Birthdays

If you really think about it. A birthday celebration is simply people congratulating you and buying you things purely for being conceived, making it nine months in your mothers stomach, then being born. Birthdays give people credit every year for an action they had no control over and have no memory of.
I can understand parents celebrating this day. Cause... Well... They did it all. But that's not how it is. A birthday is ALL about the person. It's about their desires and going the extra mile to cater to their needs. Not to celebrate the family accomplishment this person really is. In fact, most parents are just as stressed over the affairs of their kids birthday party as they were the day their kid was being born!
Note also, that some cultures don't celebrate birthdays! Some for religious reasons, others' societies simply don't put value on the day of ones birth the way America does. They put more value on events of the living and even events of the dead!
I think in the common American culture we have blown the whole birthday extravaganza out of the water. Kids now a days expect money and toys and clothes for simply being born! Teenagers expected heightened social status among their peers. Birthday parties often require hundreds of dollars when all is said and done. Activities and awesome destinations for teenagers are becoming the "norm" for parties. Adults.... Well, I don't know what they expect, cause I haven't lived through that yet. But I know they celebrate it... Usually with an alcoholic beverage in hand and friends close by.
I think it's an odd celebration that has evolved over the years. Not saying I don't immensely enjoy the excitement that comes with my birthday! Don't get me wrong I love it, and look forward to it every year. But I have to believe that's because the culture I was raised in puts emphasis on it.
On my friends birthday card recently I wrote "congrats on beginning to breathe 18 years ago today!"

Maybe it should not be a celebration of the fact that the person was born so much. But more of a celebration of the type of person they have become. More of a celebration of the great things about that person, and the friends that cherish them. That sounds like a better reason to gather once a year and eat cake with tiny sticks of fire on it. Instead of representing the number of years, the candles should represent a good quality about that person and have each party goer place one on! Celebrate the amazing start to an amazing person with an amazing purpose . That's how I justify birthdays.... I have concluded!