Sharing a birthday with Jesus

Those born close to Christmas tend to get lost in the shuffle when
celebrating with the majority of
the world.

By AMANDA C. DAVIS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CANFIELD — Ann Oliva remembers well a special birthday when her daughter Tara and one of her daughter’s friends planned an unexpected treat for her in the summer.

Only it wasn’t really her birthday, which explains the unexpected part.

Ann was born in December — Christmas Day to be specific — but the girls decided to do something a few months early because they wanted Ann to have a special day all her own.

Celebrating with cupcakes in July might not be the most exciting way to spend a birthday, but Ann, who turns 60 this year, said it meant something to her.

“That was sweet,” she said. “It was so nice for them to think of me.”

Sharing a birthday with Christianity’s top figure and most noted Capricorn can lead to feelings of being overshadowed by some. Others don’t seem to mind as much.

In any case, Web sites dedicated to the subject of shared Christmas birthdays offer a chance for people to commiserate about its drawbacks or discuss its positive aspects.

Such as combined presents. Some maintain they get cheated out of gifts while others say it’s the perfect time to ask family and friends for larger, more expensive ones.

According to www.christmasbirthday.net, one perk is that the birthday boy or girl never has to go to school on his or her birthday and almost never has to work. The site also points out that things could be worse — at least the birthday doesn’t fall during leap year.

On the flip side, those born on or near Christmas can be forgotten altogether, birthday gifts get wrapped in Christmas paper and many are forced to celebrate with birthday pie instead of cake, the site says.

Ann said family and friends sometimes get her a combined birthday/Christmas card, but explained she is “tickled” when they buy separate cards.

“That makes it more like my birthday than Christmas,” she added.

This year, she plans to spend her birthday with her husband, Richard, and her daughter, who will be home from Columbus.

As a child, Ann said that her mother always had a cake for her on her birthday, and that the year she turned 21, her parents had a champagne party before Christmas at their house for all of her friends.

Sherri Gasparek of Howland will turn 40 this year on Christmas but said her “unofficial other birthday” is Dec. 19, a date she has celebrated for years as her own. It’s actually the birth date of her sister Janet Cross of Niles, but Sherri said the two have always celebrated together.

The nail technician at New Additudes on East Market Street said she doesn’t have big plans for this year, but will spend her actual birthday with husband, Mark, and daughter, Ciara, 12.

Sharing her special day with Christmas, Sherri said she never really felt that family and friends overlooked her.

“I never felt cheated,” she said. “I always thought it was a privilege to share my birthday with God.”

Sherri’s brother-in-law John Deal is married to her youngest sister, Alisa. John, of Berlin Center, was born on Christmas Eve and turns 37 this year.

Though he sometimes celebrates earlier in December, John said his family gets together for his birthday and Christmas on Christmas Eve.

“It’s kind of like a two-for-one deal,” he said. “My mom and dad always went out of their way to make it a special day.”

Getting combined gifts has worked out for John because he said he would ask for something big, like a new stereo system.

But the older he gets, the less important his birthday has become, John said, explaining he will spend this birthday with his wife and kids, Eric, 15; Kaitlyn, 8; and Elizabeth, 5.

For Stephanie Cole of Austintown, who turns 19 on Christmas Eve, birthdays still very much matter. The respiratory therapy major at Youngstown State University said it would be nice to have a birthday at another time of year to be able to see friends who are otherwise busy and spread out the gift-giving.

“Everything comes at once,” she said, explaining she doesn’t prefer to get one big gift from friends and family. Despite this, she said her parents were always good about planning something for her earlier in the month.

“They made sure I had a birthday party every year, even with the craziness of the holidays,” she added.

Bill Krumbein, born Dec. 25, 1943, a retired park ranger from Santa Rosa, Calif., has put together a Web site called “To Be Born on Christmas: Bummer or Blessing.” To view it, go to www.sonic.net/~billk.

He offers tips on how to treat those who were born on Christmas. Most important, he says, family and friends need to set aside quality time to celebrate with that person.

Having separate cards, gift wrap and gifts is also essential, along with a real birthday cake, he adds.

Christine Shepas of Waynesburg, Pa., grew up in Boardman, the daughter of Ron and Jean DiVencenzo. She turns 45 on Christmas and said as a kid, she always celebrated with friends earlier in the month and with her family on her actual birthday.

She married Richard Shepas, former Poland Seminary High School football coach who currently coaches team at Waynesburg University.

She will spend her birthday this year with family but said it was the birthdays when she was younger that mattered more. Though she admits having mixed feelings about her shared birthday, Christine did say she never felt completely shorted.

“I went to Catholic school and it felt special,” she said. “It still does.”