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Blowing the candles on a birthday cake out while making a wish is a well-known British tradition when celebrating birthdays. Some birthday cakes have delicious creamy frosting, tempting vanilla filling and colourful decorations. Celebrating your birthday with cake brings happy memories and delicious layers of sweetness. Here, we explore why we celebrate birthdays with cake, the history of the birthday cake, and why we add candles.
The History of Birthday Cakes
The birthday cake tradition dates way back to the ancient Egyptians, with the celebration of their gods. Their coronation day was named as their ‘birth’ day. The Greeks later adopted this tradition and added a cake to the celebration. They would create a moon-shaped cake, decorate it with candles and present it as a peace offering to Artemis, goddess of the moon. Once the candles were lit, they were signified as they were shining up at the moon. Birthday cakes haven’t always been what they are today. Sugar was thought of as gold dust and was very expensive and difficult to come by. Which meant only the very wealthy could afford it. However, the Industrial Revolution brought easily accessible sugar as well as other ingredients, meaning that today we can hand make our own cakes, as well as buy beautifully designed cakes.
Evolution of Birthday Cakes
From Victoria sponge cakes to delicious chocolate and layers of fondant icing. Birthday cake designs and decorations have certainly evolved throughout the years. During the 17th century, cake details including icing, layers and decorations were becoming popular. Only the wealthy, upper-class citizens were able to afford them due to the high-price ingredients used to make the cake. As time moved on, the 18th century saw food and baking appliances become more accessible and affordable. As well as utensils, the price of cake decreased dramatically and the cake production numbers increased, meaning more people were able to celebrate birthdays with cake. Today, we see a whole range of cake designs being made and eaten at birthday parties as well as other celebrations.
Benefits of Celebrating with Cake
Now, the number of candles on a birthday cake represents and celebrates how old you become on your birthday. However, when we date back to the Greeks, blowing out candles on a birthday cake meant more than just a number. The person must blow out all their candles, in a single breath. It was believed that the smoke carried their wishes to god, in order for them to come true.
Candles on a Birthday Cake
Now, the number of candles on a birthday cake represents and celebrates how old you become on your birthday. However, when we date back to the Greeks, blowing out candles on a birthday cake meant more than just a number. The person must blow out all their candles, in a single breath. It was believed that the smoke carried their wishes to god, in order for them to come true.