江苏省永丰初级中学七年级英语上册 Unit 7 Something about Birthday背景材料 （新版）牛津版

Something about Birthdaya birth day is the date on which a person is born，mark day a life outside the womb begins。it is customary in many cultures to celebrate the anniversary of ones birth day，For example by having a birth day party with family and/Or friniversarygifts are often given to the person celebrating the birth day。it is also customary to treat people specally on their birth day，Either generally acceding to their wishes，or subjecting them to a rite of trite of tretewestern private birth day traditionshistory of celebration of birth days in the westit is thought that the large-scale celebration of birth days in Europe began with the cult of mith ras，Which originated in Persia but was spread bybefore this，such celebratios were not commonAnd，hence，practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays . because many Roman soldirs took up mithraismbirth day celebratios were rare during the middle ages but saw a resurgence with the advent of the reformation。during this period，They were seen as a good way to transfer customs from the saints days to other dates not linked to the newly repudiated venerationEven today，the celebration of birth days is not universal in the west；inaddition to those people preferring name day celebrations，jehov ahs witnesses do not celebrate either，consiring them to be pagan festivalsFestivebirth day cake in most English-speaking countries it is tradiitional to sing the song happy birth day to you to the honored person celebrating hissimilar songs exist in other languages such as lang zal hij/zij leven in Dutch， zum geburstag viel glck in german，this happens tradiitionly at a birth day party while some one brings a birth day cake into the(often darkened)room。the birth day cake is traditionally decorated，and typically covered with lit candles when presnted；the number of candles often equals the age of the person .the person whose birth day it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles；If done in one breath，The wish is supposed to come true。it is also common for the birth day boy or birthday girl to cut the initial piece of the cake like as a newlywed couple might with a wwwtypical birth day party decorations include balloons，stramers and confetti。for Special birth days and for when the number of candles might be considered impractical or a fire hazard，Special candles might be substituted Fethese candles are in the shape of a numeral；For example，on the fifth birth day there may be one candle on the cake in the shape of the numeral 5，And on the fiftiet h birth day there may be twoa birth day is consired a special day for the person，And so the person will offten get special treatment from friends And family . this is especallybirth day parties for children often include fun games like pin the tail on the donkey，musical chairs，and hiting piatas。there are also tradiations of surprise parties。not all traditions are equally generous。in certain circles the birth day boy or girl is expected to treat the fellows，often by shouting one or more round of drinks .another tradition enjoyed by girls That was popularied in the 1950s and 60s : receiving a special corsage(or several)That was decoratedthe items were priced within reach of the peer group，And were light enough so they could fasten easily to curly ribbon And be worn throughout thhhe10th birthday-lollipops11th birthday-gum drops12th birthday-Tootsie rolls13th birthday-bubble gum14th birthday-dog biscuits15th birthday-life savers16th birthday-sugar cubes17th birthday-lemon drops18th birthday-cigarettes速度since every year of age can be seen as a minor transition，this can be accomanied by some traditional initiation rite such as a birth day spankingit is also tradiitional in schools in some areas of Britain to bump Eople on their birthday . this invules them being hoisted faceup by arms and legs and and and and andpulling on the limits restrails the fall so that the vic Tim does not quite hit the ground .this is repeated for the number of times equal to their birth dayage . on one last ho ist the celebrant is often allowed to fall the ground with a bump .a less painful way is to be lifted in the air while sittin G on a chair。then the last lift is usually made higher than the others .a similar tradition in schools are birth beats or birth day bashints in which the birth child receivings a number of punches on His arm that equals His agagesusually it is followed with a one for luck punch which tends to be harter than the rest。birth day beats are not often malicious but some times can be Considered buling and may ruin a childs special day。Special birthdaysNotable birtthdays可以是include :when the most significant digit changes，for example ones 1st，10th，30th，50th，or 100 th birth days。Ones golden birth