Seems I have heard this phrase 100 times this week. We had three birthdays in the Kindergarten in the past five days, and every time we sing the song over and over again. It was fun to watch how a another culture celebrates birthdays differently.
The parents and extended family came to the school with the cake and presents for everyone. A large birthday backdrop is hung on the wall, and the birthday boy or girl sits in a chair next to a small table with the cake. And it is no ordinary cake! The first one, for example, was an elaborately decorated Lightning McQueen from Cars. Some of the kids would sneak up to swipe their finger at the frosting.
Sooo many pictures were taken. Put your hand here, sit up straighter, let's try from this angle, and this angle, and with this person. The candle was lit and re-lit at least five times, sometimes with the dad blowing it out. When we would sing the Happy Birthday song, the kid wouldn't even wait until the end of the song to blow out the candle. Obviously, it isn't really too important.
The elaborate cakes were never eaten, at least with the guests present. Guests are given small cakes separately, wrapped kind of like our cupcakes are (but they aren't round, individually baked like cupcakes). Guests are also given a full meal. The Lightning McQueen birthday, for instance, gave each kid a new backpack with a nice new Tupperware container inside. The meal was some mixture of rice and meat. For the second birthday, we got two boxes—one full of cakes, and the other another rice meal. I ended up having five pieces of cake in one day! They aren't so sweet though, so I didn't feel too guilty. Everyone always gets a hat and a balloon.
We may think of birthday parties as fun, running around, playtime for the kids. Not so with birthdays here, however. After songs, pictures, and handing out the cakes, some adults read / recite a bunch of words that I don't understand. I think part of it is Muslim recitations, or a prayer maybe.
The last birthday this week was on Saturday at McDonald's. I have only ever entered McDonald's to use their WiFi, believe it or not! And this was certainly the first time I have heard of a birthday party there. All of the girls were dressed in the five year-old version of prom dresses. Many had bright makeup all over their faces. They were cute. The same birthday routine was followed, except this time a few games were played. Again, the beautiful cake was only for display to the guests. The presents were balloons, hats, and a bag with a McDonald's cup, McDonald's meal of chicken and rice, and a milkshake. So I still didn't eat or drink any McDonald's haha.
No comments:
Post a Comment