the way we celebrate birthdays- mind blown

jenna8984

A show on National Geographic was just saying how we (in America) technically celebrate the year that has just passed. Turning 30 means we have just lived for 30 years. They said in India they celebrate the new year of life they are entering so they say on their birthday not that they are 30 but they are entering their 31st year of life. That like totally blew my mind because I never looked at like that before! We always kind of think of it as "I can't wait to be 16, I can't believe I'm going to be 30, etc..." Like we tend to look at our birthday like New Years- as the beginning of a new age, the beginning of a new year. When in reality we are celebrating the end of a year we just completed....

rajahmd

My great grandmother did this! She was very well known for confusing people by walking around saying "I'm in my ____ year of life (89th, 91st, etc).  So funny. I like to think one day I'll be as old and proud of my age as she was (she died during her 98th year of life).

AddieCake

This is true in Asian culture as well, I believe.

NYCBruin

As a kid, the American way of thinking about birthdays really confused me. I think the other way makes more sense.

Senecaf

To rent a car without an underage fee you must be 25. I had a customer argue with me for a few minutes about how old she was. I thought she was just trying to get one over on us to save herself $20/day. Now I think it could be this. Intersting.

pumpkinsandturkeys

I've actually always thought of birthdays this way, without knowing that other cultures actively do so. I'll say I'm 26, for instance, but when I turned 26, all I could think was that this was the start of my 27th year. Not really sure why I got in the habit of thinking "I'm in my xxth year", but I always have.

lovesclimbing

I've always thought it was weird that you count birthdays from the day you were born rather than from conception.  Because, technically, when you're born, you're nine months old.

And say you have a preemie.  At what we consider "one year old," that preemie isn't as old as another baby who was born at full term on the same day.

It's so weird.  I really think we should count birthdays from conception, or as close to conception as you can guess (nine months before due date.)

HappyAnjel

It's your Birthday. So it wouldn't really make sense to be on a day other than the day of your birth would it?

Plus, most people don't know exactly when they conceived, even during pregnancy they go by your last period rather than actual conception date because it can be too hard to pinpoint.

lovesclimbing

HappyAnjel said:

It's your Birthday. So it wouldn't really make sense to be on a day other than the day of your birth would it?

Plus, most people don't know exactly when they conceived, even during pregnancy they go by your last period rather than actual conception date because it can be too hard to pinpoint.

You're right, it is birthday. So you could still celebrate it as that, but as for counting your actual age, I still say it should be counted from conception. And I know you can't get exact but you can get pretty close. And if women choose to have ultrasounds, which a lot do, doctors can determine even more accurate guesses of the baby's age.

jenna8984

lovesclimbing said:

I've always thought it was weird that you count birthdays from the day you were born rather than from conception.  Because, technically, when you're born, you're nine months old.

And say you have a preemie.  At what we consider "one year old," that preemie isn't as old as another baby who was born at full term on the same day.

It's so weird.  I really think we should count birthdays from conception, or as close to conception as you can guess (nine months before due date.)

I always kind of wondered that about preemies too...like if they are 2 months early they are kept in an incubator for 2 months simulating the womb. So once they reach 2 months "old" they are really like newborn baby age or just born. It is kind of twilight zone to think about lol