How to call menstruation differently. Why are the days of the week called that way?

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It is customary for us that the week starts on Monday, but in some countries Week starts on Sunday.

Also there are some inconsistencies in names- for example, why is Wednesday (i.e. the "average day of the week") actually the third and not the fourth?

To answer these and other questions regarding the days of the week, you need to start with the question, why are there 7 days in a week and why is it called a week.

Why are there 7 days in a week

For a modern person, a seven-day week is a common thing. But where did these seven days in a week come from?

According to historians, in the history of mankind, the week did not always have seven days. There were options 3 days, 5 days, 8 days("eight days" in Ancient Rome) of the week, as well as the ancient 9 day cycle the Celts and orientation for 14 nights, which was present among the ancient Germans.

It will be interesting to note that the ancient Egyptian calendar of Thoth was based on a 10-day cycle. But seven days was popular in ancient Babylon(about 2 thousand years BC).

In ancient Babylon, the seven-day cycle was associated with the phases of the moon. She was seen in the sky for about 28 days: 7 days the Moon increases to the first quarter; she needs the same amount until the full moon.

Also, the 7-day cycle was used by the ancient Jews. The notes of the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, dated to the 1st century AD, include the following words related to the seven days: "There is not a single city, Greek or barbarian, and not a single people, to which our custom of abstaining from work would not extend on the seventh day."

Jews and Christians adopted a 7-day cycle, because. the Old Testament indicated a 7-day weekly cycle established by God (the process of creating the world in 7 days):

first day - the creation of light

second day - the creation of firmament and water

the third day - the creation of sushi and plants

fourth day - the creation of heavenly bodies

fifth day - the creation of birds and fish

the sixth day - the creation of reptiles, animals and man.

the seventh day is dedicated to rest.

From an astronomical point of view, the motivation behind the 7-Day is pretty simple. All calendar calculations of ancient peoples based on the phases of the moon.

Their observation was the most convenient and simplest method for calculations and characteristics of time periods.

It is worth noting that in the ancient Roman calendar, the names of all 7 days of the week are associated with the names of the luminaries that can be seen with the naked eye, namely: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn.

In the modern calendar you can find these names thanks to Rome, which spread them throughout Western Europe.

And yet the calendar has always been used as ideological weapon. Despite the cosmic rhythms, Chinese and Japanese emperors, for example, introduced their own calendars to once again assert their power.

Tried several times in Europechange 7 day cycle, but there was no violation of the sequence of days.

Why is a week called a week

It doesn’t matter at all (from a theoretical point of view) from which day to count the week, since this is a cycle. You just need to divide the days into workdays and weekends.

The word "week" is familiar to us, and we do not even try to think about where this word came from.

Before the adoption of Christianity, it was customary to call the week a day off, and this day was the first of the week. But then the "day off" was made a day, which completes the weekly cycle.

The word week came from antiquity, where there was an expression "do not do", which meant "do nothing", in other words, "day off" or as we now call "Sunday".
Since I had to rest after work, and not before it, Sunday became the final day of the week.

Today, according to regulation International Organization for Standardization The week starts on Monday.

It is worth noting that before the term "week" was used, these same seven days were called "week"(in Bulgarian, a week is now called "week"). The last day of the week was considered the period when no one does anything, and since the week is the period from Sunday to Sunday (from "not doing" to "not doing"), the word "week" came into use.

Why are the days of the week named so?

Why is Monday called that?

According to one version, in Slavic languages, Monday means the day "after the week", because. "week", as already mentioned, is an old word for this Sunday.

In Europe, Monday was considered a lunar day, i.e. afternoon, patroness which was the moon.

In English - Monday (Moon day = moon day)

In Latin - Dies Lunae

In French - Lundi

In Spanish - el Lunes

Italian - Lunedi

Why is Tuesday so called?

In Slavic languages, Tuesday means the "second" day after Sunday.

In Latin - Dies Martis

French - Mardi

In Spanish - el Martes

Italian - Martedi

You can guess that in some European languages, the name of Tuesday comes from the god Mars.

