There is a wide gulf between marking a day and celebrating it. One acknowledges its passing while the other honors it. The biblical record shows no man or woman of God celebrating a birthday. Thus, birthday celebrations do not have a God-ordained origin.
Only two birthdays in the Bible are mentioned—Pharaoh’s birthday (Genesis 40:20) and Herod’s birthday (Matthew 14:6)—and both involved executions. Believe birthdays have pagan origins tied to astrology and idol worship. It’s historically accurate to say that birthday celebrations have pagan origins and are often tied to astrology and idol worship, particularly in the ancient world.
One could even say a birthday celebration goes against God’s instruction in Ecclesiastes 7:1, where Solomon writes, “The day of death [is better] than the day of one’s birth.” God’s perspective on this matter, as in all things, is far higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). He has more joy when we leave this world, having overcome it, than when we enter it (see Isaiah 57:1-2; Philippians 1:21-23). God’s perspective seems to be, “Why celebrate the day all your troubles began? Far better to celebrate the day they ended in victory!”
Ancient Pagan Roots of Birthdays
Ancient Egypt: The earliest known birthday celebrations were for Pharaohs, and they weren’t personal birthdays—they marked the day the Pharaoh was “born as a god”, often tied to deification or royal enthronement. It had strong religious overtones, celebrating their divine status.
Ancient Greece: Greeks believed each person had a spirit or daemon that was present at their birth and watched over them. Birthdays were tied to this spiritual guardian, and offerings were made to gods and goddesses, especially Artemis and Apollo. Birthday cakes with candles originated as offerings to Artemis, goddess of the moon—the candles symbolized moonlight and were believed to carry prayers to the gods.
Ancient Rome: Celebrating birthdays (dies natalis) was common among Romans—for emperors, nobles, and eventually common citizens. The celebrations were often connected to astrological readings, omens, and offerings to household gods (lares). Roman birthday rituals were pagan, often involving sacrifices, incense, and prayers to Roman deities or ancestors.
Connection to Astrology
Birthdays in many ancient cultures were connected to astrological charts, based on the alignment of stars and planets at the time of birth. This was believed to determine personality, fate, and destiny. In pagan and mystery religions (e.g., Babylonian, Greco-Roman), one’s “natal chart” was spiritually significant and guided rituals or offerings.
Early Christianity’s View
Early Christians rejected birthday celebrations. Church fathers like Origen of Alexandria (3rd century) condemned them as pagan and self-centered, noting that only sinners in Scripture (like Pharaoh and Herod) celebrated birthdays. Christians instead celebrated saints’ deaths (their “heavenly birthdays”) rather than earthly birth dates. It wasn’t until the 4th century that Christmas (celebration of Christ’s birth) became formalized—not because of biblical precedent, but as a counter-celebration to pagan festivals like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus.
Let’s see birthday celebrations through religions:
Judaism
In Judaism, the rabbis are divided about celebrating this custom, although it is accepted by the majority of the faithful. In the Torah the only mention that is made of the birthday, refers to the celebration of Pharaoh’s birthday in Egypt, as recorded in Genesis (Parashat Vaieshev) 40:20.
Christianity
Origen in his commentary “On Levites” wrote that Christians should not only refrain from celebrating their birthdays, but should look on them with disgust as a pagan custom. Saint’s days were typically celebrated on the anniversary of their martyrdom or death, considered the preparation for their entrance into Heaven.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s Witnesses abstain from it for a number of reasons including its pagan origins, its rejection by early Christians as originally being a pagan tradition, because no Christians are reported to celebrate their birthdays in the Bible, because the Bible valorizes death over birth, and because some customs, such as making a wish while blowing out candles on a birthday cake, are associated with superstition and magic.
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventists abstain from celebrating birthdays for personal reasons.
Amish Communities
Amish communities do not celebrate birthdays due to their focus on simplicity and community rather than individual recognition.
Conservative Quackers
Quakers saw no scriptural command or example of birthday celebrations among Jesus or his followers. Early Quakers believed that celebrating one’s birth could encourage pride, ego, and self-contentedness which contradicts their values of humility and simplicity. They aimed to avoid anything that glorified the individual over God.
United Church of God (UCG)
Does the Bible tell us whether it is right or wrong to celebrate birthdays? No. Celebrating birthdays is a matter of personal choice.
Westboro Baptist Church (WBC)
WBC explicitly rejects celebrations with any non-biblical origins. Their FAQ states, “The Bible teaches that God hates people,” and they overwhelmingly emphasize sin and divine judgment, not celebration.
Christian Churches of God
No mention of birthday celebrations among Jesus, the apostles, or early Christians. Some argue that Pharaoh’s and Herod’s birthday parties ended in violence, reinforcing a negative association. Early Church Fathers like Origen opposed birthdays as pagan in origin and inconsistent with Christian simplicity. Birthdays are often linked historically to pagan rituals, astrology, and emperor-worship.
Deeper Life Bible Church
Deeper Life teaches that birthdays are not endorsed by Scripture, unlike other Christian observances such as the Lord’s Supper or baptism. They believe birthday celebrations often stem from pagan rituals and elevate the individual—leading to vanity, attention-seeking, and departure from God-centered living.
God’s Kingdom Society (GKS)
GKS teaches that birthdays stem from ancient pagan traditions and are a form of self-exaltation inconsistent with humility before God. The group emphasizes that neither early Christians nor faithful Jews practiced birthday celebrations. GKS rejects not only birthdays, but also Fathers’ Day, Mothers’ Day, Christmas, Halloween, and other man-made celebrations. They consider them traditions of men rooted in paganism that give undue honor to humanity rather than to Jehovah.
Living Church of God (LCG)
Proclaims that while noting one’s age is fine, birthday parties are rooted in paganism and draw attention from spiritual growth.
Philadelphia Church of God (PCG)
Declares celebrations with guests, cake, and gifts are “non‑Christian customs practiced by pagans” and wrong
Islam
The birthday does not reflect Islamic tradition, and because of this, Muslims refrain from celebrating it. Only pseudo-Muslims celebrate it.