Why 18th and 21st Birthdays Are Important To Be Celebrated In Australia

“Happy Birthday!” is perhaps one of the most awaited greetings of every person alive. Children are happiest during their birthdays. It could mean an extra lot of work for parents but for the children, birthdays mean a very good, lively and happy time.

For most of the adults, sometimes they tend to overlook the beauty enclosed within these good wishes, amplifying that a year has just been added to their age and it is not much of a pretty good thing to celebrate. Sending a happy birthday greeting has been one of the universal traditions of our time. Gifts are not as precious as a timely and heartfelt greeting for those whose love language is words of appreciation, while your presence during their party is incomparable to any present for those whose love language is quality time.

Birthdays are one of the most special events nowadays wherein you can express your appreciation for the celebrant freely. In the same way, this is the time that the celebrant feels special, loved and remembered. It is one of the most heart-tugging occasions that could amplify happiness.

Even though birthdays are broadly celebrated, there still exist cultural differences between countries on “how” people make merry during this festivity. This is why it is quite important to learn about the culture of other countries so that we’ll be able to be more open-minded and receptive to the different perspectives existing in this world we live in.

Today, allow yourself to get to know Australians through the lenses of the question, “Why 18th and 21st birthdays are important to be celebrated for Australians?”

The 18th birthday celebration is among of the few Australian traditions and practices that have already been tied up to their legal practices. One of those that we can cite is the celebration of the legal age of adulthood in Australia.

This is the age that marks the end of childhood yet the start of being a legal adult, whether you like it or not, who is allowed by the government to do the following:

• vote
• sign contracts
• take a loan in the banks or open a bank account in his/her name
• legally drink alcohol
• sue and be sued
• buy cigarettes
• leave home
• marry
• make a will

Although turning 18 has lots of legal implications, Aussies rarely celebrate or throw a party when they have reached this age. Normal family dinner or a barbecue party at home or by the beach will accomplish the simple festivity.

Regardless of the age, Australians must have at least one of these traditional catering foods when celebrating a birthday: fairy bread, chocolate spiders, chocolate crackles, sherbet cones, and devon rolls. The most cherished among them is the fairy bread. It is a simple type of bread that cuts into cute little shapes spread with butter atop with colorful sugary and sweet in what the Aussies call the “hundreds and thousands” round sprinklers. For cakes, it is adorned with colorful candles to which the number of candles corresponds to the age of the birthday celebrant.

But the celebrants do decide to celebrate his or her 18th birthday, some of them hit the clubs with friends since they can legally have a drink. For some, they choose to party all night long. There are fabulous outdoor and evening venues across the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide that cater to all sorts of partying and it can go all night until the early hours of the morning.

More often than not, for the citizens of Australia, 18th birthday may imply a lot of open doors and the initial passage to adulthood, but it seems that the 21st birthday is more glorious than 18th, because it is the birthday that is more widely celebrated.

History tells us that the 21st birthday originated from medieval times, as part of a boy’s timeline while he is being groomed for knighthood.

But now, the 21st birthday celebration has no gender exclusivity anymore because the celebration of 21st birthday is no longer limited to boys only but it was extended to girls also. Simply because the 21st birthday is considered a milestone birthday by Aussies, foods for the celebration might be modest but they have a specific tradition that is called "Handing over of Key" that makes the event extra special and striking.
Aussies celebrate the 21st birthday more grandiose which includes foods such as:

Barbecue which has been an institutionalized Aussies food that is almost considered a tradition and present food in every leisure time. Sausage, chops, and steaks over a bottle of beer, wine or champagne. Other foods such as party finger food might be optional but this one will always be expected to be served.

Of course the traditional fairy cake or fairy bread will also be present in the celebration. Sausage rolls and hotdogs with delightful tomato sauce can also be found in the menu of most birthday celebration in Australia.

Aside from foods there are also rituals that are being observed during the celebration such as:

Speech after cutting the cake - any birthday wouldn’t be complete without a cake that is to be sliced by the celebrant for the guests. Likewise, family members are expected to give a short message for the celebrant after cutting the cake.

Giving of family home’s key to the birthday celebrant - this signifies that the one who celebrated the 21st birthday can now come and go out of the house as she or he pleases. Also, expect the parents to give their speech before or after handing over the “21st key” to their son or daughter. Just like Australia, a lot of countries around the world are also celebrating the 21st birthday using a key as ceremonial symbolism.

It is important to note that cultural traditions change over time but the true meaning remains.

We can say that both the 18th and 21st birthday are milestones that will remain significant to a person’s life and a dose of celebration will put more endearing memories to the hearts of the celebrants.

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