Jehovah's Witnesses are well-known for not celebrating birthdays, viewing them as pagan in origin and unscriptural, with the Bible only mentioning pagan figures celebrating birthdays. Some interpretations within Islam also discourage birthdays, seeing them as introduced later and not based in core Islamic texts, while some traditions in Buddhism avoid them as reminders of life's impermanence. Certain Christian denominations (like some Seventh-day Adventists) and Hebrew Roots movements also abstain, focusing on scriptural observance rather than pagan-rooted holidays.
Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate holidays that they believe do not fit true Christianity. These include Christmas, Easter, and even birthdays. The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Christ did not command his birth - or any birth - to be celebrated; he just wanted his death to be remembered.
Islam. The birthday does not reflect Islamic tradition, and because of this, the majority of Muslims refrain from celebrating it. Others do not object, as long as it is not accompanied by behavior contrary to Islamic tradition.
In the Jehovah's Witness faith, celebrating the day you were born was considered pagan, prideful, even sinful.
The Perspective of Islam on Birthdays
Although, traditional Islamic teachings do not explicitly mention birthday celebrations being. forbidden act, many Islamic scholars view them with skepticism or disapproval, as birthdays were seen as non-Islamic traditions linked to pagan rituals or Christian customs.
Islam is the largest and fastest growing faith in the world. The word “Islam” is an Arabic word that means “peace, purity, submission and obedience to the will of Almighty God”. The word Islam comes from the Arabic root word “sa-la-ma”, which means peace.
In summary, celebrating or attending a birthday gathering, while not required in our religion would become allowable or prohibited based on what's done in it. There is no harm in celebrating the occasion with friends and family without the exploitation or practice of impermissible acts.
The Church does not have a doctrine on birthdays, for or against. We are aware of the claim that celebrating them has pagan roots but not aware of proof for that claim. It is certain that birthdays were noted in Bible times, for that's the means of telling a person's age.
There's another reason that Tibetans have not traditionally marked these milestones, and it goes back to the fundamental Buddhist concept of impermanence: time is limited and a new birthday is just a reminder that another year of life has passed with a mountain of spiritual work still remaining.
The celebration of birthdays is not the original practice in Catholic homes. It only spread within the past few centuries, replacing the earlier Christian custom of observing the feast day of the saint whose name was acquired in Baptism.
What is the least common birthday? Unsurprisingly, February 29 th is the least common birthday. Because Leap Day only rolls around every four years, there's only a 1/1,461 chance of being born on this day (versus 1/365 for any other given day).
This unusual reality belongs to Vatican City, a nation that has existed for 96 years without a single registered birth. Vatican City, the world's smallest country, has not recorded a single birth since its formation on February 11, 1929.
Birthdays in Japan
Celebration of one's birthday is still a relatively new concept in Japan. In fact, birthdays were not celebrated until after the second world war. People used to celebrate everyone's birthdays on New Year's day as it was the beginning of another year for everyone.
Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities, known for their traditional lifestyle, tend not to celebrate birthdays out of a desire to avoid individualism and pride, emphasizing instead humility, community values and the value of collective achievements and milestones over individual milestones or achievements.
Some churches, sects, and communities of the Restoration Movement reject the observance of Christmas for theological reasons; these include Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongites, the True Jesus Church, the Church of God (Seventh-Day), the Iglesia ni Cristo, the Christian Congregation in Brazil, the Christian Congregation ...
The history of birthdays came as pagans thought the evil spirits lurked around with malicious intentions during major days of changes, like the time you grew a year older. There were also ancient Greek philosophies that believed that spirits attended one on their birthdays to keep a watch.
The history of Buddhism goes back to what is now Lumbini, Nepal almost six centuries before Christianity, making it one of the oldest religions still being practiced. The origins of Christianity go back to Roman Judea in the early first century.
Celebrating birthdays, including that of the Prophet, was never part of Islamic practice—it was introduced centuries later and has no basis in the Qur'an or authentic Hadith.
The Buddhist view of birth is spacious. It encompasses vast cycles of death, bardo (the state between death and rebirth), and rebirth. The experience of bardo is a result of the life experiences and actions, or karma, of the being who enters it. It can be quite frightening or seductively pleasant.
Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to celebrate birthdays. Particularly for children, this can cause feelings of embarrassment and loss. The Bible never states birthday celebrations are wrong, and Watchtower reasoning against birthdays is invalid.
He pre-existed before all things, and hence for Him, there was no need to celebrate birthday being the eternal and everlasting God. In addition, there is no reference in the Bible that says Jesus celebrated His birthday.
Being the center of attention makes them feel uneasy.
While some people bask in the attention, others feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed when all eyes are on them. The celebrations, gifts, and public acknowledgement that come with birthdays can create pressure to perform or react in a certain way.
Therefore, it is an objectionable innovation from among the means by which one falls into shirk. This is because some of those who celebrate birthdays invoke the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) or the person being celebrated. They seek their provision from him and support. This is a form of major shirk.
“Follow my Sunnah” “The Prophet ﷺ did not celebrate his birth, nor did he guide towards it. None of his Companions — the best and most beloved people to the Prophet ﷺ — celebrated it, nor did the Tabi'een (the generation after the Companions), nor those who followed them with excellence in the favored centuries.
The prohibition of birthdays is very clear based on the Quran and Sunnah, and the aforementioned analysis. If imitating a religious aspect of another nation, makes us from among them, then it's as if we have renounced Islam as our religion, thus the celebration of birthdays becomes haram.