@bob59694,
I found privacy settings for my birthday.
1. From your home page
2. Click Edit Profile.
3. Find "Basic Information"
4. Click Edit
5. See the little privacy icons to the right of your birthday
6. Click on the icon. You can set this to "private".
I think this will turn off the birthday notifications to your friends. I am privacy conscious, but I don't remember turning this off. I don't think most people are aware of their privacy settings.
You also can easily turn off getting these notifications
1. Facebook app.
2. Button with three bars at top left.
3. Account.
4. Account Settings.
5. Notifications.
6. Mobile Push.
7. Uncheck Birthday Reminder.