Any birthday celebration is not complete without a birthday cake. The concept of birthday cakes originated way back in the ancient times. Western culture defines such cake as desert or pastry, which is served to a person on the occasion of his or her birthday. Generally, birthday cakes have name of the concerned person and a message wishing good luck for future. A birthday cake also has a number of candles over it, which is generally equal to the age of a person. Some cakes contain an extra candle which is believed to bring good luck.
The Greeks or the Germans? Birthday cake history can be traced back to the times of Greeks, who had a tradition of making honey cakes or bread in shape of the moon and then used to carry the same to the temple of Moon Goddess, the Artemis. However, some scholars differ in this regard and hold the belief that birthday cake tradition began in the Middle Ages in Germany. The Germans used to celebrate the birthday of Jesus by giving sweetened bread dough the shape of Jesus as a baby wrapped in cloth. One more type of cake was made by people in Germany, which was called Geburtsagorten.
Different countries have different beliefs and concepts behind birthday cakes. Generally, a birthday cake in any country has been round in shape, which scholars say is due to religious beliefs. Many scholars also opine that round shape of a cake was due to its association with annual cycles of nature. There are many people who believe that it was due to technical reasons more than anything else.
Traditions. When it comes to tradition of candles on a birthday cake, it definitely comes from the Greeks. They used to put glowing candles on cakes in order to provide it a moon-like glowing look. Some scholars also say that candles were placed because people believed that candle smoke took their prayers and wishes to Gods.