nikki tate and dani tate-stratton Contents 7 Introduction Chapter One The Birth of Birthdays 11 Party Like an Egyptian 15 When in Rome 16 Ancient Greek Birthday Festivals 17 The Early Middle Ages 19 What Day Is It 21 The Renaissance 22 The Industrial Revolution 23 Good Times or Sad 24 Big Birthday Bashes Commemorating History Chapter Two Celebrating Birthdays Around the World 27 Keeping Track of Birthdays 28 Who’s on the Guest List 29 Invitations 30 Let’s Eat 35 Birthday Gifts 37 Fun and Games 39 Making the Birthday Person Feel Special 41 Celebrating at School 42 Birthday Songs 44 Stevie's Story 46 Hoka's Story 4
running head Chapter Three Milestone Birthdays 49 Welcome Baby 51 Alive and Well and Ready to Celebrate 53 That’s One Big Party 55 Say Goodbye to the Past 55 What Does the Future Hold 56 Coming of Age 60 Growing Up Can Be Painful 61 Don’t Lose Your Key 62 Time to Tidy Up 64 Respecting Your Elders 68 Ana's Story 70 Dani's Story 72 A final word from the authors 73 Glossary 74 References and Resources 76 Index 79 Acknowledgments Candles add the perfect finishing touch to any birthday cake iStock com 5
nikki tate and dani tate-stratton Blow out your candles and make a wish for the upcoming year Remember to keep your wish a secret Getty Images 6
Introduction Nikki’s fifth birthday party featured pony rides for all the guests Helga Williams In our family birthdays have always been eagerly antic ipated and considered to be a great reason to celebrate We’ve lived studied and traveled in many countries and our relatives come from Germany the United Kingdom Japan Sweden and Italy Over the years we’ve enjoyed borrowing birthday traditions from many different places and had a lot of fun inventing ways to celebrate that are unique to our family A few years ago my daughter Dani organized a memorable surprise birthday party for me With so many friends and family gathered in one place it was inevitable that we shared memories of other birth days We talked about birthday camping trips the year we held a murder mystery party and the time there were pony rides We’ve stayed up late watching movies at sleepover parties played classic North American games like Pin the 7
