Happy Birthday, Facebook Friend! Let’s Celebrate Facebook Birthdays

Bring on the emojis, one of your Facebook friends is having a birthday! Facebook birthday wishes are one of the best things about Facebook.

As we get older, there’s not always excitement on our birthdays. Something great about Facebook is that people can send you birthday wishes by posting to your wall. It’s an easy way to reach out and make people feel special on their birthday.

Facebook birthday notifications serve as convenient reminders. With Facebook, you have a virtual birthday calendar you can check whenever you want to.

Each day, Facebook sends you a birthday notification if any of your friends have a birthday that day. You can also click to see upcoming birthdays and past birthdays. In addition, you can view the entire year and see all of your Facebook friends’ birthdays.

Without Facebook birthday notifications, we wouldn’t know when it was most of our friends’ birthdays.

And everyone loves receiving Facebook birthday wishes. It helps make our Big Day even better. We get to hear from Facebook friends near and far. Happy Birthdays on Facebook are one of the best things about Facebook.

Facebook birthday wishes

You would think that if you have at least 365 friends, you might have a Facebook birthday Notification every single day. (The stats we found left out February 29th.)

Of course, it never works out that way because many people share birthdays. In order for you to have a Facebook birthday notification everyday, the odds are you need at least 2,200 friends. Two math pros said you would need 2,287 friends.

There are more stats involved involved than assuming you have a one in 365 chance of having a birthday on any particular day. You also have to calculate each person’s chance on having a birthday on a day that no one else does. So it’s rather complex.

The studies range from 2,200 – 2,400 depending on the mathematician. This means, unless you are connected with this many people on Facebook, it’s likely you won’t have a Facebook birthday notification everyday.

Facebook birthdays
Celebrating Facebook birthdays (Photo credit: Wiebke)

Facebook birthday notifications

Who doesn’t love a Facebook Happy Birthday each year from scores of friends?

Prior to Facebook, we went through our adult lives celebrating privately, going about our day thinking but never really being able to say:

Hey! It’s my birthday here. I want some attention!

Facebook’s low-key birthday Notifications are fantastic. I barely write down people’s birthday’s anymore. I’ve freed up mental space not holding onto them.

Sure, lifelong friends’ birthdays will be forever embedded in my brain but I never have to worry about the day slipping past me and missing the chance to text, call, or post to their Wall.

Each day, Facebook tells us if anyone in our Facebook friend circle has a birthday (if they included it in their profile). This is an incredible feature. There’s even a helpful Facebook feature that enables you to see friends’ upcoming birthdays and which birthdays you missed.

They’ve made it so easy for us to find friends birthdays on Facebook.

And when it’s your own birthday, it’s wonderful to get Facebook recognition and well-wishes.

Without Facebook, if we are well-connected, we might have 3 – 15 friends and family reaching out via cards, texts, emails and phone calls. Now, due to Facebook, we have dozens, and it’s awesome.

How to change birthday on Facebook

It’s important to know how to change birthday on Facebook to know what options you have especially regarding who sees your birthday. To change birthday on Facebook:

  1. Log in Facebook and go to your Home screen.
  2. On the top left, click your name.
  3. Click on About.
  4. Click Contact & Basic Info.
  5. Under Basic Info, you will see your birth month and date. Below that you will see your birth year.
  6. To change the birth date, look to the right for the edit button (looks like a pen). Click it to change your birth date. Here is also where you can change who sees your birthday. The audience selector choices are:
    • Public: Anyone on or off Facebook.
    • Friends: Your friends on Facebook.
    • Only me: When you create a Facebook account, you have to enter a birthday. However, you don’t have to let anyone see it.
    • Close Friends: Your custom list. You can type out your Facebook friends you want to see your birthday.
  7. To change the birth year, click on the year. From there you can change it. You can set it so Public, Friends, Only Me, or Close Friends see your birth date.
  8. Click Save to save your changes.

If you have the new Facebook look, you can click on your profile picture on the top right.

