Fact 1 - Birthday Party Origins
The tradition of birthday parties started in Europe a long time ago. It was feared that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would to come be with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts brought even more good cheer to ward off the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began.
At first it was only kings who were recognized as important enough to have a birthday celebration but as time went by, children became included in birthday celebrations. The first children's birthday parties occurred in Germany and were called Kinderfeste.

Fact 2 - The Worlds Oldest Person
The longest unambiguously documented lifespan is that of Jeanne Calment of France (1875–1997), who was aged 122 years. She met Vincent van Gogh when aged 14.

Fact 3 - The Birthday Song
The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" was written by American sisters Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893 when they were school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The verse was originally intended as a classroom greeting entitled "Good Morning to All". The version as we know it was copyrighted in 1935 by the Summy Company as an arrangement by Preston Ware Orem, and is scheduled to expire in 2030 in the USA.

Fact 4 - The Birthday Tradition
In early human cultures, birthdays were not celebrated precisely because there were no calendars to chart one's age. With the emergence of accurate calendars; however, Egyptian, Chinese, and Roman societies began to recognize the birthdays of royalty and other important figures. Some historians suggest that this is why, even today, the birthday boy will often wear a crown while a birthday girl might wear a princess tiara to celebrate.

Fact 5 - Birthday Custom
In China, it is considered unlucky to give someone a clock for a birthday present (in Mandarin, the word for "clock" is similar to death). On the other hand people believe that tigers protect children and so family members might bring newborns special gifts decorated with tigers.