in the Garden. Bear in mind that
this study is not meant to place a negative stigma on the blessing of children
given to us by our Heavenly Father, as Yahweh tells us in Scripture:
Lo, sons are a heritage from Yahweh, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the
man who has his quiver full of them! He shall not be put to shame when he
speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Ps.
127:3-5 RSV)
Pharaoh’s Birthday
Further ahead in Genesis 40 we have the
account of Joseph and the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers.
Joseph was given inspiration from Yahweh to interpret their dreams:
They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret
them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to Elohim? Tell them to me, I pray you.” So the chief butler
told his dream to Joseph… (Gen.
40:8-9 RSV)
Most of us remember how Joseph interpreted
(from the dream) the innocence of the cup bearer and the baker’s guilt. As we
move down to verse 19 of Gen. 40 pay careful attention to the prediction of
Joseph for the baker:
...within
three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you! —and hang you on a tree; and
the birds will eat the flesh from you.”
The prediction comes to pass, and on a very
special day to Pharaoh, we read on in verse 20:
On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all
his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the
chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief butler to his butlership,
and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as
Joseph had interpreted to them.
Why is it important to place emphasis on
these Scriptures referring to Pharaoh, on his birthday, and the lifting of the
heads of the butler and baker? We will see later in this study the correlation
between death and celebration of one’s self being born.
Pagan Roots
This excerpt is borrowed from an
Educational Resource website for teachers
(http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLRESOURCES/units/Byrnes-celebrations/bday.html)
and the books listed below are part of the bibliography:
“Celebrating birthdays is a very old
custom. Ancient people did not know the exact day of their birth, yet measured
time by using the moon and the seasons. As humans began to learn more about the
earth’s natural time gauge, calendars were developed. Calendars made it easy
for people to keep track of and celebrate important events each year. Birthdays
were some of the special events that people noted on their calendars.
“Many of the symbols that we associate with
birthdays had their roots hundreds of years ago. There are a few explanations
as to why we have birthday cakes. Some say it is because the Greeks used to
take cakes to the temple of the goddess of the moon, Artemis. They took her
round cakes to represent the full moon. Another view is that the tradition of
the birthday cake started in
“Another symbol that is closely tied to the
birthday cake is the custom of putting candles on the cake. The Greek people
who took their cakes to Artemis placed candles on the cake because it made the
cake look as if it was glowing like the moon (Gibbons, 1986). The Germans were
known as good candle makers and started to make small candles for their cakes.
Some people say that the candles were put on for religious reasons. Some
Germans place a big candle in the center of the cake to symbolize the ‘light of
life’ (Corwin, 1986). Others believed that the smoke from fires would take
their wishes up to heaven. Today many people make silent wishes as they blow
out their candles. They believe that blowing out all the candles in one breath
will bring good luck.
“A gathering or party is usually held so
that the birthday person can have their cake and blow out the candles. The very
earliest parties were held because people thought that evil spirits would visit
them on their birthdays. They stuck close to their friends and family so that
the evil spirits would not bother them. Later on, parties were gatherings where
friends and family members would give gifts or flowers to the person having the
birthday. Today lots of birthday parties are for fun. If people cannot visit
someone on their birthday they often send them a birthday card. The tradition
of sending birthday cards was started in
“Many birthday traditions deal with luck. A
good luck birthstone, good luck flower, and a good luck color have been
assigned to each month of the year. Birthday presents dealing with these good
luck symbols are often given as gifts. The common birthday symbols have been
taken from numerous countries. Yet, each country still has customs and traditions
unique to themselves. Some countries have uncommon customs that are very
different from the current American view of birthdays. Many birthday
celebrations are centered around religious ceremonies or themes. Each country,
people, and region have their own set of customs. The following are examples of
only a few types of celebrations. Japanese children celebrated their birthdays
on January first. An individual would celebrate his birthday on January first
if his birthday was February 19th, October 31st, or any other day of the year.
Today, most Japanese children celebrate their birthdays on their true
birthdays.
“In Korea one of the most important
birthdays is a child’s first birthday. The children are dressed in special
clothes and are taken in front of a large gathering of friends and family
members. There is a big feast and the guests leave money for the new
one-year-old child. The child’s future is told by the items the birthday child
picks up.
