Marking birthdays is a significant builder of children's self worth. It proves to them that their entrance into the world was so wonderful it is worth celebrating. We celebrate birthdays in the Bunny Rabbit class in a non-traditional way. We don't share a big sugary snack with party napkins and balloons and treats. There are other environments for that kind of celebration. At school we send home a birthday journal for each family to add a photo and a simple explanation of how they celebrated the child's birthday. The ways people celebrate birthdays are as varied as can possibly be! Over the years we have read of simple poignant celebrations of grateful prayers offered on behalf of the child. We have read of elaborate birthday parties with children, food and entertainment at every turn. And we have read of everything in between. Each is significant in the life of a child and we learn so much about families by sharing the journal.
Unfortunately we don't know how or even IF Jesus' family celebrated his miraculous birth and birthday. During our talks about Jesus' childhood, we noted that he had birthdays, and we had a little wooden cake in the class. We didn't sing or make a big deal of it, but the children had fun assembling and decorating this little cake.
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