If you want Facebook Happy Birthdays, be sure to set the audience to Friends. Your friends won’t get a notification about your birthday if you don’t share the day and month with them.

How to hide birthday on Facebook

In order to know how to hide your birthday on Facebook, you need to know about the audience selector. Regarding birthdays, Facebook gives you the choice to share your birth month and date without sharing the year.

  1. Click on your profile picture. From there click About.
  2. Under About, click on Contact & Basic Info.
  3. Under Basic Info, you will see your birthday. Look to the right of your birth month and birth date.
  4. To the left of the edit button is who can see your birthday. Click it. You will see this:
    • Public: Everyone can see your birthday
    • Friends: Your Facebook friends
    • Only me: Click this option to hide your birthday on Facebook.
    • Close Friends: Your custom list. You can add the people you want to see it.
  5. To hide birthday on Facebook, click Only Me.
  6. Then press Save.
  7. You can hide your Facebook birth year by doing the same thing. Click on Only me.

How to find upcoming birthdays on Facebook

The easiest way to find upcoming birthdays on Facebook is to click on a birthday notification your received. From there, you will see upcoming birthdays.

Facebook birthday

As we get older, Happy Birthdays on Facebook are sometimes one of the only good things.

Think about it…. We go to work; we have a million responsibilities at home. Heck, we probably even bought our own birthday present.

Now with Facebook, we can spend moments in our special day checking our Wall to see all the greetings. It’s much more fun than work, responsibilities, and going about our day with zero attention.

Also, it’s a fantastic chance for people to take the time to actively reach out to you, not in the casual way we do whenever we scroll past people’s Posts, casually pressing Like or making a Comment.

On a regular day, I wouldn’t take the time to reach out to a former boss or co-worker with whom I’ve lost contact. Not only wouldn’t I take the time to do so, I wouldn’t have a reason to. But with Facebook, I’m prompted to reach out. It takes just seconds to send birthday wishes and greetings.

Being given permission to make a well-wishing Happy Birthday post to someone without it seeming weird is great. It also gives us a chance to reflect on them and our friendship. That all takes maybe 20 seconds to Post and think nice thoughts.

It takes practically zero effort, and we can get on with our day.

Facebook birthdays in common

It’s also been fun to see others I didn’t know I share a birthday with.

Did you ever notice a day where there are more than two or three Facebook friends’ birthdays the same day? For me, that day is March 5th. I have five Facebook friends who share that birthday, plus I know two other people not on Facebook with that day.

I like to think of people who share birthdays to decide if they have any of the same traits in common. This is especially amusing because they are usually different ages and from my different worlds.

FAQ’s about Facebook birthdays

How do I see daily birthdays on Facebook?

In order to see daily birthdays on Facebook, you will receive Facebook birthday notifications. This means if someone among your Facebook friends list has a birthday, you will be notified on that day.

Click on the Notifications icon and look for the words: It’s _____’s birthday today! Wish them the best!

When you click on the birthday notification, you will see more information. It will include anyone with birthdays on that day. If the person included their birth year in their profile data, in the upper right corner, it will say how old the person is.

Underneath that is a section with Recent Birthdays. You will see each person’s name listed. If you already posted to that person’s wall, it will say: You wrote on ______’s timeline. This lets you know you already acknowledged it.

Underneath the Recent Birthdays is a section with Upcoming Birthdays. You will see birthdays happening in the next few days or weeks, depending on how many friends with birthdays you have that are coming up.

Do you have to put your birthday on Facebook?

You have to put your birthday on Facebook to set up a Facebook account. However, you don’t have to make it visible. You can set it so only you see the birthday. Or you can set it so the month and date are visible but not the birth year.

Some people have it set so the birth month, date, and year display. When it’s set like this, Facebook will also list how old the person is or is turning.

You decide if you want your birthday on Facebook. They make it very easy if you want to have your birthday visible. When it’s visible to your Facebook friends, they will be notified on your birthday.

