Screaming when you cut a birthday cake

[Cammel]

I remember me and my friends doing this as kids, but DH doesn't think it's a thing. Was it just my friends or does anyone else remember doing this?

No screaming. You made a wish as you cut the cake but the knife wasn’t allowed to touch the plate. Otherwise your wish wouldn’t come true.

Thabkyou to the person who linked to the Sistine Chapel thread. It is a delight.

My friend who did it attended the same local comprehensive as I did and they'd always done it in their family. Nothing to do with boarding school or a privileged background.

No boarding school connection here either.

Yes scream at the bottom, wish in the middle. But the first cut the knife was upside down

Do any of those who did do it have a Scandi connection in the family?

We did it - no boarding school or scandi connections.

Nope never screamed but kind of cheered yes

70s outer London Borough. No screaming but our mums made us floor length party dresses in Infant School

90s outskirts of London. We did it when the knife hit the board!

Thankfully, no!

@Flamingo49

This is amazing. I'm also a 1980s London kid but never heard of it. Can it be pinned down even further- what part of London were people doing this in?!

North London suburbs

@Chelsea26

I heard of this at uni when two of my housemates did it - they were both Jewish so I assumed it was a Jewish thing but maybe not???

We all grew up in 1980’s. I was West London, they both grew up in North London.

I'm Jewish & grew up in a Jewish area. Yes, we did this.

I'm still struggling to understand what 'type' of screaming we're talking about here.

A shock/horror scream or more of a squeal in delight at having cake?

It really does seem utterly bonkers.

@Whichcatthatcat

London/Essex border 1970/1980s. Never heard of this, its very strange.

Same, me neither.

We did this as stated upthread. No boarding school, Scandi or Jewish connections!

As I mentioned up thread, we do it in my family - Scottish with no boarding school, Scandi, London or Jewish connections so those theories are pish.

For those that ask, it is a scream like you have killed the cake - and in my annoying sister's case it is blood curdling.

I am enjoying the outrage of those who have never heard of this tradition. How dare other families do something I have never heard of, it is plainly odd and wrong

No, thank god.

Nope never heard of that before! Grew up in the 90s in Essex.

Yes! Nairobi in the 80s and Surrey in the 90s - so I thought it was perfectly normal until I met DH. Sort of a short "aah!" scream, rather than a long, loud "AAAAAAaaaahhhhh!!". It was to scare the devil out. Have adapted it to a "yay!", which DH is more on board with.

Came across some 90s London parties where this happened. Horrible thing.

Google suggests it is of Danish origin and you're actually decapitating the cake. Never a thing for me.

"Decapitating the cake (Denmark)
…where the roles swap. The birthday person is no longer being tortured but rather turns into the torturer – over their birthday cake. In Denmark it is common for the birthday cake (called Kagemand) to be shaped and decorated to look like a man (if it’s a boy’s birthday) or woman (if it’s a girl’s birthday). After the kid has finished blowing out the candles, they cut off the head of the cake-person while all the other kids around are screaming their own heads off."

That Danish things sounds completely different - that is cutting the head of a person shaped cake. This thread is about screaming when you cut into a normal birthday cake. Is seems some families do this and some don't. Which is fine, really.

@Sweetpeasaremadeofcheese
What part of Australia were you from? DH is from Tasmania so I wonder if it's a regional thing?

I'm very glad it's not something I've encountered tbh 😁. Just interested how an idea like this takes hold and if it weee possible to map the spread.