She turns 7 today.
In our tradition (Philippine tradition), 7 years should be celebrated with the whole family, relative, friends and the entire neighborhood if possible. Meaning it should be extravagant.
The ages 1st, the 7th and the 18th for women or the 21st for men are mostly meticulously prepared and celebrated. With a lot of visitors, food, dancing and a variety of program.
Why do we do this? Well, we all know that the 1st birthday is an important one because it is simply a thanksgiving for the gift of life that has bestowed upon each and every child. The 18th for women or the 21st for men is to celebrate the transition from adolescence into adulthood.
So why the 7th? In the Philippines, we say that this is the age wherein the child is more accountable for their action. An age where they can differentiate the right from the wrong and an age where they are increasingly becoming independent.
And in my opinion, it is the age that we offer thanksgiving because the child already passed through the age of most health related problem and issues. Meaning we celebrate it because we are grateful that our child out healthy after 6 years of living.
But in our family, we don't usually celebrate our kid's birthday extravagantly. It is a personal choice of my husband and I. But it doesn't mean that we won't celebrate it at all. It is just that, it will be just the 5 "us," who'll be celebrating it. And we will be celebrating it in our own little way.
(My parents are living in United States together with my sister and family. And we barely have relatives here in this country.)
In every birthday of any of our children, we make it in to a point that they will feel special about it even it is just us celebrating. I make it into a point that I'll be doing their cakes to the theme or flavors that they like. Happy to say that we are both lucky, my husband and I, for our kids are very simple and not hard to please. They don't ask for the sun, the moon and the stars. Not for Christmas, not for any other occasion and not even for their birthday. They are happy with what we can offer them.
She wanted to celebrate it at Disneyland and so we went.
(Since I'm working at Disney, we are lucky enough to go there 15 times a year for free. One of the benefits of working at the Walt Disney Company)
I won't put all the details of the things we've done and of things we didn't, but rest assured that through out all the day, she was smiling and enjoying it.
My daughter had an exceptionally simple 7th birthday celebration yet I know it was meaningful for her because we are there to celebrate it with her. I guess, she didn't mind if we didn't have an extravagant party for I can see it in her eyes and in her beaming smile.
We started the day with her blowing her 7 candles on little cupcake monsters and we end the day with the 5 of us having dinner at home with home cooked meals prepared by her father and her blowing candles on her big birthday cake monster.
(She calls it "the mama monster cake.")
Who would have thought that even in simple celebrations like this, she would find the same happiness as any other celebration?
