Happy Pat Day!

For as long as I can remember, a birthday is not complete in our family unless you take a trip through the Infamous Birthday Machine.

In the month of November, our family celebrates my daughter and my nephews birthday- we have a joint family celebration over the Thanksgiving holiday.

No matter how big or small the party is, we never forget the tradition of “birthday pats” where the birthday girl or boy receives the same number of pats as his/her age (plus “one to grow on”) during the celebration.

Good luck birthday pats are shared while the birthday person hurries through the sea of legs to get to the end.  Symbolically “racing ” to the new year!

They get a tiny “pinch” to grow an “inch”at the Caboose.  This isn’t just for kids, adults join is as well…it becomes quite comical. One year Grandma got stuck between Uncle Brians legs.

This simple tradition is always a favorite and puts a smile on everyones face. Kick off your new year with some good luck pats…it can start up as a family favorite for years to come!

Throughout the world, there are some rituals or traditions which involve birthday pats that I thought were interesting to share.

For example, on the first day of the lunar Chinese new year holidays, a week-long ‘Spring Festival’, the most important festival for Chinese people all over the world, thousands of Chinese visit the Taoist Dong Lung Gong temple in Tungkang to go through the century-old ritual to get rid of bad luck, men and women receive pats by the temple staff being decided in either case by the god Wang Ye and by burning incense and tossing two pieces of wood, after which all go home happily, believing their luck will improve.

In Slovenia, there is a jocular tradition that anyone who succeeds in climbing to the top of Mount Triglav, receives a pat at the top.

And in the good ole USA, we have movies that go back decades where a good pat on the behind made a good flick!