But in European languages from the Germanic group, the emphasis was placed on the ancient Greek god Tiu (Tiu, Ziu), which is an analogue of Mars (Finnish - Tiistai, English - Tuesday, German - Dienstag).

Why is Wednesday called that?

Among the Slavs, "Wednesday" or "Wednesday" denotes the middle of the week, as well as in German Mittwoch, and in Finnish Keskeviikko. Previously, it was believed that the week began on Sunday, so Wednesday was its middle.

In Latin - Dies Mercuri

In French - le Mercredi

In Spanish - el Miercoles

In Italian - Mercoledi

In the name you can see the name of the god-planet Mercury.

If you delve into other languages, you will find that the English word Wednesday comes from the god Woden (Woden, Wotan). It is also "hidden" in the Swedish Onstag, the Dutch Woenstag and the Danish Onsdag.This god was represented as a tall, thin old man dressed in a black cloak. He became famous for the creation of the runic alphabet - this is what connects him with Mercury - the patron god of written and oral speech.

Why is Thursday so called?

In Slavic languages, the name of this day most likely simply means a number, i.e. fourth day. This word comes from the common Slavic word "fourth". Most likely, over time, "t" fell out, and the sound "k" became more sonorous, as it follows the sonorant sound "r".

In Latin - Dies Jovis

French - Jeudi

Spanish - Jueves

Italian - Giovedi

In European languages thursday descended from the militant Jupiter.

The counterpart of Jupiter in the Germanic languages was Thor, son of Oden, from which originated in English Thursday, in Finnish Torstai, in Swedish Torsdag, in German, Donnerstag, and in Danish Torsdag.

Why is it called Friday

Obviously, in the Slavic languages, the meaning lies in the number five, i.e. Friday = fifth day after Sunday.

In French - Vendredi

Spanish - Viernes

In Italian - Venerdi

It is logical to assume that the name of this day in some European languages comes from the Roman goddess Venus.

Her analogue in the German-Scandinavian myths is the goddess of love and war, Freya (Frigg, Freyra) - from her originated in English Friday, in Swedish Fredag, in German Freitag.

Why is Saturday called that?

The word "Saturday" came to us from the Old Slavonic language. Previously, it was taken from the Greek language (Sabbaton), and it got into Greek from the Hebrew language (sabbath, i.e. "seventh day", when work is not welcome). It will be interesting to note that in Spain "el Sabado", in Italy "Sabato", in France "Samedi" this word has the same roots. In Hebrew "Shabbat" means "peace, rest".

In Latin - Saturni

In English - Saturday

Saturn can be seen in these names.

In Finnish "Lauantai", Swedish "Lördag", Danish "Loverdag" most likely have roots in the Old German Laugardagr, which means "day of ablution".

Why is Sunday called that?

In many languages, including Latin, English and German, the name of the last day of the week comes from the Sun - "Sun", "Son".

But in Russian (Sunday), Spanish (Domingo), French (Dimanche) and Italian (Domenica), Christian themes lurk. Domingo, Dimanche and Domenica can be translated as "Day of the Lord".

Earlier in Russian this day was called "Week" (i.e. do not do-rest). But since the word "week" implied a specific day, what could the seven-day cycle be called? As mentioned earlier, in the Slavic languages \u200b\u200bthe word "week" existed. "Sunday" is derived from "resurrect" - the day when, according to the scriptures, Jesus was resurrected.

Incredible Facts

For some, this is a time of deep reflection, for others, a period of renewal. Birthday beliefs can save you from the depressive thoughts that come with age, because it's the easiest way to boost your luck.

They are also a great way to help friends and family celebrate a special day and continue traditions, many of which are centuries old.

In addition to the well-known tradition of blowing out candles on the cake, the number of which is equal to the number of years of the birthday person, and making a wish, there are some more interesting beliefs. The custom of blowing out candles is believed to have originated in Germany. Obviously, every year there are more and more candles on the birthday cake, and the chances of success are reduced, but get a lot of air and everything will work out.

1. Hidden treasures

This custom is clearly not to the liking of medical professionals, but some traditions call for hiding various items inside the birthday cake. Despite the risk of strangulation to unsuspecting guests, these secret "treasures" bring wealth and love to those lucky enough to find them.

