I’m Sajeed and I’m from Bangladesh. In our country, we like to have a birthday celebration all together, and basically, we like to have food together, maybe in a special place. … I like the surprise most—like you know at the end of the day you never know what is coming up next from the relatives, from my friends, or my beloved one, or my family members. I like the surprise most so that is my kind of tradition.
Lima, Perú Etelvina Luna, 56, Chemist
My favorite custom is to prepare a delicious cake. I love cooking and baking. I invite my family and closest friends. I decorate the house with lots of balloons and decorations, and we share a delicious meal, and at midnight we sing Happy Birthday! It is a very pleasant day for me.
Tranås, Sweden Matilda Fransson, 23, Artist
One must have a cake, and someone has to sing for me. For me it is important to be near my closest family on my birthday. I want to be close to my mom, my sister, and my boyfriend. I do not party often, that is not as important as to be near my closest relatives.
Brisbane, Australia Chrissy Giemsch, 31, Personal Carer/Gym Admin
Basically, my birthday tradition is about, last year, I turned 30 and I spent that at home [Germany] with my family and friends, and my boyfriend. Because I thought to turn 30 is a big kind of thing, so I wanted to have that with my family and closest friends back home—to go home and sit down for an afternoon tea, and have a cake and coffee, and go out afterward with the closest family, which I don’t have here.
Islamabad, Pakistan Ahun Khurshid, 21, Student
My favorite birthday tradition is a surprise birthday party. I think it’s great fun when it is a total surprise and you have no idea it is going to happen. I love having a beautiful birthday cake. It makes it even more special when someone very close to me arranges the surprise, and many close friends and relatives come to wish me well. Presents are not important; it is just great when people show that they care.
Madrid, Spain José Luis Romero Avena, 48, Sales Department
The custom in my country is for a person to receive an invitation from friends and the person will receive presents, or if the present is too expensive, he will receive one present bought by all. … Everybody in the family is especially devoted to making a special day for the person whose birthday it is. What I like most about that day, and that is exactly what I miss most, is to feel the warmth of my family and know that that day really is the most special in the world.
Puerto Montt, Chile Karla Herrera Perez, 22, International Cooking Student
Since childhood, I remember that it has always been the same. The tradition of celebrating my birthday in the same way, around my family with a delicious cake, which as the years passed only changed flavor and with the same tune of Happy Birthday. ... I think that the most important thing for me, more than gifts, is the fact of always being with my loved ones, and I hope that it always will be so. This is and has been my tradition, and yesterday, June 2, it came to repeat itself on my 22nd birthday.
Paris, France (tourist in New York) Fabrice Lorin, 35, Archivist
A birthday cake, having gifts, and enjoying our birthday with some friends and family. That’s what we usually do in France for our birthdays.
Wellington, New Zealand Sandy McCourtie, 52, Nanny
Breakfast in bed; that’s not a tradition though. A birthday cake—what does it mean to me? It’s yummy and everybody loves eating it. Nobody doesn’t like a birthday cake; carrot cake is my favorite and cream cheese. It is something to celebrate with family and friends, as many as possible.
São Paulo, Brazil Vanessa Sewaybrucker Brandão, 25, Advertising University Student
You cannot let this special day, your birthday, go by without a celebration; you have to celebrate. On my birthday I always get up from bed, and I start the day with a prayer to thank God for another year of life. It was my mother who taught us to make a prayer to thank God. And then, we should have a celebration at home, or somewhere else, and we cannot miss the cake. A birthday without a cake is no birthday day at alI! I always bake a cake at home and then we set up a table with the cake, the candles, and then we sing the Happy Birthday song! I whine easily during all this, ’cause I get really touched in my birthday!
Look for the Global Q&A column every week. Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: “Do you feel your country has struck a good balance between personal freedom and security?”
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