Do traditional Tibetans celebrate birthdays? | Tibetan Birth Ceremonies

Today, regardless of age, Tibetan people also eat cakes and blow candles to celebrate their birthday. However, traditionally Tibetan people do not emphasize birthdays as much, as Tibetan culture seems to focus more on observing and contemplating death. But this does not mean that there is a lack of birth ceremonies in Tibetan culture - in the past, a fortunate Tibetan person would experience four important ceremonies in their lifetime: the birth ceremony, the hair cutting ceremony, the wedding ceremony, and the eightieth birthday celebration. Obviously, three of them are related to "birth".

The Old Man of Tibet.        Image source: Pinterest

Secondly, due to the development of traditional astrology, Tibetan people value the correspondence between zodiac signs and constellations more than just birth dates, and they relate this to daily activities. For example, people believe that things will go more smoothly on their soul day (བླ་གཟའ) and longevity day (སྲོག་གཟའ), while they try to do more good deeds on inauspicious days (གཤེད་གཟའ) to avoid bad luck. These three days vary according to each person's zodiac sign, for example, for those born in the year of the rat, their soul day is Wednesday, their longevity day is Tuesday, and their inauspicious day is Saturday.

The cyclic diagram of form and elements in the "Abhidharmakosha" depicts a clear and empty sky at the bottom, with the initial appearance of the wind wheel. Above it is a solid golden cloud, forming the water wheel. The movement of the wind on the water wheel creates a golden foundation. In the center of the foundation is Mount Sumeru, surrounded by seven layers of golden mountains, a great ocean of milk, the four continents, and smaller islands. From a Buddhist perspective, the world of Samsara will ultimately be destroyed by earth, water, fire, and wind.

Birth

If we must say how traditional Tibetan people celebrate birthdays, a simple record from the historical document "Bal Shyak" about the birth of Prince Chagsam Deutsen may serve as a representative case. The book records: "After the prince was born, the king was very happy and immediately ordered the construction of 108 stupas overnight. He said, 'With the remaining mud, build another stupa in our likeness,' and thus another stupa decorated with nets, bells, and more was built." Although contemporary scholars have doubts about the time of composition and some content of this document, it does not hinder us from glimpsing into the way people celebrate birthdays from the perspective of Buddhist culture. Even in modern times, traditional Tibetan people still choose to celebrate various holidays through activities such as releasing animals, sponsoring, and consecrating stupas.