“Hindu children celebrate their birthdays
only until they are 16 years old. Their birthday is very religious. They take
flowers to the temple and the child receives a blessing from a priest. The
birthday child does not even have to go to school on his birthday.
“Many of the common birthday symbols come
from Germany. The children in Germany have birthday cakes, parties, and blow
out candles. However, children may celebrate their birthdays differently
depending upon which part of Germany they live. The parties in south Germany
are usually quiet celebrations where the child is the center of attention for
the day. In many countries children are named after saints. In these countries
the birthday celebration usually comes on the name day, the feast of the
child’s patron saint (Price, 1969). On this special day the focus should first
be on the saint and then on the child. Some children get to celebrate on name
day and on their own birthday.”
Corwin, J. H. (1986). Birthday Fun. New
York: Simon & Schuster.
Gibbons, G. (1986). Happy Birthday. New York:
Scholastic.
Motomora, M.
(1989). Happy Birthday! Milwaukee, WI: Raintree Publishers.
Price, C. (1969). Happy Days. New York:
United States Committee For UNICEF.
(no author) (1989). Children’s Songbook of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. S.L.C., UT: The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Looking at some of the historical
references here, we find it is often stated that children celebrate birthdays
for religious reasons. They even say that the origins of the “birthday cake”
was modeled after the baby Messiah’s swaddling clothes. This association to the
Messiah Yahshua is curious at best. The other “religious” references all point
to pagan religions and pagan traditions and can be considered to further prove
our point.
While researching the same Education
Resource website, one can find an interesting plan for the teacher. Here is an
excerpt from that plan, pay close attention to the last sentence:
“F.
Hands-on (Book making). Have students begin to make their own personal birthday
books. Title the book, My Special
Birthday, let the students fill in their name and birth date on the front
cover. Have the students write about and draw a picture of their family
birthday tradition. The number of pages needed will vary with individual
students. Instruct each student to make a page showing their good luck
birthstone, good luck flower, and good luck color.”
This is nonsense being taught in some of
our nation’s public schools. Brethren, be warned that it is important, if your
child attends a school like the one who uses these resource websites, that you
must educate him/her on the errors in their teaching curriculums.
Ties To Satanic/Occultic Religions
The Satanic Bible (Anton Szandor LaVey, (Air) Book of Lucifer – The Enlightenment, Avon Books, 1969, Ch
XI, Religious Holidays, p. 96) has
the following to say about birthdays:
“The highest of all holidays in the Satanic
religion is the date of one’s own birthday. This is in direct contradiction to
the holy days of other religions, which deify a particular god who has been
created in an anthropomorphic form of their own image, thereby showing that the
ego is not really buried.
“The Satanist feels: ‘Why not really be
honest and if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that
god as yourself.’ Every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one.
So, the Satanist celebrates his own birthday as the most important holiday of
the year. After all, aren’t you happier about the fact that you were born than
you are about the birth of someone you have never even met? Or, for that
matter, aside from religious holidays, why pay higher tribute to the birthday
of a president or to a date in history
than we do to the day we were brought into this greatest of all worlds?
“Despite the fact that some of us may not
have been wanted, or at least were not particularly planned, we’re glad, even
if no one else is, that we’re here! You should give yourself a pat on the back,
buy yourself whatever you want, treat yourself like the king (or god) that you
are, and generally celebrate your birthday with as much pomp and ceremony as
possible.”
Concerning
the Assyro-Babylonian Religion, a portion of a
Historical/Biblical article by Wade Cox has this:
“Strange as it may seem, our methods of
measuring the hours and the place of man in that time scale comes from the
Babylonian sexagesimal unit; i.e. sixty. Thus there
were sixty minutes in an hour and sixty seconds in a minute. The Assyro-Babylonians sought to maximise the race by ensuring that births took place at the correct times in the luni-solar cycle. The births were matched to the phases of
the moon, so it seems, and the calculations of the phases were placed on tables
which we have today (cf. The Encyc. Of Religion and Ethics (ERE), art. Birth (Assyro-Babylonian), Vol. 2, p. 643). These calculations
appear to be centered on the worship of the Goddess Ishtar or Easter. The
tables show complex mathematical capacities in the calculation of the lunar
phases and the solar horoscopes cast from the dates of birth as well as the
placement of lunar and solar eclipses (cf. ibid.). The moon was important but
less important than Ishtar as Venus and she seems to be at once distinct from
the consort of Merodach, Zer-panitum,
who bore the name Eru’a or conception. In the
bilingual account of the Creation she appears as Aruru,
meaning the one who formed, with Merodach, the
creator of all things, the seed of mankind.
