Punches
"The Bumps", a birthday torment common in countries such as the U.K., Ireland, and India, involves the friends and family of the person whose birthday it is taking him or her by the arms and legs, and "bumping" him/her up into the air and down onto the floor. The number of "bumps" given equals the age of the person in years plus one "for luck". Usually "the Bumps" are administered only to children, in part because as people grow up they become too heavy for the process.
In Francophone Canada and the U.S. "birthday punches" are given in a similar fashion, where the person whose birthday it is being punched a number of times equal to his/her age, often with one additional punch "for luck". In Brazil, Hungary, Argentina, Italy, and other countries, the person has his/her earlobes pulled. The Hungarian tradition also involves at the same time as pulling the earlobes wishing the person a happy birthday or reciting a rhyme whose English translation is "God bless you, live so long so your ears reach your ankles.".
Similar to birthday punches are birthday spankings. While they are usually administered to children, the practice is somewhat common, even in areas and communities or among families where corporal punishment is otherwise frowned upon. The spankings, characteristically, are mostly administered in such a fashion that they do not hurt the recipient at all, or if they do, it is usually only a small "sting". With this tradition the birthday recipient, as a general rule, gets spanked on his or her buttocks the same number of times as the number of years they have been alive, often with a final, extra spank administered as "one to grow on".
In India, a person on his birthday is held up in the air by his hands and legs by his friends (usually not in the presence of their family), and kicked or spanked on the buttocks. It is referred to as 'Birthday Bumps'. The number of bumps given equals the age of the person but usually ends up exceeding that number.
In Israel, part of the birthday celebration for a child in kindergarten is to lift the decorated chair that the child sits on into the air several times, once for each year of the child's age, plus "one for the next year".
In Venezuela, a widespread custom is to attempt the pushing of the person's face into the birthday cake when they blow out the candles. This frequently destroys the cake.
A fairly common observance is for birthday "spankings," "slaps," "hits," "bumps" and other such good-natured torments generally administered to the birthday celebrant to "roll over" for exactly one week's time if not administered in the 24 hour period of the actual birthday, thus affording persons whom the celebrant did not encounter on their birthday the opportunity to also indulge in the custom.
Read more about this topic: Birthday Customs And Celebrations