The Smurfs are celebrating their 50th birthday in 2008 with a year-long party across Europe.
Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced Smurfs (originally Les Schtroumpfs in French) to the world in a series of comic strips, making their first appearance in the Belgian comics-magazine Le Journal de Spirou on October 23, 1958.
English-speakers perhaps know them best through the 1980s animated television series from Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Smurfs.
Happy smurfing birthday.
[More about Smurfs on Wiki and Smurf's official website]