One such "treasure" is adding a ring to the cake batter before baking. The guest who gets a piece with a ring will soon be a bride or groom. If a person is already married, then the ring simply enhances his luck.

Another "treasure" is a penny. Whoever finds it in a cake is predicted to be rich.

2. Take your time to celebrate your birthday

We often want to wish a close friend or family member a happy birthday as soon as possible. However, in some cultures, this seemingly innocent wish can bring bad luck to the birthday person.

In Europe and Russia, you cannot celebrate this event before the actual day of the event. It is necessary to wait. There is a belief that if you celebrate your birthday in advance, then you shorten your life.

Read also:Risk of dying increases on birthday

Early congratulations and early celebration will bring bad luck. Also, in order to protect children themselves, it is not customary to give gifts ahead of time. What if someone forgot their birthday? Although this is unlikely, but nevertheless, if this happens, then it is said that it brings good luck.

3. Don't be late with congratulations

In some cultures, celebrating a birthday too early is bad, however, according to other beliefs, congratulations should be given to the birthday person as early as possible, from the very beginning of the day. If one of your loved ones today is the hero of the occasion, then you should congratulate him in the morning, thereby maximizing his luck.

Early wishes are especially important when the child has a birthday. In this case, the baby should hear the congratulations on his birthday as soon as he wakes up. With these words, his day should begin, they will charge the day with positive and positive emotions.

4. Let's start over

In some cultures, adults are given the opportunity to become children again when they reach a certain age. For example, in Japan, when a man reaches the age of 61, his second childhood begins. He must wear a red hat and red vest, which symbolize his return to childhood.

From that moment on, all his problems are forgotten and he is given a chance to start everything from scratch. In Korea, this tradition comes into force when a person turns 60 years old. On this special birthday, people seem to return to the year they were born and can start all over again.

5. Pull on the ears

©Jupiterimages/Photo Images

Some peoples have an unusual tradition of pulling the ears of the birthday boy. The belief comes from the idea that long ears are a sign of longevity. In order to increase the size of your ears, at least symbolically, you should expose your ears every year of your life to "enlargement".

Typically, this should be done by a close friend or family member. Adherents of this tradition believe that performing this ritual will bring good luck in the new life year of the birthday person.

6. Death and marriage

Birthdays are the perfect occasion to eat treats, receive presents, and have a party, but there are some things not to do on your birthday, at least according to some superstitions.

For example, you cannot schedule a wedding on your birthday, because it is believed that such a marriage is doomed to bad luck. It is also not advised to choose a marriage partner who was born in the same month as you, as this means that your union will be too stormy in the bad sense of the word.

Read also:What does the day of the week you were born say about you?

Luckily, your birthday is the perfect day to die. If a person dies on his birthday, it is believed that his soul is guaranteed to be saved..

7. Selectivity in food

Different cultures have their own beliefs about what kind of birthday food can bring good luck, while some other cultures, on the contrary, have certain foods that should be avoided during the celebration.

For example, in China, for good luck, you need to eat vermicelli on your birthday, and for dessert, be sure to have a peach-like cake, which is also considered a symbol of good luck. In India, they say that you shouldn’t eat salt on your birthday, otherwise you can bring bad luck on yourself.

Pennsylvania Germans have a very tasty tradition of eating on their birthdays. You should definitely eat a donut for good luck, which guarantees you that at least one more year you will live.

8. Personality Predictions

Many people know that a person's personality can be determined to some extent only by the day of the week when he was born. If you believe this, then know that those born on Monday have a good appearance, and the life of "Tuesday" people is full of grace.

Other days of the week carry a negative charge, because there we are talking about grief and too long a way to the goal. It is likely that this superstition has a Christian origin, because it preserves the best qualities for a child who came into the world on Sunday. There is certainly no evidence that the day of the week you were born on has any effect on your personality, as sweet as it sounds.

birthday wishes

So, what should you do in your day and what is absolutely impossible? Let's start with what is possible and necessary.

Everyone knows that how you celebrate the new year is how you will spend it. But, as it turned out, this sign also applies to our birthday, because it is on your day that your personal program for the next year is laid.