“As Ishtar-Zer-panitum (for Zer banitum), called
also Mah or Mami, she was
the seed creatress which is often turned into Sar-panitum meaning the Bright one (hence Venus). She was a
fertility goddess known by various titles such as the mother who openeth the loins (Amu-du-bat=ummu pitat burki); Nagar-Sagar, the framer of the fetus; Sasuru, the goddess of the fetus, Nintur,
the lady of the womb, Nin-zizna=belit binti, the lady of birth; Nin-Dim, the lady of
procreation etc. This explains how the same deity can have different names from
place to place and yet be regarded as the same deity, such as the reference to
Diana of Ephesus in dealing with the temple of the fertility goddess there.
“Merodach himself
was also seen as a deity of birth with his spouse perhaps because he was
regarded as begetter of the gods. However, the ERE considers that the theory of
reflected power may be more correct because Merodach gained this title only after Babylon, of which he was patron, rose to power and
the older gods became his manifestations. He is known in this instance as Tutu
(rendered mullid ilani, mudil ilani (ERE, ibid.)). In
connection with birth the Babylonians also practiced fertility drugs and
contraception by plants and stones (ibid.).
“We know beyond doubt from tablets of later
date that the hour of birth was carefully noted and the horoscopes were cast,
based on careful notations of celestial observations. From tablet K 1285 we
deduce that ceremonies were carried out in the Temple of Ishtar, or Istar (Easter), at least for children of people of note. In
this tablet she is addressed as Queen of Nineveh (ibid., p. 644).
“Certain days of the month were auspicious
and from the time of the dynasty of Babylon (ca. 2000 BCE) names such as son of
the twentieth day (Mar-umi-esra) are found. We know
that the 20th of the month was the festival of the sun god Samas or Shamash from which the name Shamus is derived. This seemed to be related to
the Victorious shining of the sun (seemingly particularly after eclipses).”
(Excerpt from Birthdays (No. 287) Christian Churches of God,
www.ccg.org/english/s/p287.html)
“Each On His Day”
You will notice the above subject heading
has quotation marks around a phrase. The phrase is taken from Job 1:1-5,
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name
was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared Elohim, and turned away from evil. There were born to him
seven sons and three daughters. He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand
camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many
servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His
sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each on his day; and they
would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when
the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them,
and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to
the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and
cursed Elohim in their hearts.” Thus Job did
continually. (RSV)
Most scholars admit that the phrase “each
on his day” refers to Job’s sons’ and daughters’ birthdays. It was customary
for some to have great parties and revelry, especially in pagan customs, on the
day of their birth. Why then were Job’s children participating in such
practices? He, being a righteous man, would not join in with the merrymakers.
Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that he participated; on the contrary, he
had to sanctify their potential despicable acts with burnt offerings. He
justified the offerings by saying “It may
be that my sons have sinned, and cursed Elohim in
their hearts.” We can infer that Job did not have control over these
children. It can be inferred in the Scriptures that the sons and daughters did
not live with him because it reads in verse 4, “...and they would send and invite...”, then again in verse 5, “Job would send and sanctify.” The
meaning here for the word “send” would accurately be implied as “to send for”
or “send for.” In other words, someone would go and get the individuals for
whatever reason.
Job was a righteous man so his own
household would have probably been in order. It is also interesting to note
that these children who “could have cursed Elohim”
during one of their birthday feasts were the same children Yahweh let Satan
kill in following verses:
Now the day came when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking
wine in their oldest brother’s house, and a messenger came to Job, saying, “The
oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing beside them, and the Sabaeans swooped down and carried them all away, and they
killed the servants with the sword! And I— only I alone—escaped to tell you!”
While this one was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, “The
fire of Elohim has fallen from heaven and has burned
up the sheep and the servants—it has consumed them! And I—only I alone—escaped
to tell you!” While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and
said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and
carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! And I—only
I alone—escaped to tell you!”
