Birthday messages really are the best part of a birthday celebration and with SurpriseMe we know that birthday surprises not only give you the chance of knowing that you can make that friend or family relative feel really special, but you can also make an announcement to the world about how much you care.

Why not have a look around our site and learn about why evil spirits could be involved in the origins of the birthday or why a clock can be an unlucky present for someone. Or why not add a comment to our message boards and give someone a great idea for a party! Whatever you feel like doing just make sure that someone knows you care on their birthday - it's the most special day of the year and a great day for a birthday surprise!

Why do we have birthday parties?
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.

When did we start celebrating birthdays?
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. We only celebrate our actual 'birth day' every 7 years, depending on leap years. Every year the day we celebrate our birthday goes forward i.e this year if our birthday mis on a Saturday, next year it will be on a Sunday. This means your annual celebration is actually for your birth date - not your birthday.

Who wrote the 'Happy 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.