After waking up on your birthday, try to immediately tune in to the good. So you will be as open as possible to the positive energy that is sent to the birthday man by higher forces.

The energy received on your day has great potential, it can patch holes in your energy field, and if you are in a good mood all day, it can even remove the evil eye from you, if you have one.

Forget at least in your day about conflicts, aggression and despondency, because negative emotions quickly block the flow of fresh energy, which makes you extremely vulnerable to energy vampires and black magicians.

Try to think about the good, abstracting from the problems, because all your mental projections on your birthday will definitely attract what you think about.

Read also:

If you are a believer, then be sure to turn to God with prayer requests. On your day, he hears you like never before! Therefore, do not spoil yourself the whole next year and be in a great mood on your birthday.

The day before, you should buy new clothes and underwear. Even if you are not celebrating your holiday with guests, you should still dress up and at least symbolically celebrate. If on your day you put on old and worn things, then luck will turn away from you.

Put money in the pocket of the new outfit, or if there are no pockets, sew it inside to the clothes. So they will be found with you all year. Even if you get dirty during the celebration, do not change clothes.

What not to do on your birthday

1) In no case do not borrow one day before the birthday, as well as on the day of the holiday. You can't even ask for salt, let alone money. If you neglect this advice, then all year you will be accompanied by financial problems, conflicts at work, troubles and troubles.

2) On your birthday, do not lend money to anyone and do not give alms, because by such actions you will distribute all the well-being and good luck for the coming year.

3) On your birthday, if possible, try not to communicate with sick people, because there is an increased risk of pulling on their illnesses. If this cannot be avoided, then be sure to put any silver item in your pocket. With its help, your energy field that resists diseases will be strengthened.

4) You should know that the guests you invite to your holiday also influence what your coming year will be like. Make sure that your event does not have the following number of guests: 9, 13, 18, 21, 51, 99, 100. It is believed that this number of guests will bring bad luck to the birthday person.

5) The same applies to the number of candles on the birthday cake and on the table as a whole. If your age is one of the above figures, then the output is a candle in the form of a number or a complete absence of candles.

On your day, the barrier between you and the energy world becomes thinner, so on your birthday, a person is very susceptible to both good and bad. For this reason, you should not invite people to your holiday whose intentions you doubt.

It is simply impossible to name the exact date of the appearance of such a wonderful tradition as a birthday celebration. This is explained very simply: you need to know the exact date. Therefore, it can be assumed that the history of the birthday holiday begins after the invention of the calendar by man.

Today the birthday is celebrated by people all over the world, with the exception of some sectarian organizations. Different countries have their own characteristics of this holiday, but the essence is the same: relatives and friends come to visit the hero of the occasion, bring gifts, have fun and treat themselves to various goodies.

Two versions of birthday appearance to choose from

The first version will be of interest to lovers of various phenomena that are inexplicable from a scientific point of view. According to the beliefs of the followers of black magic, at the time of birth, the human soul is defenseless and vulnerable. Therefore, both the wishes and the curses of the baby are spells. To protect against evil forces, this day should be spent in the circle of family and friends.

The second version will appeal to lovers of the history of Ancient Rome. It says that the Roman soldiers adopted this custom from the East. One example is the celebration of the birthday of the sun god Mithras.

There are also descriptions of birthday celebrations in the Bible. However, there is no talk of any fun here, on the contrary, both events are presented in a negative light:

Genesis 40:20-22 (ca. 1513 BC).

Mark 6:21-29 (1st century CE).

The history of the birthday holiday: pharaohs, kings and gods

It is reliably known from the surviving written evidence that the celebration of a birthday dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. In ancient Egypt, this custom was followed exclusively by pharaohs and kings. Celebrations were also held in honor of their male heirs. It was a feast in which not only noble persons took part, but also simple servants, and even slaves. Often on this day, prisoners were released from prisons. The first woman for whom they began to arrange annual holidays was Cleopatra II (185-116 BC).

The birthday holiday in ancient Greece was quite original. Each of their gods, well known to us from Greek mythology, they honored 12 times a year, i.e. every month. Of ordinary people, only the husband and father deserved to celebrate once a year, and even then very rarely. Women and children were even less fortunate, since no privileges were provided for them.

