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Ever wonder if there was a beginning to birthday parties, candles, cakes, and pres- ents? Most of the time it is just taken for granted be- cause it all starts exactly twelve months after the day we are born. Consequently, we grow up with the idea and feel it has always been. But everything has a beginning and a history. According to giveagift.net , birthday celebra- tions vary by culture. As early as Roman times, cel- ebratory traditions, some pagan, were adapted to recognize the annual event of an individual’s date of birth. And, like other holidays we celebrate today such as Mardi Gras and Christmas, some have reli- gious origins. In the early days of Christianity, many chil- dren were given the names of martyrs or those thought to have conducted themselves in exemplary religious ways. Those persons would celebrate his or her “name day” rather than “birth day”. Then there are also other cultures that do not celebrate birthdays at all because of one or the other of these origins. In researching the history of birthday gifts, this same site stated that the custom began with pres- ents acting as good wishes and symbolic tools to ward off evil spirits. In early Europe, it was believed that evil spirits would haunt royalty on their birthdays. Friends would gather around the celebrant and offer good wishes which later morphed into pleasant, happy presents to symbolically ward off harm from bad spirits. 4 SOUTHERN SENIOR MAGAZINE | Spring 2022 The History Behind Birthday Cakes and Customs By Lynne Adams Barze’ Author, writer, poet Continued on Next Page...