Parties, Gifts, Cake, Cards, Why?
“Another tasty find in my search for the origin of birthday party celebrations
was the origin of birthday cake.”
What, exactly, is the origin of birthday celebrations? We have all been to a birthday party, and have likely celebrated many of our own. Why?
In my quest to discover the origin of kids birthday party games, I discovered 
that parties themselves originated in Europe. The idea was born from the belief that the birthday person was a magnet to evil spirits on their special day.
What could be more effective to protect the vulnerable birthday person than to surround them with well wishing close friends and family members? Isnt that the neatest?
Why do we give Birthday Gifts?
You may think it has to do with well wishes or a kind gesture. Perhaps it was a way to tell someone how much you care. Or, maybe it was peer pressure. No, it was actually none of those.
In medieval Europe, if you were really serious about warding off the evil spirits attracted to the birthday guest of honor, you would visit the birthday guy or gal bearing gifts. Why? The more cheer in the atmosphere the less the evil spirits wanted to hang around. Makes sense to me.
Birthday Cards Have a Birthday
Still searching (fruitlessly) for the origin of birthday celebrations, and games in particular, I came across this little tid-bit: Giving birthday cards to the honored guest has been going on for the past 100 years! They were originally, Sorry, I cant make it, cards by the etiquette savvy English. These apology cards eventually evolved into what we now know as birthday greeting cards.
Some might think the origin of birthday party celebrations was a marketing ploy by greeting card companies. If this was the case, it has been quite a profitable one! To the money-making tune of $7.5 billion being cheerfully greeted by the greeting card industry each year.
Origin of the Birthday Cake
Another tasty find in my search for the origin of birthday party celebrations was the origin ofbirthday cake. The idea of a birthday cake with candles has been around for 200 years.
We have the Greeks to thank for this scrumptious birthday tradition. The ancient Greeks would make round cakes to emulate a full moon in an attempt to please their moon goddess, Artemis. Adding candles to the cake gave it the same soft glow as the moon. The Greeks had the candle inventing Germans to thank for making the glow possible.
Origin of Birthday Celebrations
The Benefit and Wisdom of Expanding Ones Search Criteria
I dont know if Im stubborn, a poor loser, or just plain obsessed, but the thought finally occurred to me to stop looking for the origin of birthday party celebrations or “birthday party games,” and narrow my search to the origin of games.
Love those light-bulb moments! (Why cant they happen sooner?) There is info on origins of games, hallelujah! And the answer is . . . no one knows. You will have to head back over to the kids birthday party games page for the answer (CLUE:scroll down close to the bottom of the page).
It is a subject which ancient folks deemed too inconsequential to record as must-pass-this-along history. Im thinking they held out on us though because there are ancient tomb paintings of previous earth inhabitors playing games.
Games were possibly a spontaneous invention that turned out to be so fun and enjoyable it was simply passed along much like a story. Cake, cards, gifts and other birthday traditions have been passed along for various reasons.
While the origin of birthday celebrations might be important to some (odd) people (like me), it’s not too awfully important today. It’s just fun to go to a birthday party!