The History Of Birthday Parties And The ‘Happy Birthday’ Song

Birthdays are celebrated all over the world but just what is a birthday? Birthdays are the day most people in many cultures celebrate the anniversary of their birth.

Most people mark this special day with a party and gifts are given. These gifts are sometimes known as a rite of passage during special milestone birthdays.

During birthday parties one of the most popular traditions is the birthday cake. Typically ornately decorated and lit with candles that the birthday person gets to make a silent wish on then blow out.

The number of candles on the cake coincides with the age of the person blowing the candles out. Sometimes when the number of candles is too great, people use special number candles readily available. Also it is a common tradition for the birthday person to cut and receive the first piece of cake.

On someone’s birthday, they are supposed to receive special treatment from family and friends. This includes, gift giving, special meals or dining out. Children’s birthdays usually include games and sometimes special entertainment like a clown or magician.

Parties can include balloons, streamers and party favors for guests. Special gifts for birthdays sometimes include the giving of a birthstone. This is a precious stone that goes with the month of birth.

Birthstones seem to originate from biblical times. There is also a list of birth flowers. Like the stones, this lists flowers that match the month of birth. It is considered to be very good lucky to receive your birth flower on your birthday with the number of blooms matching your age.

The History Of Birthday Parties

While we typically celebrate birthdays today with cake, treats, family and fun, the history of birthday parties was not always such a jovial occasion. Such is seen in Europe’s history thousands of years ago.

Originally, a person feared their upcoming birthday. It was seen as a fearful experience because people believed bad spirits could harm you on this day.

Birthday parties were devised as a way to keep those spirits away by surrounding yourself with friends and loved ones who often brought small tokens and food to share. People would use noisemakers to scare off any evil spirits that may be lurking around the house.

It was in the middle ages that birthday parties began to take on a more celebratory state and the tone turned more positive. But they were not yet commonplace amongst peasants. In fact, most birthday parties were only celebrated by royalty or the very wealthy.

It wasn’t until reformation that the birthday party became a more common occurrence in England. People then began to make cakes and treats for the birthday person and would often tuck small fortune tokens into the cake for guests.

It is thought that children’s birthday parties originated in Germany and was called Kinderfeste. Over time, birthday parties have evolved from small gatherings to ward away evil spirits, to wealthy or royalty held events to what is now known as our modern birthday parties.

Today, most people celebrate their birthday with some sort of party, especially children. A cake is typically commonplace and almost always is alight with birthday candles, which the birthday boy or girl gets to blow out and make a wish.

Birthday parties today are the highlight of a kids year

“Happy Birthday To You” – The Birthday Song

There is only one thing that announces to everyone it is time for cake, and it is the Birthday Song. The words are simple and everyone who can speak English knows the words, from a toddler to someone who is 100 years old.

Comprised of 4 bars, 16 words each the tune is simple and the meaning is deep. In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, “Happy Birthday” is the most popular song in the English Language.

Although it has been translated into many different languages, it is usually sung in English, even in countries that don’t speak English as their primary language.

The Hill sisters composed the tune, “Happy Birthday To You”, in 1893. Originally the schoolteachers wrote the tune to a song titled, “Good Morning To You” and was sung to the classroom every morning.

But the version we know was copyrighted in 1935 and the copyright is scheduled to expire in 2030. In fact, technically it is illegal to publicly perform “Happy Birthday To You” unless royalties are paid to the Summy Company and its owner Warner Chappell who bought the company in 1990.

The value of the song itself is estimated at $5 million. It is still unclear who wrote the words to the song though. Because of strict copyright issues, filmmakers rarely show the full content of the song being performed in movies.

This is why sometimes you will see the public-domain song “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” performed instead, or the song being removed entirely.

Now that you know some interesting facts about birthday parties and the birthday song, you can share them with your kids at their next birthday party.

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Birthday Party Resources:

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365 Kids Games – 365 surefire ways to keep the kids entertained, every day of the year. Discover the secrets to keeping your kids entertained in a cheap and fun easy way.
Easy Face Painting – Face Painting for a birthday party, fundraiser, class party or just for fun has never been simpler. This step-by-step guide to easy and popular cheek art designs features over 50 step-by-step designs with full color photographs.