Birthday ritual

A Birthday Prayer Ritual

A time for celebration of the day you were born! A time to remember and give thanks!

This ritual has been designed for Prep or an Early Years class and teachers would need to do some preparation with the children to ensure the children are able to be truly “present” to the ritual and participate fully. This will ensure the ritual has meaning and relevance for the children and enable them to make the necessary connections.

What the children will need to know before the ritual

• The word birthday means that we actually celebrate the day of our birth.
• Talk to the children about the symbols of birthdays and the rituals associated with them e.g. the marking off of days when one is waiting for ones’ birthday, the giving of presents and cards, the candles on the birthday cake, the gathering of family or friends to have a party, the blowing out of candles and the singing of Happy Birthday, games we play at birthdays etc
• Explore with them what happens before a birthday, during or on the day of your birth and after the birthday. Discuss in particular invitations, being a host and being a guest, and thank you notes.
• Read literature associated with the celebrating of birthdays.
• Talk about what happened on the day of your birth. Where were you born? Who was there? Who was waiting at home? Who came to visit? Do you have any photos of you on the day you were born? What stories do your mum and dad tell about this special day? How were they feeling? Do you remember this day? You may want to involve the parents in this with a questionnaire given out prior to the child’s birthday or for all people who have a birthday in each month.
• Invite children to bring a photo of themselves taken as close as possible to the day of their birth.

We Gather

• Lead the students in talking about what has been placed in the Sacred Space.
• Revisit why we are gathering and what we are celebrating.
• Gently revisit expectations about appropriate behaviours.

Gather children around the sacred space and bring them to silence and stillness….. Use reflective music, a well-known song e.g Gather Together John Burland, https://johnburland.net/lyrics-and-powerpoints/

Close your eyes and become aware of the gentle sound of your breathing.

Listen to your heart

Make sure that your feet are still; your knees are still, your arms are still, your hands are still, your neck is still; your ears are still etc.

With your eyes closed, think about a time when you have been happy or filled with JOY e.g. your birthday!

Today we are gathered to celebrate the birthday of our friend Name …

Let us watch as our class candle is lit....

Let us watch the flame and see it grow and move gently.....

(Invite a parent or adult to light the class candle.)

Make the Sign of the Cross

The Lord be with you

All: And with your Spirit

We Listen

Let us listen to a story about N….”s birthday.

Invite the birthday person to share about his/her birthday

Teacher or parent may be able to help him/her retell some of the story of the day of his/her birth by using a photo or the information from the questionnaire.

Invite child to talk about how his/her family will remember and celebrate this special day e.g. choose what will be the evening meal, choose their birthday cake, create a wish list, search for the hidden presents. etc

We all know that N…… is celebrating a special day today. We also know that God loves N…. very much. In the bible we read that God says that you are each called by name, God loves you and God is with you, by your side as you go through life. (Isaiah 43: 1-4 CEV)

We Respond

Let us pray this blessing for N… on his/her birthday.

Light the birthday candle from the class candle

Loving God, we know that you love each of us very much.

We ask you to bless N…. on his/her birthday.

May he/she be blessed with peace and joy.

Amen

Children could be asked to extend their hands as a gesture of blessing as this prayer is repeated by the students.

We Go Forth

Let us sing Happy Birthday to N…..

Together let us make the sign of the cross as we ask God to especially bless Name on their birthday today. We make our prayers in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. + Amen

This may be followed by the blowing out of the child’s candle and the sharing of a birthday cake etc...