Centuries-old ban and birthday revival

During the spread of Christianity, the worldview of people changed. They considered the earthly world as a place of sorrow, therefore they perceived birth as a doom to torment and suffering. But the death of a person, on the contrary, was considered a joyful event, deliverance from sins. In addition, the church had a negative attitude towards traditions that had passed from the pagans - the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, so they stopped celebrating birthdays.

The custom was revived during the years of the Reformation (XVI-XVII centuries). Maybe people were just tired of observing strict church laws, when it was possible to celebrate only on days dedicated to Christian saints. Remember that you can arrange a celebration for yourself. Naturally, one of the first to take advantage of this opportunity were the kings. Later, children were introduced to this ceremony, and it all started in Germany. What features of children's birthdays did the Germans have?

The Germans can boast that since the XIII century they have strengthened the tradition of celebrating children's birthdays. On this day, at sunrise, the child was woken up with songs and presented with a cake with candles. According to the ritual, the household members made sure that the candles on the cake burned until the very evening, i.e. burnt ones were constantly replaced. The number of candles was one more than the years of the hero of the occasion. This "extra" candle symbolized the moment of birth. And only when the whole family was going to have dinner, the birthday boy blew out the candles and secretly made a wish. Then you could start eating. Birthday gifts in Germany are brought by a special gnome.

Name days and birthdays in Russia

In Russia in the 17th century, not birthdays were celebrated, but name days. It is wrong to consider these two holidays to be the same, they are completely different days. The thing is that in the old days the name of the child was given by the priest in the church. For this, he took a special book called the Saints. It contains all the holidays and the names of the canonized saints according to the days of their commemoration. In honor of such a saint, the name of the baby was given. Thus, before the birthday and name day coincided.

Now people rarely adhere to this Orthodox tradition, but more often they name children according to their own taste and desire. However, at baptism, if the name of the child does not match the name of the saint, the priest chooses the nearest day of the saint's memory (after the date of birth) and gives it to the baby. Knowing and remembering it is very important, because. a person must confess or take communion with a church name. It is also important to know that the saint in whose honor a person is named becomes his guardian angel.

How was it customary to celebrate the birthday of our ancestors?

Among wealthy people, it was customary to arrange feasts: they baked pies and loaves, brewed beer. Since that time, the song has been preserved: “How we baked a loaf on our name day: such a height, such a width ...”. And a well-known folk proverb says: “Without a pancake, it’s not Shrovetide, without a pie, it’s not a birthday.”

Royal birthdays and name days were celebrated on an unusual scale. An example is the well-known historical fact about the name day of Elizabeth Petrovna. Then they spent such a sum of money that it was possible to build and furnish three palaces. Name days of members of the royal family, patriarchs and high-ranking officials are called name days.

Directly birthdays in Russia began to be celebrated in the 19th century only by nobles and wealthy merchants. And only since the 20th century, the tradition has spread among the people.

Birthday

Cake is a frequent element of a birthday

Cake - "Happy birthday!"

Birthday- the day of the year in which a person was born. In many cultures, it is customary to arrange birthday parties and give gifts to the hero of the occasion. In addition, depending on the culture, the birthdays of famous historical figures may be celebrated, such as Christmas Day and Mawlid al-Nabi.

One of the most common birthday rituals is the preparation of a cake with candles stuck in it according to the number of years the birthday person turns. Before cutting the cake, he blows out all the candles lit on the cake. The word birthday man is often used by many to the hero of the occasion on his birthday. In fact, the birthday man is not the one who has a birthday, but the one who has a name day, which is not the same thing.

The history of the holiday

There is no exact information regarding the origin of this holiday, but there are two main versions. The first version is that the followers of black magic considered the soul of a person to be the most vulnerable at the time of birth, and any wishes or curses on this day were considered spells. Hence the origin of the tradition of meeting friends all day and avoiding enemies. According to another version, the Roman soldiers brought the tradition of celebrating the birthday along with some Eastern traditions, in particular the celebration of the birthday of the sun god Mithra. Most likely, a number of these and similar factors are the origin of the tradition of celebrating a birthday. It is known, for example, that in 400 AD. e. Roman emperors celebrated their birthdays, no earlier references have been found. More specifically, the Bible describes two occasions when a birthday is celebrated: 1. Genesis 40:20-22 (recorded circa 1513 BCE). 2. Mark 6:21-29 (1st century AD).