You can choose to hide your birthday on Facebook if you choose. Facebook makes it easy to hide your birthday by using the audience selector. You can change it so only you see it or so only certain friends see it. Or maybe you want all your Facebook friends to see it. You can leave the month and date and omit the year. This way, you still get the positive attention but avoid all of your Facebook friends knowing your exact age. This can also help with privacy.

How many happy birthdays are written on Facebook daily?

How interesting! According to Techcrunch, there are 45 million people sending Facebook birthday wishes each day. This is approximately one in 30 Facebook users.

Is it safe to put your birthday on Facebook?

Many experts recommend not putting identifying information about yourself on Facebook and on the internet. However, when it comes to Facebook birthday data, it’s easy to feel that everyone else is doing it, so why not.

People include their birthday on Facebook to get Facebook birthday wishes. It seems this is more appealing than the potential risk for having your data online. You can set your Privacy Settings so that it’s not public information. You can set it so only your Facebook friends see the information. Again, this can be considered a false sense of security.

It’s up to you with what you put on Facebook and on the internet. Many people prefer to not include the date for some sense of privacy. There are other Facebook users who do not release their birthday information for anyone. This means that no one will get a Facebook notification it’s this person’s birthday.

How often can you change your Facebook birthday?

Facebook wants to keep everyone as honest and legit as possible. It becomes suspect when someone continues to change their Facebook birthday.

When you sign up for an account, you enter your birthday or whatever date you choose. Facebook is making changes from Classic Facebook and New Facebook. In the Facebook Help section, they say, “You may have to wait until you can change it again.”

This means, it may work for you to change it again so after you change it, but it may not.

Where do you find birthdays on Facebook?

To find the calendar of your Facebook friends’ birthdays, there are several ways to do it. If you get a Birthday Notification, click on it. You will see past birthdays as well as upcoming birthdays.

If you don’t have a current Facebook birthday notification, you can click on Events. From your home page, it’s usually to the left.

Click on Events, you will see:

  • Calendar
  • Birthdays
  • Discover Events
  • Click on Birthdays. You will see the Facebook Birthdays.

How to say thank you for birthday wishes on Facebook

If you want to say thank you for birthday wishes on Facebook, there are two options. You can respond to each post separately and/or you can write one post thanking everyone.

To thank Facebook friends separately, go to your wall and choose someone’s post that wished you a Happy Birthday. You can click Like to acknowledge you saw it.

If you want to take it a step further, you can write a comment on it, and say Thank you! You may also choose to write something additional. Some examples are:

  • Thanks! Hope you are well!
  • Thank you! It’s great to hear from you.
  • Thanks! I appreciate it!
  • It’s been a great day. Good to hear from you!

If you want to respond to birthday wishes on Facebook, take a few seconds by clicking Like and writing a comment. It’s nice to say thanks for birthday wishes on Facebook but everyone understands people are busy. There is no rush. You can do it on your birthday or the next day, or even days later.

Another option to say thank you for birthday wishes on Facebook is to create a new post. You can say something like:

  • Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday greetings. I sure appreciate it! I’ve had a great day!
  • I appreciate everyone remembering me on my birthday. Thank you!

Whatever you write, know that you will get additional Facebook friends commenting on this post saying Happy Birthday to you. If you don’t want that, then it’s best to reply individually to those people who did reach out.

It’s nice to say thanks for the birthday wishes on Facebook but it’s not something everyone does. Nor do most people expect it. The choice is up to you.

Birthday wishes for Facebook

Facebook birthdays are another reason it’s hard to break the Facebook habit and why we are so easily drawn to Facebook. With birthday notifications, Facebook offers a simple way to remember and reach out to our friends and family so easily.

Isn’t it fun to have a Facebook birthday? Celebrating birthdays on Facebook is yet another reason  why we love Facebook so much.

What do you love about celebrating your Facebook birthday? Do you have a day when you have so many more Facebook friends with birthdays than any other days? Please leave your thoughts in the Comments.

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