Birthdays are always special! They are invariably celebrated with fun and fervour at our home. We have our own set of rituals and practices that are very close to our hearts. My daughter is April born, and just like all children, gets excited and happily awaits her special day. Every year, for the past nine years, I have been following the same Birthday Rituals and stories and my daughter never gets tired of it. Read on to find out about our Beautiful Birthday Stories and traditions from our home.
One of my favourite Birthday Rituals and Stories is the one followed by the Waldorf Community. I just love it because it not only honours the child but it touches the spiritual nature (soul) of the child as well. It also helps in reiterating the child’s special place in the family.
Usually our birthday ritual begins the night before my daughter’s birthday. After our bedtime story, I tell my daughter, “Tonight is a very magical and a very special night as the angels are dancing with joy because it is your birthday tomorrow. The angels are thinking about what to bestow upon you. They are thinking different gifts for you – the gift of courage, compassion, kindness and a strong will. Get ready to receive theses gifts. Usually these gifts are given while you sleep, so be sure to Thank them before you fall asleep”.
I further add this Poem / Verse:
After you have brushed your teeth and listened to / read your story,
Your mother plants .4 / 6 / 9…… (age of the child) kisses on your cheeks
Your mother then tucks you in your bed (switches off the light),
Remember you are ……(age today) years old tonight,
But from the very break of day,
Before the other children rise and play,
Before the darkness turns to Gold,
Tomorrow you will be …….. years old (the age of child)
You will get ……. (age of the child) kisses when you wake
And ……….(age of the child) candles on your cake……..
My daughter then goes off to sleep and the next morning when she wakes up, will receive …..(number of years)…… kisses from me. After she gets ready and eats her breakfast, I organise a special Birthday Treasure Hunt for her. I hide her presents in different places and leave clues to follow (at every present she finds a task to complete and a gift). My daughter runs around the house in search of her presents. Then we visit a temple followed by a very special Birthday Story (just before Cutting the cake).
The Birthday Story – The Story of Birth
Once upon a time, more than ……… (age of the child) years ago, ………….(name of your child) was not present on Earth. She/ he was up in the heavens playing in Krishna’s (favourite God name) garden along with her kind Guardian Angel. This little girl / Little boy was very happy. She/ he was kind, generous and loved the outdoors. She liked to run, jump and also hop on one leg.
One day, the little girl’s Angel gave her a shining Golden Ball. The little girl loved this golden ball and always played with it. She took the ball wherever she went. She even slept with the golden ball near her. The little girl also loved to play catch with her Guarding angel. When the Angel was busy, the little girl played by herself. She would throw the ball high up in the air and catch it again. The little girl was so happy playing with her Guardian angel in Krishna’s garden.
One day, the little girl was in a curious mood and wanted to find out how far she can throw the ball. She held the golden ball in her hands, took aim and threw the ball as far as possible. The ball went so far that it disappeared out of sight. The little girl searched for her golden ball everywhere but, she could not find the Golden ball anywhere. The little girl was heart broken and started to cry. She went to Krishna and told him everything that had happened. Krishna listened to her patiently and called for the guardian angel. He guided both of them to look for the lost Ball between the clouds. The angel and the little girl peeped into the little spaces between the clouds. Suddenly, the little girl saw something shining in-between two clouds. The little girl finally got her Shining Golden ball.
Just as she was turning away, the little girl caught sight of Earth. There she saw oceans filled with colorful fishes and tall mountains with trees and blue skies where beautiful birds were flying happily singing songs to their hearts content. Now she looked even closer, she saw men and women and lots of children playing. Now the little girl wanted to visit earth and experience everything that she had seen. So, she ran to Krishna and said, “I want to visit Earth”. Krishna was very kind and asked the Guardian angels to make arrangements for the same.
That night, the girl’s Guardian angel visited Earth to find kind and compassionate parents who would take care of the little girl. She found a man passionate about land and who was building apartments (character of the father). He longed for a little girl. He had a wife who was equally kind. She was working with small children and she was also longing for a small child of her own (nature of the mother). The guardian angel spoke to the Guardian Angels of the parents and made all the necessary arrangements. Krishna called for the little girl in the morning and took her to meet the Sun.
The sun gave the little girl the ‘gift of courage’ which the girl tucked into her heart. This courage, said the sun, will give you strength when the life is difficult. The little girl thanked the sun
Next, Krishna and the little girl visited the house of the Moon. The moon gave the little girl the gift of Wisdom. The little girl thanked for the gift and placed it on her head.
Next, they visited the Stars. All the stars winked at the little girl and one of the stars touched the little girl’s eyes and said, “Here is the gift of twinkle for your eyes”. You may always use this gift to see joys in life.
Krishna gently led the little girl through a beautiful starry gate and beyond this gate was a rainbow bridge. The guardian angel joined the little girl and both of them slid down the Rainbow bridge to Earth while the Sun, Moon and the stars sang beautiful songs. A gentle and kind lady received the little girl and tucked her in a special place under her heart. For many days and nights, she carried her inside of her. Finally, on April 18th 2012 , the little girl was born. The parents were so proud of this little bundle of joy in their arms and named her Yantra (Name of the Child).
After Birth
For making the Birthday story more interesting, you can add details about the child year wise.
Usually, I continue the story of my daughter’s birth further by adding all the small details year wise. My daughter loves to hear about her toddler days.
Yantra’s first year – During her first year, Yantra learned to do many things. She learned to smile, roll on her back, sit, crawl and she was able to run. Her favourite food was Raagi Porridge and bananas but did not like to eat Apples. She loved to play with sand and loved to run around. She also learned to speak a few words such as Mamma, Amma etc…
Then the Earth went around the Sun once and Yantra turned 2 years old.
Yantra’s Second year – Now, Yantra is a year older and is faster now. She can walk faster and can eat a variety of food this year. Yantra loved to spend time with the cows and dogs. She also loved to travel and visit her cousins. She also interacted with her other cousins Sanjana and Mantra. she loved to have a lot of people around her. loved to listen to songs and even hummed a rhyme.
Then the Earth went around the Sun once more, then Yantra turned 3 years old.
Yantra’s Third year – Yantra went to school when she was in her 3rd year. She loved to go to school and spend time in the garden at school – under the trees. She liked to play under the trees and refused to go inside the classroom for some days. Yantra made a lot of friends. Her class teacher was Mrs. Karpagam and she adored Yantra very much.
Then the Earth went around the Sun once more, then Yantra turned 4 years old….
Details like this is narrated to the child. The child is happy reminiscing the toddler years.
You finally end the story with the current year.
Now, today is Date (April ……..th 2021) and Yantra is celebrating her ( ………. th )birthday today.
This story is personalized according to the age of the child and the parent can add all the other details and narrate the story for the child.
In case you find the mentioned story to be too long or you feel lazy to personalize, you can also read the following story books to bring in the Birthday mood.
- The Blue Balloon by Mick Inkpen
- Kipper’s Birthday by Mick Inkpen
- Happy Birthday Maisy by Lucy Cousins
- The Best Birthday Present ever by Ben Mantle
- If you had your Birthday party on the moon by Joyce Lapin
Here’s wishing you many Beautiful Birthday rituals and stories !
Please do share with me the Beautiful Birthday Rituals and stories from your home. Also, do share about your favourite birthday themed stories / books you loved narrating to your child. I’m really looking forward to know about your special celebrations. For other interesting ideas, visit Parenting on my website.
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