The History and Traditions of Birthday CardsThe History and Traditions of Birthday CardsThe Histo

Birthday parties for children have evolved into major, expensive events. A birthday cake with candles, a few games and maybe a clown aren't enough anymore. These days, if you don't spend a fortune on your kid's birthday party you almost feel like a lousy parent. But it wasn't always like this. In the beginning, birthday parties weren't just a tradition. They had real, spiritual meaning.

Centuries ago, before even the Early Christians, people thought that evil spirits were lurking around every corner and that these spirits were even more dangerous to a person when they were experiencing some type of change in their life - for example, when they were turning another year older. Friends and loved ones of the birthday person would gather around and throw a big celebration to scare the evil spirits away, offering up happy thoughts and best wishes as a talisman to ward off the meanies. Sometimes presents were even included, especially if the person was a king or in a position of authority, and it was believed that that would just add even more protection and luck for the coming year.

Those earliest birthday parties weren't necessarily celebrated on the exact day of birth, since there were no calendars or methods for tracking time back then. But gradually, with the introduction of Christianity and Catholicism, the Calendar of Saints was developed. Each day of the year was marked to celebrate in honor of a different saint. And it was the custom at that time to name your child after the saint who was being honored on the day of his or her birth.

It's interesting to note that in none of these early birthday parties do we see the appearance of big purple dinosaurs, bounce-houses or Chuck E. Cheese. And yet, these children still enjoyed their birthday celebrations. Go figure.

There are a number of traditions that we do have in common with those ancient birthday celebrations, though. For example, birthday cakes were served , although they weren't quite the towering confections we have today. In those days they were more like flat discs of sweet dough, stuffed with fruits and nuts, and they were round in shape, made to resemble the Moon in honor of their Moon Goddess, Artemis. The bigger, fancier cakes were reserved for kings and queens.

They also used birthday candles, but instead of just being decorative, they had a magical purpose. It was believed that looking into the candle flame would add power to your wish and then, when you blew out the candle, the smoke would carry your wish up to the Gods, making it easier for them to hear your wish and grant it.

The 'Happy Birthday' song wasn't written until 1893, so it's anyone's guess what the ancients sang at their birthday parties. Since most of their celebrations were focused on a god or a saint, they probably sang something that was spiritually uplifting. It's a safe bet though that, throughout the entire history of birthday parties, there's always been someone in attendance who sings off-key.