The Year of the Rabbit. A feisty little rabbit this one is. Or is meant to be. Some say it looks fierce.

In Argentina, the birthday child receives a pull on the earlobe for each year of his/her age.

In Canada, the birthday child is ambushed and his/her nose is greased with butter or margarine for good luck, the idea being that having a greased nose makes it too slippery for bad luck to stick.

In Denmark, the birthday gifts are placed around the child's bed when he/she is asleep, so the child will wake up surrounded by presents. And there’s no way that you can keep your birthday a secret. Every household in Denmark places a flag outside their home whenever they have any family member’s birthday.

In Germany, if a man reaches the age of 30 and does not have a girlfriend, the birthday tradition is to have him sweep the stairs of City Hall. Friends are invited to throw rubble on the stairs and when he’s finished, they'll throw more rubble. This is to show every girl that this man can clean a house very well.

In Ireland, it is customary to hold the child upside down and "bump" the child on the floor for every year of his/her life, plus one extra "bump" for good luck.

The Vietnamese do not acknowledge the exact day they were born. Instead everyone celebrates becoming a year older on New Year's Day. Adults congratulate children by presenting them with red envelopes containing lucky money.