Birthdays.
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
The custom of celebrating birthdays among the Hebrews goes back to remote antiquity (Gen. 40:20). In the book of Job (1:4) we read that his sons celebrated, each, “his day” — that is, his birthday. In Persia, as in Egypt, birthdays were celebrated with particular solemnity and feasting; every Egyptian and Persian attached special importance to the day, even the hour, of his birth. In the New Testament, mention is made of the birthday of Herod, whose celebration was marked by a lawless deed — the beheading of St. John the Baptist, at the instigation of the wicked Herodias (Matt. 14:6).