And do you think it’s relative to how popular you were?
Looking back (I’m talking about middle school/junior high/early high school), I remember being bummed when my birthday fell on a weekend, because I wasn’t very popular to begin with, and not going to school that day meant I couldn’t squeeze it into a sentence and garner a little bit of attention.
But my wife, who was Miss Popularity, says she loved it because she could stay up late, invite friends over, do something really special, etc.
To long ago to really remember, but I can’t imagine wanting to have it on a schoolday. That would just mean having to wait until three before my birthday really started.
If my birthday had meant anything, it should have made me the most popular person in school: every year the school gave us multiple days off both before AND after my birthday, usually the whole thing was something like 10-14 days off. None of the other kids ever noticed, AFAICT.
My birthday is near the end of August which, perversely, was always on the day I had to register for classes. To me, it made the process seem even more of a chore just because of that.
I’m surprised at your wife’s answer. Why wouldn’t she still get to do that on the weekend of her party? It’s not like you have to have the “party” on your actual birthday. Mine was always on a weekend.
I don’t remember if I cared or not, but my daughter’s birthday is next Saturday, and she’s annoyed that it’s on a weekend. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, but she has enough that somebody would mention it, maybe shout it out to a teacher before class starts, etc. It’s fun to be celebrated a little bit for one day a year!
I was only bummed because my mom always let me stay home from school on my birthday and so if it was on the weekend I wouldn’t get that free day. My mom really spoiled me. She would let me stay home and sleep late then we’d go out for a late lunch and do “a little shopping” at Goldsmiths, where she worked. I think it was mostly to show me off to her work friends. She would wake me up with a gift and give them to me throughout the day, ending with one last token before bed. It was never big ticket items, just little things she would buy and save for me through the year. She made everything so special for me. The problem comes when you grow up and mama isn’t around anymore. Birthdays SUCK now.
Both my daughters were born during no school times. My 28 year old is a summer child and my 13 year old was born one minute past midnight on December 26th. They are not nearly as spoiled as I was.
Me, my brother *and *my father all had their birthdays within a few days at the start of December (they were on the 5th, I’m on the 9th). As a result we never made a big deal of them, between being close to Christmas and so close together. Time, resources and energy were in too short a supply.
My mother’s birthday was in February however, and as a result she got a real birthday celebration.
I never got a day off for my birthday; it just wasn’t a thing. When I was young enough to have a party, it happened on the nearest weekend. And the party was always for my brother as well (birthday the day before mine).