The emergence of popular customs associated with the celebration of birthdays

The custom of lighting candles on cakes originated among the Greeks... Round, like the moon, honey cakes with thin wax candles lit on them were placed on altars in the temples of Artemis (the goddess of the moon among the Greeks) on her birthday (full moon). (Linton R. , Linton A. The Lore of Birthdays, New York, 1952, pp. 8, 18-20).

“Birthday celebrations started in Europe a long time ago. People believed in good and evil spirits, sometimes called good and evil gnomes. Everyone was afraid of these spirits, that they would harm the one who celebrated his birthday, and therefore he was surrounded by friends and relatives, whose good wishes and whose very presence would protect him from unknown dangers during the celebration of his birthday. Giving gifts brought even more protection. Eating together also provided further protection and helped to receive the blessings of the good spirits. Therefore, the birthday party was originally intended to protect a person from evil and ensure a good year for him” (Birthday Parties Around the World, 1967).

Birthday celebration in Russia

On a child's birthday, especially in kindergartens, guests (children and a teacher) arrange a round dance around the birthday boy and sing the song "Loaf" and "Let them run awkwardly ...". Now, under the influence of Western culture, Loaf is sometimes replaced by Happy Birthday to You. There is a custom to pull the ears of a birthday celebration in the number of years completed.

The birthday paradox

In probability theory and combinatorics, a well-known problem is associated with birthdays, called " birthday paradox". This “paradox” says that in any randomly assembled group of 23 people, with a probability of more than 50%, two or more people have the same birthday (at first glance, this contradicts worldly intuition). As the size of a group of people grows, the probability of having a coincidence in birthdays quickly approaches one: for example, in a randomly collected group of 57 people, two of them have a birthday on the same day with a probability of 99 percent

Literature

(Linton R., Linton A. The Lore of Birthdays. New York, 1952. S. 8, 18-20), (Birthday Parties Around the World [Birthday Parties around the World], 1967))

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Synonyms:

See what "Birthday" is in other dictionaries:

Motherland Dictionary of Russian synonyms. birthday of the motherland (outdated) Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011 ... Synonym dictionary

birthday- Birthday, well, what could be easier? And yet ... There is one television presenter who not so long ago hosted a program whose purpose was to congratulate people unknown, little-known and famous on their birthdays. But the problem was that... Dictionary of Russian language errors

Birthday. The news of the birth of a child, especially a son, was glad tidings (Jer. 20:15) and, apparently, was often accompanied by celebration. It is known that the Egyptians and Persians held annual celebrations of D.R. (Gen 40:20; Herodotus 1,133). AT… … Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia

BIRTHDAY- The date of birth of a person, which is celebrated as a household, home holiday. In Russia, birthdays are celebrated to some extent by everyone. On a birthday, in addition to a gift, flowers are often given, especially to women. Birthday is sometimes called ... ... Linguistic Dictionary

Birthday- this is the day of the birth of man as a rational being, gifted with an immortal soul; it is a day of celebration and thanksgiving to the Lord. Birthday is a home holiday, a newborn is supposed to treat relatives and friends and accept congratulations and ... ... Fundamentals of spiritual culture (encyclopedic dictionary of a teacher)

Birthday- If a young man dreams of a birthday, then this is a sign of future financial difficulties and treachery of friends. For an elderly person, a dream promises even greater grief. According to D. Loff, if you dream that for some reason everyone forgot about your day ... ... Big universal dream book

BIRTHDAY- ♠ A dream portends good luck, only if in life it does not sadden you. Imagine that you are celebrating your birthday in a friendly company, you feel fun and carefree ... Big family dream book

And I want a cake with compote

For each of us, up to 15 years old, Birthday was the most important holiday of the year. We counted the days until this great day, hoped to receive a longed-for gift, dreamed of how many guests would come, and at the end of the evening the lights would go out and mom would come in with a cake on which candles were burning. And the main thing is to get more air into your lungs in order to blow out all the lights at a time, then the wish will come true. Sometimes this deflation was even more important than the desire itself, because after a couple of weeks we could hardly remember what exactly we were thinking of.

