| | History of Birthday Celebrations (Site not responding. Last check: ) |
 | | As a result, birthdays were merry occasions celebrated with family and friends, who surrounded the person of honor with laughter and joy in order to protect them from evil. |
 | | Birthday cakes in Sweden are similar to pound cakes and are decorated with marzipan. |
 | | At one time, it was considered back luck if the birthday celebrant was not spanked because it was believed to "soften up the body for the tomb." Historians are unsure if the practice of swatting the birthday girl or boy was treated as a joke, as people view it today. |
| www.birthdayexpress.com /bexpress/planning/BirthdayCelebrations.asp (1879 words) |