|
From the day I first met my husband,
Mark, 17 years ago, we
have had the same disagreement
over and over again. I say
birthdays are a big deal and should be
celebrated. He says they’re just another
day. And, unfortunately, I’ve learned
Mark is not the only person I know
who believes this.
But riddle me this then: If birthdays
don’t matter, then why do we even celebrate
Christmas? Isn’t the whole holiday
based on Jesus’ birthday? We
wouldn’t think of not celebrating that,
now, would we?
SPONSORED LINKS
 The Greatest Gift
And that is exactly why I firmly believe
that birthdays do matter—because each
of us matters. Now, I’m not trying to
promote big parties every year with
lots of extravagant presents. I’m simply
lobbying for the fact that we should celebrate
our birthdays for the mere fact
that we exist and there is no one else on
earth like us.
In his book Here and Now, Henri
Nouwen perhaps expresses this sentiment
best: “...We really need to celebrate
people’s birthdays every day, by
showing gratitude, kindness, forgiveness,
gentleness, and affection. These
are ways of saying: ‘It’s good that you
are alive; it’s good that you are walking
with me on this earth. Let’s be glad
and rejoice. This is the day that God
has made for us to be and to be
together.’”
It’s a message I learned throughout
my years of Catholic education, and
one I’ve been teaching every Sunday
in religious education for the past
five years: You are special. There is
no one else like you, and only you can
bring your special gifts to your family,
Church, community, etc.
Recently I saw a sign in a catalog
that stated this idea very cleverly. It
read, “Be yourself. Everyone else is
taken.”
Start Celebrating
So if we’re all for celebrating Christmas,
shouldn’t we feel the same way
about birthdays? Here are some ideas
for how to make birthdays special:
• Reach out. Make a real effort to acknowledge your friends’ and family’s
birthdays this year. It doesn’t have to be
anything expensive, just a card, note or
phone call.
• Give gifts that matter. Sometimes
the perfect gift doesn’t have to cost
anything. Last Christmas I made Mark
a video with pictures of our kids. He
loved it and it didn’t cost me anything
more than my time.
You could write a letter about what
that person means to you or what you
think is his or her best characteristic.
• Start giving. The focus of most
birthdays is receiving. But in honor of
Christ’s birthday, think about turning
the tables. Most parishes have giving
trees during the Christmas season with
the names of children and families in
need. Collect a few names. Then go
shopping, not just for the items on the
person’s list, but also for things you
think he or she might enjoy.
• Have a party. Not that there is
any shortage of parties around Christmas
time, but how about having a
party in celebration of Jesus’ birthday,
complete with a cake and the story of
Jesus’ birth?
• Take a look back. Haul out the
baby books, photo albums and home
videos. Ask your parents or older relatives
to recount the story of your birth.
So perhaps the best message of
Christmas is that the joy of birthdays
is not so much tied to the day—I know
quite a few families who celebrate half-birthdays—but rather celebrating the
person.
| 
