The Un-celebration: A Corona Birthday
I am a birthday person. Precisely, someone who gets overtly excited for their birthday with or without the need of an external validation marked by parties, adventure or gifts. I look forward to my birthdays and can feel butterflies in my stomach on my birthday. I love celebrating, and birthdays give me a pretext. I have had fantastic birthdays with my family and friends around, and when I couldn’t do so because of being stuck in a business trip, I have always had the most awesome solo birthdays.
Talk to me about being a birthday person. For my 25th, I did a birthday month!
Birthdays are celebrated in so many different ways in different parts of the world. In British Commonwealth nations, cards from the Royal Family are sent to those celebrating their 100th and 105th birthday, and thereafter. In Japan 20th birthday is huge and in the US 16th birthday is a big celebration. While in many communities in India, the 13th-14th birthday is a thread ceremony. Different birthdays mean different things for different people in different communities in the world.
How individualistic the society is becoming, I am sure the millennials will further extend it to individualistic patterns.
The Corona birthday
While corona is spreading like fire, it hasn’t been able to suppress the human desire of celebration. I will often mock at people dining in restaurants or soaking in the sun in a packed beach. That said, a big part of me appreciates this human bravery to face this invisible enemy.
For birthday people like me, one of their big days when they think the world stops for a celebration. Though I know it doesn’t; luckily, I am surrounded by people who make me feel this way ;)This year the world has come to a hold because of Covid-19, so, if you are one of those like me who have created a pattern of marking your age milestones, this one will feel quite off.
This year it’s supposed to be 6 feet apart, touchlessness and an absolute negative on congregations. Saying yes to social distances and no to hugs!
..and the un-celebration
I will not be dining in nor will I be throwing a birthday party. I will not see the faces of my loved ones nor will I to enjoy a piece of cake with them. For someone who also loves to dress for their birthday; 2020 birthday is not the one I looked for. But this year as a global citizen, I will be un-celebrating.
If you are someone who is not in the un-celebration mood. Maybe you are not doing your part in these unpredictable times against the invisible enemy.
While un-celebrating will be a civic duty this year. My spirits will be high with the highest desire to celebrate this birthday as any other day. But I will stick with my spirits —a few butterflies in my stomach claiming my birthday as ‘my day’ in my own ways. I am sure my loved ones will reach out to me somehow with that birthday jingle, to which I will respond with my not quite so harmonious thank you jingle ;).
This year, just un-celebrate!
Are gifts expected in un-celebration? With the privileges I have, I don’t expect anything from anyone. Merely because I think I can buy whatever I want. And for stuff, I can’t — why bother someone else!
