My Birthday is my Deathday

"The best birthdays of all are those that haven’t arrived yet."
---- Robert Orben ----

Yesterday was the 17th of Feb, my birthday. Indeed, I'm getting old. I can't believe the candles worth more than the cake. Then again, no wise man ever wished to be younger.

Sometimes I wonder why do people celebrate birthdays? What purpose does it serve? Other than the presents and the 'make a wish' moment, birthday is in fact a depressing event. Allow me to explain why:
Birthday is a celebration of life. And why do we celebrate life? This is simply because there is death. Life is never permanent, but death is. Therefore, birthday is a celebration of death.

As humans, it is our nature to compare. As I look at my most recent birthday cake, I can't help it but to compare it with the previous birthday cake I had. Its the same everytime, I get one additional candle every year, which also means that I am that much closer to death. Perhaps birthdays are a polite way of saying: 'Enjoy your year. This might be your last'

Which comes to my next point. Presents - material things that expire faster than your life. Presents are a good way of saying: 'Awww..Don't feel so bad. Here, I have a present for you, a brand new Ipod. Look on the bright side, you get to live longer than this Ipod.'

Other than the presents, there is this other thing to look forward to. The 'Make a wish' moment, a ritual where the birthday kid gets to make a wish just before they blow out the candles. Legend has it that if you blow out all the candles in one breath, your wish will come true someday in the future. Assuming the legend is true, there is no way you can get your wish as you grow older. When you are at my age, its near impossible to blow out all 20+ candles with one breath. Bad news is, it gets harder next year. If you can't blow out all the candles this year, you can safely assume it'll be the same for the rest of your life. In short, no birthday wish will come true after a certain age.

Another point about the 'Make a Wish' moment. You may perceive this as a good thing, but not me. This reminds me of the 'Make a Wish' foundation, a foundation for children with life-threatening medical condition. [Birthday kid = kid with life-threatening medical condition. How depressing]

All in all, It was a depressing day for me. Good news is, you can help alleviate this depressing moment of mine with gifts and presents. Its always good to receive things that expire faster than me (especially things that are expensive).

In conclusion, Birthdays are yearly death reminders.
Have I changed the way you perceive birthdays?

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A shoutout to the following Bloggers who wished me on my birthday. Thanks!
1) Kellaw - He wrote a birthday post for me. Check it out.
2) Curryegg
3) SimonSeow
4) Gina Yap
5) Cathy Chew
6) Pinksterz
7) Venessa Seraphina Abigail
8) Lin MeiYi
9) Evelyn Ng
10) Melissa Wong
11) David Cheong
12) Ruth Tan
13) Alison Cheong
14) Nathalia Luter
15) Kee Man
16) LayPoh
17) Caffery
18) FoonLing
19) Lisa
20) Janaki Gopikrishna
21) kruel74
22) Ahmike
23) Irvine