ACTA MEDICA LITUANICA. 2018. Vol. 25. No. 2. P.

107–111
© Lietuvos mokslų akademija, 2018

A survey of some aspects of birthday celebration

Darja Rojaka1*, Background. The tradition of celebrating the day of birth of an indi­
vidual is thought to have existed since the ancient times. Depending
Sigita Lesinskienė2 on the culture, religious beliefs, and the geographic location, occasions
for ritual performance differ greatly. The aim of this pilot study was to
1
Faculty of Medicine, investigate how students in Lithuania evaluate the importance of their
Vilnius University, birthday.
Vilnius, Lithuania
Materials and methods. An “Invitation to Remember Your Birth­
day” questionnaire was created by the authors to collect the respons­
2
Clinic of Psychiatry,
es for evaluation. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions divided
Institute of Clinical Medicine,
Faculty of Medicine, into four parts. It assessed how and what the respondents felt on their
Vilnius University, annual birthday, about the organization of the celebration, gift-receiv­
Vilnius, Lithuania ing, and the value of the ritual.
Results. A total of 309 medical students of Vilnius University com­
pleted the survey (n = 146 year 4, n = 163 year 5). The results suggested
that the birthday is an important individual occasion, which students
tend to celebrate annually. The respondents tend to feel better and
more loved on the day of their birthday.
Conclusions. Birthday is seen as an opportunity to spend time with
friends and family, have a break from daily responsibilities, and receive
attention from people around them. Birthday celebration of medical
students is affected by their social and cultural context. The findings of
this study may be relevant for future studies when searching for age-
and culture-appropriate ways to use birthday celebration as possible
means of improving mental health. The current data can be used for
longitudinal and cross-cultural comparisons.

Keywords: birthday, celebration, birthday functions

BACKGROUND the first to develop the habit of annually honour­

ing their family members, friends, and clients with
The tradition of celebrating an individual’s day of banquets, prayers, and gifts on the day of their
birth is thought to have existed from the ancient birth (1). Throughout the centuries, anniversa­
times (1). It is believed that the Romans were ries were perceived as a special day mostly among
the adult population. It was not until the 19th
* Correspondence to: Darja Rojaka, Faculty of Medicine, Vil­ century that children’s birthdays are thought to
nius University, M. K. Čiurlionio St. 21, Vilnius 03101, Lithuania. have started gaining recognition and being cel­
Email: [Link]@[Link] ebrated in modesty (2). In the 20th century,
108 Darja Rojaka, Sigita Lesinskienė

