I think alot of the party side of things is. Pointy hats and the like is something to do with pagan roots.... being that Paganisum is almost all about fertility - I would say birthdays are probably from Paganism... On the other hand I dont see (please set me straight if im wrong) that remebering the day you and your loved ones were born is an issue, its obvious that people kept a record of how old they were - as we know how old people where in scripture when they died...

Does that mean you have a pointy head?

I dunno how true it all is but I heard they were reminisant of "wizzards hats"

Yea those point hats do make sense LOL!!! But thx again guys LOL!!!

Great posts guys!

But I personally feel embarrassed on my birthday, I even have a photo of me as a little kid in my mother's arms all shy and stuff while my friends were standing around the birthday table with a cake decorated with little farm-style animals every where. I'm still the same today, keeping my birthday low-key, sometimes I would rather forget about it. I usualy just have a family dinner and close friends over. Here in Brazil people go all out for birthdays, a child's birthday is the worst, it's almost compulsory to invite everybody, we gotta break the bank twice a year for our two kids, sometimes even asking for donations from the grandparents to help cover the cost.

But I like the family getting together on birthdays, it's nice getting together with family.

I find it fascinating how answers/information so often pops up at just the right time. The site below was listed on the forum by Yada. Chapter 17 addresses birthdays. I can't account for the accuracy of author, but I felt comfortable with what was said.

Here are a few of the highlights:



More after the jump....http://www.buzzardhut.net/Documents/Blinded.Sun.pdf

I think he's saying that we should be celebrating the day we prayed the sinners prayer and became new creatures. He's saying that celebrating our earthly birthdays is of the flesh, but he says nothing about its link to paganism in that short passage.

From my point the Scriptures don't really discuss the matter, I think celebrating a birthday is harmless, just buy a cake and a few presents. Hmmm, what's the origin of the cake, candles and pointy hats?

Again, I can't account for the validity of the references (the Josephus quote is short and I do not know the context; also I found a glaring error as he compared coins minted by Constantine and a pope several centuries later.. the backs of the coins were obviously the same coin), never the less, here is how he addresses your questions:



Still no word on pointy hats though. But the pope wears pointy hats, perhaps we should take our cue from that. ;)

The site goes on to suggest that Constantine made use of birthdays to help bring the pagans into the newly created 'christianized sun god' religion. One of the precepts of the sun god religions was the rebirth of diety. Apparently early christians did not celebrate the birth of Yahshua and this represented a stumbling block for the pagans. Adding the celebration of the birthday of christ (Yahshua) to the religion allowed the pagans to accept and assimilate the new religion more easily.

That is between Pharaoh and R'a



I am reasonably sure that would be a sin...

Here is what Yada has to say about birthdays:

"But before we delve into the fulfillment of Sukah, I feel compelled to clear up one of the most troubling myths poisoning Christendom - the substitution of Christmas for Tabernacles. To begin, celebrating birthdays in general, and God's specifically, is a religious rite born and bred in Babylon. Mother Earth was said to be impregnated by the sun on Easter, the Sun-day closest to the Vernal Equinox. Nine months later, on the Winter Solstice, the Son of the Sun was born. Catholics have come to call this festival "Christmas." Yet, celebrating either date, the two holiest on the Christian calendar, is an abomination from Yahweh's perspective."

I think it is pretty clear that the birthday celebration, with the candles on fire, the cake, the wishes, the party are all very pagan. And let's not forget Job's family had their house collapse on them while celebrating their day (birthday). Job would make sacrifices for this paganism.

If you choose to celebrate birthdays just because there not specifically prohibitted by Yah, then you might as well go ahead and celebrate Easter, Christmas, Lent, All Saints Day, Halloween, and Valentines Day, all of which aren't specifically prohibitted in Scripture but are as pagan as pagan gets. We stay away from this garbage because it's idolatry, which is very specifically prohibitted.

Noah

THAT is the story of my life!

Dear Friends,

Surely the Jews as well as everybody else on the planet kept track of one's age and one's children's ages. I think the point is IN WHAT MANNER one celebrates. A family dinner and a family praying with thanksgiving for the birthday person without any carousing is OK; however, celebrating the day of one's birth in the Spirit would be even better. Of course, for little children, it's how they learn to count! And, of course, we should avoid teaching children to expect gifts . . . maybe it is a good opportunity to teach them to GIVE gifts at that time . . . hey, how about gifts to Mom and Dad for all the effort they expended to get the child here? And how about using the time to teach them about birth, and how they got here in the first place!

Blessings,

Lassie1865