A birthday is a special day to celebrate one's birth every year. We all look forward to birthdays. It means new clothes, new toys, favorite foods, and — birthday cakes! Birthday cakes come in all forms of shapes, sizes, and designs. They signify a celebration and gathering which everyone can enjoy. Birthdays truly feel unfinished without the highlight of the event, the cake-cutting ceremony.
Sure, a birthday seems incomplete without a birthday cake. They play a big role in our birthdays. But, have you ever wondered why we have cakes for birthdays?
Cakes for celebration!
The origin of birthday cakes dates back to the old histories. We’ve got the Greeks to thank for this! Ancient Greece celebrated Artemis, the goddess of moon, chastity, and hunting, and offered cakes during the celebration. The cakes offered were round, which symbolized the full moon, and had candles to show the brightness of the moon. Our cakes continue to incorporate this ancient Greek tradition until today.
Egyptians
Now here comes the Egyptians. Why do Egyptians suddenly appear in an article about cakes? It is because the idea of celebration came from them!
The Egyptians, who celebrated the 'birth' of their pharaoh, are actually where the Greeks got the concept to celebrate. The crowning of the pharaoh represented the ‘birth’ of a pharaoh as a god. Thus, the coronation ceremony was held as a grand public ceremony. From this idea, the Ancient Greeks got inspired, deciding to hold large ceremonies as well–with just round cakes added to them!
How it progressed
However, the birthday ‘parties’ became a usual party after time had passed. As the celebration using round cakes from the Greeks reached the Germans, the Germans began celebrating birthdays with cakes, and this celebration was called the Kinderfest. The idea of birthday parties developed from this time—together with the candles and cakes.
A traditional German belief that children were more susceptible to evil spirits led to the tradition of hosting birthday parties as a means of driving them away. The tradition of candles counted by years developed this time because the number of candles represented the years the children had lived, with one additional candle to represent the hopes of the parents for their child to live one more year.
When you notice, we still carry on the tradition of having candles and cakes for birthdays until today!
Happy Birthday!
Surprisingly, the birthday cakes we have now came from a very long history. From the Ancient Egyptians to the Ancient Greeks, then to the Germans, cakes developed and changed throughout time. Once a food to celebrate a goddess, then a food to protect children from evil spirits, cakes have historically been a celebratory dish to express the joy of gatherings and celebrations.
So whenever you see a cake on someone's birthday, be sure to congratulate him or her with your greatest smile and greet “Happy birthday!"
Brunettioro. (2022). Cake 101: why do we eat cake on our birthdays? Retrieved from https://brunettioro.com.au/the-sweet-spot/cake-101-why-do-we-eat-cake-on-our-birthdays/
Wicked Uncle Blog. (n.d.). Why do we eat cake on our birthdays? Retrieved from https://www.wickeduncle.com/blog/why-do-we-eat-cake-on-our-birthdays/
Trivedi, R. (2022). Why do we eat cake on birthdays? Retrieved from https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/why-do-we-eat-cake-on-birthdays.html
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