“When I have climbed into my bed,
And dreams begin swirling in my head,
And mother/father switches off the light,
I’ll still be (4) years old tonight.
But from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the darkness turns to gold,
Tomorrow I’ll be (5) years old!
(5) kisses when I awake,
(5) kisses on my cake.”
– Ann Druitt, author of The Birthday Book
“Rituals and traditions allow children to experience the rhythm of the year and celebrating a birthday honours the child’s place in the family and the world at large.” – Balwin
Birthdays are a wonderful cause for celebration, and this is especially true in a Steiner Early Childhood setting. Throughout the months of July and August, we have had the honour of celebrating many birthdays in our Early Childhood classes, and thus have experienced the excitement and joy that accompanies each and every one of these celebrations.
On the child’s special day, the teacher prepares a birthday table draped in rainbow cloth and enhanced with a ‘flower cake’ containing candles for the number of years the child has journeyed around the sun. When the time arrives for the birthday celebration to begin, the birthday child is adorned in a silk cape and birthday crown, then seated next to the teacher and the birthday table, while the class gather around in a circle of chairs, ready to listen to the birthday story. A candle is lit to set the mood, and a birthday song is sung:
“In heaven shines a golden star, an angel led me from afar,
From heaven high unto the earth, and brought me to my house of birth,
Welcome, welcome lovely day, with sunshine bright and flowers gay,
With painted birds that sing their song, and make me kind and good and strong.”
The mood is reverent; the children are still, waiting in anticipation for the birthday story to begin. While the story may vary from teacher to teacher, is it often about a child looking longingly down to earth from the heavens above and choosing to cross the ‘rainbow bridge’ to join his or her parents on earth. The story is unique to each child as the teacher will speak of some memories of the child from the years leading up to their current one, gleaned from their parents. Following this, the ‘flower cake’ candles are then lit and ‘Happy Birthday’ is sung by the class:
“Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, sun and moon and stars rejoice upon your birthday, upon your birthday.
As we join hands in a ring and sing,
Happy birthday, Happy Birthday, sun and moon and stars rejoice upon your birthday, upon your birthday.”
The birthday child then receives good wishes from their teachers and the children, snuffs out the candles and is seated next to the teacher at the lunch table. As it is their special day, they have the privilege of being the server of the day’s lunch to their classmates. After lunch, a cake arrives at the table, adorned in flowers and served first to the child, then to the rest of the class.
At the end of the day, the child takes home their birthday candles, a paper crown made by their teacher and a piece of their cake as a lovely memento of their celebration, holding in their heart memories of the day to share with their family.
