Hello One and All!
In modern society we take it for granted that we will celebrate our birthdays each year, though this wasn't always the case in other cultures. The ancient Romans were in fact the first to make celebration of one's day of birth widespread but it doesn't exactly resemble the typical modern party.
Ancient Roman Birthday Celebrations
The genius is a being of divine nature, which Romans believed to have accompanied people in their lives, dictating their abilities and disposition (women were accompanied by a Juno spirit). Because of its importance, this being had to be appeased every year with gifts, which consisted of incense, flowers or wine.
Birthdays weren't only important for the individual celebrating it, but also their relatives and friends. In a letter from Marcus Aurelius to Fronto:
"I know that on birthdays friends undertake vows for the one whose birthday it is; but because I love you just as I love my own self, on this birthday of yours I want to offer prayers on my own behalf."
Through partaking in birthday celebrations, a Roman could show how much they valued their relationship, as well as take part in vows. Even if they were unable to be physically present at the party, a friend or relative could still celebrate someone else's birthday on their own. Benefactors could also provide endowments to dependents, thus enabling them to devote the day to celebrations. Funds could also be set aside so that birthday banquets could be held after the death of the benefactor as well.
Attendants would usually send gifts to the birthday person, to show their appreciation of them, but it was also an occasion for people to showcase their piety and togetherness. The birthday poem was also a popular gift and one of Martial's illustrates the atmosphere surrounding a Roman occasion:
"Come, let pious Rome mark the birthday of eloquent Restitutus: Let every tongue be reverent; let all prayers be favorable. We are performing birthday rites; let litigation cease." (Epigrams 10.87.1-4)
The poem makes it clear that a birthday was a holy event. A formal ceremony was held where attendants partook in the cultic activities; a moment of holy silence was usually taken, the genius was addressed at the votive altar, and offerings of wine, ritual cakes as well as incense were placed. Flames were then lit on the altar, prayers were offered and vows were taken. Birthdays were an opportunity to commemorate the progress of a year and the bond of a person with the gods. A birthday celebration was a time to celebrate divine patronship and that a deity had deigned to let one live another year.
Thank you for reading!
In modern society we take it for granted that we will celebrate our birthdays each year, though this wasn't always the case in other cultures. The ancient Romans were in fact the first to make celebration of one's day of birth widespread but it doesn't exactly resemble the typical modern party.
Ancient Roman Birthday Celebrations
The genius is a being of divine nature, which Romans believed to have accompanied people in their lives, dictating their abilities and disposition (women were accompanied by a Juno spirit). Because of its importance, this being had to be appeased every year with gifts, which consisted of incense, flowers or wine.
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| Winged genius. Roman artwork, late 1st century BC.E, from the peristyle of the villa of P. Fannius Synistor in Boscoreale, near Pompeii. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winged_genius_Boscoreale_Louvre_P23.jpg |
Birthdays weren't only important for the individual celebrating it, but also their relatives and friends. In a letter from Marcus Aurelius to Fronto:
"I know that on birthdays friends undertake vows for the one whose birthday it is; but because I love you just as I love my own self, on this birthday of yours I want to offer prayers on my own behalf."
Through partaking in birthday celebrations, a Roman could show how much they valued their relationship, as well as take part in vows. Even if they were unable to be physically present at the party, a friend or relative could still celebrate someone else's birthday on their own. Benefactors could also provide endowments to dependents, thus enabling them to devote the day to celebrations. Funds could also be set aside so that birthday banquets could be held after the death of the benefactor as well.
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| Photograph of a first-century Roman Lararium from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vettii.jpg |
Attendants would usually send gifts to the birthday person, to show their appreciation of them, but it was also an occasion for people to showcase their piety and togetherness. The birthday poem was also a popular gift and one of Martial's illustrates the atmosphere surrounding a Roman occasion:
"Come, let pious Rome mark the birthday of eloquent Restitutus: Let every tongue be reverent; let all prayers be favorable. We are performing birthday rites; let litigation cease." (Epigrams 10.87.1-4)
The poem makes it clear that a birthday was a holy event. A formal ceremony was held where attendants partook in the cultic activities; a moment of holy silence was usually taken, the genius was addressed at the votive altar, and offerings of wine, ritual cakes as well as incense were placed. Flames were then lit on the altar, prayers were offered and vows were taken. Birthdays were an opportunity to commemorate the progress of a year and the bond of a person with the gods. A birthday celebration was a time to celebrate divine patronship and that a deity had deigned to let one live another year.
Thank you for reading!
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