While this one was still speaking
another messenger arrived and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly there came a
great wind across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and
it fell on the young people, and they died! And I—only I alone—escaped to tell
you!” (Job 1:13-19, Net Bible)
Our Day Of Death Better Than Our Day Of
Birth
It’s important to learn from the Scriptures
that our day of death is more significant than our day of birth. We read of
this in Ecclesiastes 7:1:
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than
the day of one’s birth. (KJV)
We read on:
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of
feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his
heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance
the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the
rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling
of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity. (Ecc. 7:2-6 KJV)
Matthew Henry’s Commentary has this to say
about verse 1: “That, all things considered, our going out of the world is a
greater kindness to us than our coming into the world was: The day of death is preferable to the birth-day; though, as to others, there was joy when a child was born into the world, and where there is death
there is lamentation, yet, as to ourselves, if we have lived so as to merit a good name, the day of our death, which
will put a period to our cares, and toils, and sorrows, and remove us to rest,
and joy, and eternal satisfaction, is
better than the day of our birth, which ushered us into a world of so much
sin and trouble, vanity and vexation. We were born to uncertainty, but a good
man does not die at uncertainty. The day
of our birth clogged our souls with the burden of the flesh, but the day of our death will set them at
liberty from that burden...”
Although Matthew Henry may have been a
little confused about our after-death life he makes a decent point about the
comparisons of death and being born.
A Gift For Herodias And Her Daughter
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Yahshua, And said
unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and
therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in
him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for
Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said unto him, It is not
lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared
the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday
was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And
she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John the
Baptist’s head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the
oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given
her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in
a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his
disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Yahshua. (Matt 14:1-12 KJV)
Here is a graphic example of the raucous
behavior to be expected at the celebration of one’s birth. The Scriptures say
that Herod was sorry for his decision but for the sake of keeping an oath, John
The Baptist would be beheaded. Notice how calculating Herodias was in telling
her daughter to specifically ask for this gift. It must have been well known
that the King would do special favors on his birthday, even to kill a human
being for entertainment or revenge. Looking back to the Scripture in Genesis
containing the account of Joseph, Pharaoh, and the baker, one could ascertain
that the custom of killing on one’s birthday was common practice for royalty.
Mark 6:21 gives us confirmation of the Matthew account and reaffirms that this
must have been commonplace on royalty birthdays to kill a human being:
And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a
supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the
daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them
that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou
wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her,
Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee,
unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What
shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in
straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give
me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. (Mark 6:21-25 KJV).
Our Spiritual Death And Life
Our birth can be a joy and a blessing from
Yahweh. Were we ever told to, or is it implied, that we should celebrate the
day of our birth? Of course not. If we entertain the idea of these traditions
being acceptable then we must look deeper into Scripture. Verses that come to
mind when speaking of such traditions are as follows:
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it
is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from
me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ You
leave the commandment of Yahweh, and hold fast the tradition of men.” And he
said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of Yahweh, in
order to keep your tradition!” (Mark
7:6-9 RSV)
Although these verses aren’t specifically
about birthday celebrations, we definitely see how Yahshua felt about
non-Biblical tradition. The Scriptures support the knowledge of our spiritual
birth being much more meaningful than our physical birth. Dying to our sinful
nature and having the opportunity of life-everlasting through the Messiah and
baptism is what’s important.
Remembering Yahshua’s Death
Although there was a great herald at the
time of the Messiah’s birth, Yahshua clearly pointed out that His death is to
be remembered:
For I have received of Yahweh that which also I delivered unto you, That
the Sovereign Yahshua the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And
when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body,
which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner
also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament
in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Cor. 11:24-25 KJV)
If the adversary tempts you to participate
in the celebration of one’s birth or even in the false celebration of the
Messiah’s birth (i.e. christmas) remember 1 Cor.
11:24-25. You may walk away from that temptation knowing full well that you are
doing Yahweh’s will.
Upon Reflection
The Bible is also clear, by example, that
our physical age is important. We see the genealogies of key characters and
often their ages. I suggest that if you feel compelled to track your age and
your children’s ages that you keep an ongoing detailed account. You may even
want to have your child write down his age on the day of his birthday and have
him summarize his religious advancements. This, combined with educating him on
why the “world” celebrates birthdays and holidays, should help him towards a
closer walk with Yahshua.
© 2007 Yahweh’s Assembly in Yahshua
2963 County Road 233, Kingdom City, Missouri 65262
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