Funny Habits, Or The New Trend?

This week I got an invitation for a birthday party in Germany. Being invited to celebrate a birthday with friends is always an honor and was really happy to get the invitation card, even if most likely I'm not going to attend, but this is besides the point right now. What surprised me was what was written on the card. Along with the information about the venue, how to get there from the airport, along with phone numbers, there was a special request as well. The inviter said instead of a birthday gift, they prefer a donation to their favorite charity and then listed the bank details you need in case of fund transfers.  Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ahmetyuksek?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ahmet Yüksek ✪</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/winding-road-with-cars-through-a-lush-green-forest-5XEuMa05B64?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a> Before you jump to conclusions, I have nothing against donating and helping those in need, I'm doing it constantly one way or another, but this request is odd in so many ways. A birthday is a special occasion in everyone's life and should be celebrated in a memorable way, with family, friends and loved ones each year. This includes gifts that are specially bought of handmade for this occasion, that the birthday person can enjoy at the event or later, depending on the gift. We have a saying in Hungarian, "ajándék lónak ne nézd a fogát", which translates in English as follows: "don't look a gift horse in the mouth". >This classic idiom means that when you receive a gift, you should accept it gratefully and not complain, criticize, or try to find flaws in it. (In the old days, a horse's age and health could be determined by examining its teeth, so inspecting a gift horse's mouth was considered rude and ungrateful.)  Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@fionamurrayphoto?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Fiona Murray-deGraaff</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-collection-of-vintage-postcards-with-handwritten-messages-and-stamps-dZZxUjWUx_o?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a> I think English speakers say "beggars can't be choosers". Regardless of how you say it, it's not really about the cost or value of the gift. Intention should count more, sometimes a home baked cake brings more joy than a pricy gift and there are gifts that don't have a price, just value. With this donation method the whole joy of gifting and with it, surprising the birthday person goes out of the window, unless you place a lot of zeros on that donation, to knock them off their feet.  Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@martin_masson?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Martin Masson</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-narrow-cobblestone-path-leads-to-an-old-stone-tower-sSa7bHrwepo?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a> For me, it kind of feels like a mandatory thing and ruins the whole thing. Everyone's donation can be and will be tracked as you get the bank statement and depending on the case, you can be judged according to the size of the donation. This is not what we do here, even if you want to collect donations for a good cause, you don't connect your birthday to it and let people gift you (or not) what they want. The world is […]