Until humans mastered the lunar cycles and the mysteries of the calendar, birthdays came and went with very little notice. Once people did start paying attention, the tradition began of gathering around a person on their birthday in order to protect him or her from the evil spirits that apparently waited all year for the opportunity to pounce. Giving gifts became part of the tradition as a way to show those nasty spirits that this person has the love and protection of many, and therefore the spirits might as well move along.
Once we’re grown, many of us dismiss birthdays as childish rituals, or as reminders that we’re getting older. But more and more, people are returning to the idea of using their birthdays to ward off the modern day equivalent of evil spirits. Spirits such as malaria, hunger, unsafe drinking water, and poverty.
Recently Sloane Berrent and Doug Campbell raised nearly $20,000 in one week by throwing birthday parties for themselves across the country. CauseItsMyBirthday.com will soon provide over 5,500 malaria nets to people in Ghana, all because Doug and Sloane decided to share the love of their friends and family with strangers.
Celebs are getting into the act, too. In December, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Alyssa Milano joined forces with charity: water and set up a birthday fund drive that raised $92,000 for clean water projects.
And today, in honor of her 53rd birthday, Beth Kanter has created a donation site using the Causes application on Facebook. She’s hoping the good and kind people in her life will share a little with Cambodian orphans being cared for by the Sharing Foundation. They look after over 1,500 children every day. Just $10 will provide a uniform for a child so he or she can go to school. Beth is asking her friends to scrap the scented candles and lumpy sweaters and instead make a difference in a child’s life.
There are still an awful lot of evil spirits in the world that need to be vanquished. (Take a look at Beth’s post on the American Cancer Society’s campaign for “more birthdays“. It’s a trend, people!) 2010 could be the year we scare a few of them back to where they came from. This year, why not make a little noise on your birthday on behalf of a good cause? And many happy returns of the day!
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Tags: Alyssa Milano, American Cancer Society, Beth Kanter, birthday, Cause It's My Birthday, charity: water, Doug Campbell, Sharing Foundation, Sloane Berrent
