The birthday cake has been an integral part of the birthday celebrations in Western cultures since the middle of the 19th century. Certain rituals and traditions, such as singing of birthday songs, associated with birthday cakes are common to many Western cultures. The Western tradition of adding lit candles to the top of a birthday cake originates in 18^th century Germany. However, the intertwining of cakes and birthday celebrations stretch back to the Ancient Romans. The development of the birthday cake has followed the development of culinary and confectionery advancement. While throughout most of Western history, these elaborate cakes in general were the privilege of the wealthy, birthday cakes are nowadays common to most Western birthday celebrations. Around the world many variations on the birthday cake, or rather the birthday pastry or sweets, exist.

History

In classical Roman culture, 'cakes' of flat rounds made with flour containing nuts, leavened with yeast, and sweetened with honey were served at special birthdays. In early Europe, the words for cake and bread were virtually interchangeable; the only difference being that cakes were sweet while bread was not.

During the 17th century, the birthday cake took on more or less its contemporary form However, these elaborate cakes, which possessed many aspects of contemporary cakes (such as layers and decorations), were only available to the very wealthy. Birthday cakes became more and more proletarianized as a result of the industrial revolution, as materials and tools became more advanced and more accessible.

Contemporary rituals and traditions

The cake, or sometimes a pastry or dessert, is served to a person on his or her birthday. In contemporary Western cultures, two rituals are prominent: the singing of the traditional birthday song and the blowing out of candles decorating the cake by the birthday person.

The service of a birthday cake is often preceded by the singing of Happy Birthday to You in English speaking countries, or an equivalent birthday song. In fact, the phrase "Happy Birthday" did not appear on birthday cakes until the song Happy Birthday to You was popularized in the early 1900s. Variations on birthday song rituals exist. For example, in New Zealand, the Happy Birthday to You is sung out of tune and is followed by clapping, once for each year of the persons life and once more for good luck. In Uruguay, party guests touch the birthday person's shoulder or head following the singing of Happy Birthday to You.

The birthday cake is often decorated with taper candles, secured with special holders or simply pressed down into the cake. In North America, the number of candles is equal to the age of the individual whose birthday it is, sometimes with one extra for luck. Traditionally the birthday person makes a private wish, which will be realized if all the candles are extinguished in a single breath.

A birthday cake is shared amongst all the people attending a birthday party. This represents sharing of joy & togetherness. As a courtesy, it reflects one's hospitality & respect for guests.

Candles

Though the exact origin and significance of the candle blowing ritual is unknown, the history of placing candles on top of the cake is well documented. This tradition can be traced to Kinderfest (Kinder is the German word for 'children'), an 18th century German birthday celebration for children. A letter written in 1799 by Goethe recounts: "...when it was time for dessert, the prince's entire livery...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 candles for each of the individual's life with some added candles 'indicating upcoming years'.

Birthday pastry cultural variations

Variations on the birthday pastry exist outside of Western culture. The Chinese birthday pastry is the sou bao (壽包), lotus-paste-filled buns made of wheat flour which are shaped and coloured to resemble peaches. A single large pastry is not often served, rather each guest is served their own. In Korea, the traditional birthday dish is a seaweed soup. In Western Russia, birthday children are served fruit pies with a birthday greetings carved into the crusts. The Swedish birthday cake is made like a pound cake and is often topped with marzipan and decorated with the national flag. A Dutch birthday pastry are fruit tarts (taarties) topped with whipped cream. The Mexican birthday tradition involves a piñata, a coloured brittle container filled with sweets. In India it's common to rub a piece of cake icing on the face of the birthday person, after the cake has been cut.

See also

• Wedding cake

References

1. A Typical Chinese Birthday Bash

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