7 Birthday Facts You Should Know

In this article I have listed 7 facts about birthdays:

Fact 1: The History of Cards

Birthday Cakes

No one knows who it was that mailed the first birthday card but we are aware that the first greeting card was sent in China before they were sent anywhere else. In England, the royal family used hand made cards to send wishes on holidays and special occasions as early as a few hundred years ago.

Fact 2: The History of Cakes

The first birthday cakes were created in Greece. The Greeks celebrated at the Temple of Artemis with a cake shaped like a moon every year. Back in the Middle Ages, people in Germany made treats shaped like Jesus in celebration of his birth. That is where the idea of food to celebrate a birthday came from and how we ended up with birthday cakes today.

Fact 3: Candles on a Cake

The first people to use birthday candles were from Greece. The candles they put on the cakes helped them find the temple and also to imitate the light of the moon.

Fact 4: The Party

When the Greeks celebrated at the Temple of Artemis, that was the original birthday party. However, the Germans had the first birthday parties, which they called a Kinder Fest. These were done because of the high death rate among children that made the first birthday a special occasion. These birthday parties included food for the guests and the child and presents for the child as well.

Fact 5: The Gift

Most people know about the wise men bringing gifts to baby Jesus at the occasion of his birthday even if they are not Christians. The birthday gifts of today come from this historical event. The reason for birthday presents in the past was to make people feel good on their birthday or to bring them good cheer and to ward off evil spirits. Today, there are no evil spirits to worry about so presents are just to make people happy.

Fact 6: The Songs

Mildred Hills and her sister are responsible for writing the original Happy Birthday to You song in 1890 and it was published originally in 1935. The words to this birthday song are protected by a copyright so they cannot be written or sung without written permission. That means a lot of people are breaking the law when singing the birthday song.

Fact 7: The Celebration

Birthdays are the biggest celebrations of anniversaries around the world. In the Roman Empire, the Romans used to celebrate birthdays of the soldiers.

7 Birthday Facts You Should Know

Terje Brooks has written articles on the internet for many years. He likes to write about home and family issues such as birthday preparations as well as celebrations. Take a look at his birthday invitation cards website which contains a birthday cards for friends guide and similar information.