Birthday tradition

A birthday is the date on which a person was born. It is customary in many cultures to celebrate the anniversary of one's birthday in some way.

The Dutch like to celebrate the fact that a person turns fifty. The person in question is the referred to as Abraham (for men) and Sarah (women).

People do all sorts’ of things to surprise the person in a funny way. Some people choose to decorate and place a life size doll with a big sign on the neck saying "Sarah". Others place a large Abraham or Sarah poster on lamp-posts or even on the roof top of buildings. There are plenty of other funny traditions to surprise a person turning 50 with...

This old tradition is based upon a story in the bible. It is written that Jesus once said that Abraham had "seen" the day on which Jesus would become the Messiah. Sceptics, however, who first misunderstood and thought that Jesus was saying that he had actually met Abraham himself, said sarcastically, "Not yet fifty years of age, but you have already seen Abraham!"

Hence the tradition in the Netherlands: When you reach the age of fifty you see Abraham or Sarah. It was happened to me in 2000 also. My colleagues surprised me with placing of an Abraham doll on my desk.... :))