We’ve got birthdays on the brain at TreatHim and we’ve been doing a bit of research into why we actually celebrate birthdays. Here’s what we found out...

• In Pagan culture, before the rise of Christianity, it was believed that evil spirits were attracted to people on their birthdays.

• To protect them from harm, friends and family would gather bringing them good thoughts and wishes. A lot of noise was created to scare away the spirits.

• At first it was only kings who were recognized as important enough to have a birthday celebration. Common men and children were not included.

• At the time it was not so important to bring along a gift, but if you did, it was seen as good measure.

• Eventually, children became included in birthday celebrations.

• The tradition of children's birthday parties first started in Germany, Kinderfeste.

• The largest private birthday party was for Colonel Harlan Sanders' 89th birthday, in 1970. The event was attended by over 35,000 people.

• Some believe that the traditional birthday cake was instigated by early Greeks who used to take round or moon shaped cake to the temple of Artemis.

• Others believe this began in Germany where people made bread in the shape of Baby Jesus’s swaddling cloth.

• Some believe that Germans used to place a big candle in the centre of birthday cakes to symbolise the ‘light of life.’