Throughout the world, people have different traditions for marking the passing of years.
In Europe and the U.S.A., one tradition is to blow out candles on a birthday cake and make a wish.
In China, everyone adds a year to their age at the same time on the Chinese New Year, which is between the end of January and the end of February.
In the Philippines, birthdays are celebrated when a child is 1, 7, 14, and 21 years old. In some Native American tribes, a special ceremony is held when children are given their tribal name at around 4 years of age.
Many people have traditions to mark the end of childhood. A Tamil girl of Sri Lanka is allowed to wear a sari, the beautiful dress of a woman, when she is about 13.
When a Jewish boy is 13, he has his bar mitzvah. A Jewish girl has her bat mitzvah at age 12. Both boys and girls read from holy books and answer religious questions.
In Brazil, Mexico, and other Hispanic countries, a girl’s 15th birthday is very special. The family holds a big coming-of-age party. This is called a quinceañera.
The idea of putting candles on birthday cakes goes back to ancient Greece. The Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. Among them was one called Artemis. Artemis was the goddess of the moon. The Greeks celebrated her birthday once each month by bringing special cakes to her temple. The cakes were round, like a full moon. And, because the moon glows with light, the cakes were decorated with lighted candles.
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