children’s birthday celebrations were acknowl­ RESULTS

edged as a factor helping children to adapt to bio­
logical and social age-related changes (2). The his­ A total of 309 medical students completed the sur­
torical evidence leaves no doubt that rituals play vey (n = 146 year 4, n = 163 year 5), among them
an important role in human life. It is believed that 217 female (70.2%) and 92 (29.8%) male students.
such life-course celebrations as birthdays not only The average age of the participants was 22.94 years
help to understand the cyclicity of natural pro­ (22.83 female and 23.21 male). Most of the stu­
cesses but also are essential celebrations of pas­ dent were pleasantly surprised with the format of
sage in society (2). the questionnaire and no unconsumed treats were
Depending on the culture, religious beliefs, returned with it.
and the geographic location, occasions for a ritual Analysis of the responses revealed that medi­
performance differ greatly. From seasonal natural cal students felt better and more loved on the day
phenomena, position of the stars and planets, and of the birthday. The respondents specified their
sometimes even the behaviour of certain animals level of agreement on symmetric Likert-type
to celebrations of historical and religious festi­ scales, which were composed of 11 Likert items.
vals and, eventually, birthdays, the event remains The items were marked on a horizontal line, on
socially significant. Although the importance of which the items were marked in numbers from
birthdays for children was investigated from dif­ 0 to 10. The 0 mark meant feeling worse or less
ferent perspectives, little research has been done loved compared to an average day, 10 meant feel­
on its value for adults. The aim of this study was ing better or more loved compared to an average
to investigate how students in Lithuania perceive day and 5 was the neutral point, meaning feeling
the importance of their birthday. no different to an average day. The arithmetic
mean for feeling better or worse compared to an
MATERIALS AND METHODS average day was 7.57 and 7.02 for feeling more or
less loved. Females tended to feel better and more
To collect responses, the authors created a question­ loved than male respondents (p < 0.05). The study
naire “Invitation to Remember Your Birthday” that also showed that 10.4% of respondents could not
consisted of 15 questions divided into four parts. fully enjoy their birthday celebration because
The first part of the survey was focused on how stu­ it coincided with winter or spring examina-
dents felt on the day of their birthday and consisted tions.
of Likert scales. The second part covered questions When asked who the respondent would pre­
on the organization of the celebration. The third fer to celebrate their birthday with, the answers
part provided questions about gift-receiving. Finally, distributed in the following way: with friends
students were asked to share their opinions on what (90.9%), with a significant other (80.6%), with
their birthday meant to them and what rituals they their family members (66.3%), and alone (12%).
performed on the given day. The last three parts were Students preferred their birthdays to be organ­
composed of multi-choice questions. Respondents ized by others than to organize them themselves
were also provided with free writing space to leave (49.2% and 21.4%, respectively). Around one-fifth
comments in case they wished to include a different of all respondents preferred not to celebrate their
answer or more detailed information onthe subject. day of birth at all (18.1%).
The survey was made to look as a birthday par­ For both female and male students, being with
ty invitation card and a sweet treat was attached people important to them was the best gift to re­
to it in order to trigger memories about birthdays. ceive on their birthday (79.6%). The second best
Vilnius University medical students in their 4th gift was a fun party (45.3%), and the third place
and 5th year of studies were chosen to complete was given to money (35.6%). The fourth and
the anonymous survey on birthday celebration. the fifth places were taken by gifts of an experi­
The surveys were handed out before lectures and ence (27.8%) and a physical gift (15.9%).
collected after them the same day. The statistical Most of the respondents believed that birth­
analysis of the results was performed using SPSS days were an occasion to receive personal atten­
Statistics 22.0 and Windows Excel. tion from people around them (62.5%). More
 A survey of some aspects of birthday celebration 109

than half of the students saw their birthdays as an Most of the students responded that birthday
opportunity to have fun (57.3%). A birthday was celebration was an occasion to get attention from
also a motive to receive gifts (49.8%) and treat the people around them. A birthday party was
oneself to a tasty meal (43.7%). About a third of the second most desirable gift to receive. Also,
the respondents took on fewer everyday respon­ most of the students would have preferred it to be
sibilities on the given day (35%) or spent the day organized for them. Finally, the results suggest,
thinking about their life (32.7%). Some students that the respondents felt better and more loved on
admitted they did not consider their birthday as the day of their birth. Although females respond­
a day of special significance (30.7%) and most of ed they felt better and more loved than males, no
the respondents (73.5%) agreed that as the years other gender-linked data was found to be statis­
passed, birthdays became a less meaningful occa­ tically significant, therefore further studies are
sion for them to celebrate. needed. The results support the idea of birthday
having a purpose of individuation to the birthday
DISCUSSION person. The celebrations can help with a better
understanding of oneself, make the person feel
It is important to notice that in Lithuania birth­ unique and valuable, provide support in tough
day celebration gained popularity as late as after times (2, 4). It is believed, that rituals performed
the Second World War. Before that the majority during holidays can be used in occupational
of the people would annually celebrate the day of therapy by addressing individual’s beliefs and
their name. Although today some older members needs (4).
of the society still prefer celebrating their name Only a small part of the respondents preferred
days and jubilees, most of their children and spending their birthday alone. Some respondents
grandchildren have been raised with an emphasis admitted they could not fully enjoy their birthday
on the day of their birth and celebrate birthdays celebration because of winter or spring examina­
every year. The study shows that medical students tions. As long as medical students dedicate much
in Lithuania tend to celebrate their birthdays and time to their studies, it would be interesting to
feel special on the celebration day. broaden the study to search for differences with
Depending on the society, milestone birth­ adults of similar age but different occupation and
days may differ, but most of them mark similar to compare the results. Those who celebrated pre­
life-changing evens, such as entering school, gain­ ferred being accompanied by people they consid­
ing the right to work, and entering adulthood ered important in their lives: friends, significant
(2). As an example, special attention is paid to others, and/or family. A day spent with them was
the 16th and 21st birthdays in the United States chosen to be the most-wanted birthday gift. Per­
of America. Birthdays are important in American forming the birthday ritual among people allows
culture as this life-course ritual compensates for the celebrating person to feel connected to oth­
the absence of profound rituals of the transition ers and supported by them. Rituals are known to
from childhood to adulthood and may contrib­ contribute to social cohesion and positively affect
ute to the reduction of overall stress levels dur­ physical and mental health (5). Performance of
ing critical periods of individual’s life (3). In most them within family improves children’s self-or­
European countries, including Lithuania, the 18th ganizational skills, support their emotional de­
birthday is an important day of becoming an adult velopment, and lead to better coherence between
and gaining the rights to drive, vote, and get mar­ single parents and their offspring (6).
ried. Gifts can be material as well as non-material
Birthdays serve four main functions to the cel­ and are meant to mark the celebration (2). Among
ebrating individual: the ritual of passage in medical students, the most desired gift appeared
the community, individuation, provides a sense to be non-material and time spent with people
of group membership, and gift-receiving (2). It is important to them. The second best gift is a birth­
important to mention that the results obtained in day party. These results show that non-material
this pilot study provided important information gifts of communication and attention are highly
on various aspects of the subject. valued by medical students. It might also indicate
110 Darja Rojaka, Sigita Lesinskienė