Of course, things didn't always go smoothly. But Childhood Birthday has always had the advantage of smoothing out all the rough edges - you get a year older. And even if the birthday was not celebrated at all, because the parents were on a business trip or you managed to get chickenpox, this advantage always remained with you.

But over time, this very advantage loses its value. And for some, it becomes a disadvantage. Each of us has such a period of time after our birthday when we don’t even remember how old we are. We stand over a form with basic questions about ourselves, and looking at one point, we try to figure out: “So how old am I?”

But let's analyze what we generally celebrate. The day of our appearance in this world is a very important date, if only because we can live and enjoy life. In fact, we didn’t do anything outstanding that day, rather, on the contrary, we gained the opportunity to somehow realize ourselves, learn something new, make someone happy just by our presence, help someone discover their talents. On this day, we got the opportunity to watch our favorite French comedies wrapped in a blanket, drive at high speed behind the wheel of our favorite car, braid our beloved daughter or cook our own legendary borscht. If not for this day, how would you drink a mango cocktail lying under a palm tree in mid-February or take an Instagram photo in a new hat? So your birthday is more of an opportunity to pay tribute to life, for the fact that it still does not fade away in you.

More and more people are realizing the pointlessness of loud festivities on their birthday, just like 10-15 years ago, many realized that a wedding on credit for 200 people is rather a symbol of provinciality and vulgarity. Therefore, you can choose for yourself a new format for celebrating this day, which will not only evoke joyful emotions in you, but also help you and your environment reach a new level of relationships, and in general, spend this day really unusual. The recipe for such a celebration is very simple: about a month before your birthday, you find a person, organization or family that needs help. It can be the Galapagos Turtles Rescue Society, the families of a soldier who died in the ATO, a lonely grandmother who has lived in your neighborhood for many years, girls who save homeless kittens, it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you know and trust these people. And then you notify all your friends and acquaintances that this year, instead of your birthday, you want to support such comrades, so I ask you to donate money to me, which, in total with the birthday budget, will be used to purchase food or medicine, it already depends from your individual scenario.

Such a birthday has a lot of advantages, in addition to its noble side:

- You don't have to gather all your friends in one place and at one time, which is a real problem these days;

- You can easily unite people from different companies in one holiday project, and you will not need to worry about the fact that your friends from the circle of connoisseurs of Baudelaire poetry and wine will accidentally offend the feelings of friends from the Church of the Prophet of the Seventh Day;

You don't need to keep in mind the gastronomic preferences of all your friends. After all, organizing a snack for Orthodox Jews, Hare Krishnas and vegans, as well as for people with lactose intolerance and allergies to potatoes, is sometimes a headache. And every year it becomes more and more difficult and expensive to please everyone.

You will be able to be congratulated by close people who will not join your birthday because you live in different countries;

- A gift of $10-20 will no longer seem inferior to both you and the giver. As a result, even those who do not know you very well or childhood friends with whom you have lost contact, but they are interested in the idea, will be able to support you and your new birthday project.

Everyone has their own views on certain events or traditions, but this does not mean that we are bound by this, like by fetters. From the fact that you do something differently or think differently, those who really love you will not stop loving you, your parents will not abandon you, and real friends, even if they think that you are eccentric, will not turn away from you. However, on your birthday, you will have the opportunity to thank life for being so kind to you, and also to make other people's lives a little easier. After all, our future is built on the curses and blessings of other people.

In February 2016, two friends from Dnipro decided to choose just such an option for celebrating their birthday. They made a post on their pages on social networks, and spent all the congratulatory envelopes and money transfers on buying essential products for refugee families who found themselves without a penny of money, housing and friends or acquaintances. As a result, thanks to the birthday of TWO people, the life of THIRTEEN people became a little easier at least for one month.

How will you celebrate your birthday?