Birthday cake
A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of birthday celebrations. While there is no standard for birthday cakes, they are typically highly decorated layer cakes covered in frosting, often featuring birthday wishes followed by the celebrant's name. In many cultures, it is also customary to serve the birthday cake with small lit candles on top, especially in the case of a child's birthday. The cake often accompanies the singing of "Happy Birthday to You". Variations include cupcakes, cake pops, pastries, and tarts.
History
Birthday cakes have been a part of birthday celebrations in Western European countries since at least the middle of the 19th century. However, the link between cakes and birthday celebrations may date back to ancient Roman times; in classical Roman culture, cakes were occasionally served at special birthdays and at weddings. These were circles made from flour and nuts, leavened with yeast, and sweetened with honey.In Germany by the 18th century, the tradition of celebrating birthdays with a birthday cake and candles began. One of the most notable occasions there, where using a birthday cake with candles took form, was during Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Marienborn's birthday party in 1746. His cake was said to be as big as an oven could make it, with candles stuck in it, marking the years of his age. From the 18th century, elaborate cakes continued to take form, having many aspects of the contemporary birthday cake, like multiple layers, icing, and decorations. However, these cakes were generally only available to the very wealthy. Birthday cakes became accessible to the lower classes as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the spread of more materials and goods.
Birthday candles and contemporary rites
The practice of serving cake on birthdays is commonplace in many cultures. In contemporary Western cultures, birthday cakes for children are often topped with candles, secured with special holders or simply pressed down into the outer frosting. In the Anglosphere, the number of candles often corresponds to the age of the individual being celebrated, occasionally with one extra for luck. An increasingly popular alternative is to use candles shaped as the numeral digits of the celebrant's age. Sparklers may also be used alongside or instead of the traditional wax candles.The cake is usually presented with all the candles lit, at which point it is customary for the guests to sing Happy Birthday to You in unison, or an equivalent birthday song appropriate to the country. Upon the conclusion of the song, the celebrant is traditionally prompted to blow out the candles and make a wish, which is thought to come true if all the candles are extinguished in a single breath. Another common superstition holds that the wish must be made in silence, not to be shared with anyone else, or else it will not come true.
Theories of origin
Though the exact origin of the birthday candle ritual is unknown, there are multiple theories.One theory is attributed to early Greeks, who used candles to honor the goddess Artemis' birth on the sixth day of every lunar month. The link between her oversight of fertility and the birthday tradition of candles on cakes, however, has not been established.
Image:Ludwig Knaus - Ein Kinderfest.jpg|thumb|Kinder Fest.
In 18th century Germany, the history of candles on cakes can be traced to Kinderfest, a birthday celebration for children. This tradition also makes use of candles and cakes. German children were taken to an auditorium-like space, free to celebrate another year in a place where Germans believed that adults protected children from evil spirits attempting to steal their souls. In those times there was no tradition of bringing gifts to a birthday; guests would merely bring good wishes for the birthday person. However, if a guest did bring gifts it was considered to be a good sign for the person whose birthday it was. Later, flowers became quite popular as a birthday gift.
- In 1746, a large birthday festival was held for Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf at Marienborn near Büdingen. Andrew Frey described the party in detail, mentioning that "there was a Cake as large as any Oven could be found to bake it, and Holes made in the Cake according to the Years of the Person's Age, every one having a Candle stuck into it, and one in the Middle."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, having spent 24–30 August 1801 in Gotha as a guest of Prince August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, recounts of his 52nd birthday on 28 August: "when it was time for dessert, the prince's entire livery in full regalia entered, led by the majordomo. He carried a generous-size torte with colorful flaming candles – amounting to some fifty candles – that began to melt and threatened to burn down, instead of there being enough room for candles indicating upcoming years, as is the case with children's festivities of this kind." As the excerpt indicates, the tradition at the time was to place one candle on the cake for each year of the individual's life, so that the number of candles on top of the cake would represent the age which some one had reached; sometimes a birthday cake would have some added candles 'indicating upcoming years.'