a lack of opportunities to spend enough time with ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

their friends and family, as well as a deficit of lei­
sure time and/or positive emotions triggered by We thank Ms. Kamilė Pociūtė (Clinic of Psychia­
birthday parties. The reason for such results is not try, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University) for
completely clear. It would be beneficial to collect her kind help with collection and systematisation
and compare responses from students of different of data.
faculties and age groups.
It is known that a gift serves as a tool to evalu­ Received 14 May 2018
ate relations between the giving and the receiving Accepted 31 May 2018
sides (7). A study suggests that gift recipients pre­
fer receiving gifts that were requested to those that
were not (8). Such gifts are recognized by the re­ References
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 A survey of some aspects of birthday celebration 111

Darja Rojaka, Sigita Lesinskienė Rezultatai. Anketą užpildė 309 Vilniaus universiteto
medicinos studentai (n = 146 IV kurso studentų, n = 163
KAI KURIŲ GIMTADIENIO ŠVENTIMO
YPATUMŲ APŽVALGA V kurso studentų). Apklausos rezultatai parodė, kad
gimtadienis yra svarbi asmeninė šventė, kurią studentai
S antrauka švenčia kiekvienais metais. Respondentai yra linkę jaustis
Įvadas. Manoma, kad tradicija švęsti gimtadienius susi­ geriau ir labiau mylimi, lyginant su paprasta diena.
formavo dar senovėje. Šią šventę lydintis ritualas įvairiose Išvados. Gimtadienis respondentams yra galimybė
kultūrose stipriai skiriasi, priklauso nuo religinių įsitiki­ praleisti laiką su šeima ir draugais, atitrūkti nuo kasdieni­
nimų ir gyvenamosios vietos. Bandomojo tyrimo tikslas nių atsakomybių ir gauti dėmesio iš aplinkinių. Medicinos
buvo ištirti, kaip Lietuvos studentai vertina gimtadienio studentų gimtadienio šventimo ypatumai priklauso nuo
šventės svarbą. kultūrinio konteksto. Šio bandomojo tyrimo rezultatai
Tyrimo medžiaga ir metodai. Anketą „Kvietimas gali būti naudingi ateities tyrimams ieškant būdų panau­
prisiminti gimtadienį“ sudarė 15 klausimų, suskirstytų į 4 doti gimtadienio šventės organizavimą kaip prevencijos
kategorijas. Apklausoje respondentų buvo klausiama apie ir ankstyvos intervencijos priemonę gerinant psichikos
tai, kaip jie jaučiasi per savo gimtadienį, kaip jie švenčia sveikatą. Tyrimo duomenys gali būti panaudojami longi­
šią šventę. Taip pat respondentams buvo pasiūlyta atsaky­ tudinaliniams ir tarpkultūriniams tyrimams.
ti į klausimus apie dovanų gavimą ir įvairius gimtadienio Raktažodžiai: gimtadienis, šventimas, gimtadienio
šventimo ritualus. funkcijos