Birthday spanking

Vintage postcard.

Externally hosted image on Handprints: Drawings Gallery #100
An illustrated children's birthday song mentioning the spanking.

Amateur video of a birthday party spanking.

Birthday spanking is a tradition in the United States and other countries. It comes in many different variants, but the common concept of all is that a person gets a fun spanking on his or her birthday, i.e. a light, ritualistic spanking that is not intended for punishment but played as a game or an annual rite of passage. It also has a great entertaining factor for the family members, birthday guests, teammates in a club, or classmates.

Birthday spanking is most commonly played with children. However, occasionally adults can find themselves subjected to a birthday spanking, too.

Typical scenario[edit]

In the classic variant, the birthday child gets as many spanks as his or her age, plus one "to grow on". Usually all the people watching it count the spanks out loud. The spanks are usually given in a way that doesn't hurt too much, as the ritual should be fun for the spankee too and not spoil his or her day.

Today, a typical birthday spanking is given on the child's fully clothed bottom in the traditional over-the-knee position, either with the open hand or (at school) with a ruler or light paddle. The person who gives the birthday spanking is usually either the child's father, mother, or teacher. In other variants, the child gets one spank from each of the guests, or even a full birthday spanking from each. When the spanking is given on a birthday party, the birthday child often wears a plastic or paper crown.

Since a birthday spanking is a fun spanking, it is not uncommon to be captured on camera. In fact, most contemporary adult/child spanking photos found on the Internet today are either movie stills or birthday spankings.

Possible origins[edit]

The tradition of birthday spanking is often seen as a kind of initiation ritual, similar to the painful and humiliating initiation rituals found in the traditions of college fraternity and sorority hazing (in the U.S.), fagging (in the U.K.) or ragging (in India).

Another hypothetical origin for birthday spankings is the single smack on the bottom which doctors (or midwives) give to newborn infants to start them breathing and thus begins their lives.

According to Peter Berresford Ellis' non-fiction work The Celtic Empire, birthday spanking originated with the Celtic practice of birthday spankings as a preventive measure to protect the child from evil spirits for the following year.

Variants[edit]

Birthday spankings for male and female teens.

Birthday bumps[edit]

A variant of birthday spanking is played in parts of the United Kingdom and India, called birthday bumps: the birthday child is lifted by his/her arms and legs and playfully bumped on the floor with his/her bottom. This ritual is meant to bring good luck. The number of bumps is given by the age of the child plus one for extra good luck.

Spanking line[edit]

Another variant of birthday spanking is the spanking line, also known as the "spanking machine" or tunnel. It is a friendly version of running the gauntlet. Friends of the birthday celebrant line up in a row with their legs apart. The celebrant is obliged to crawl between their legs and receives a spank from each friend.

Episode 51: Birthday Spanking Tunnel (Spanking Sorority Girls) is a 12-minute adult fetish video featuring a spanking line (photos).

Adult variants[edit]

Adult variations on the birthday spanking tradition are popular in spanking clubs and at spanking parties. In some D/s relationships, the sub is given a birthday spanking on the birthday of both the sub and the Dom.