Candles

Candles bring a birthday cake to life. The blowing out of the birthday candles is a special moment and the time to make a wish for the future. We wish that your celebrations go with a swing and that there are many happy returns!

No birthday cake would be complete without the addition of birthday candles. It's a wonderful tradition but have you ever stopped to think about why we put candles on cakes? Before you invest in your birthday candle supplies, here's a little history lesson!

The custom of giving a birthday cake dates back to Roman times but candles are of a more modern vintage. It has been suggested that the candles could have their origins in Ancient Greece when the people took cakes decorated with candles to the temple of Artemis. The Goddess Artemis was associated with the moon and the candles were lit to glow like the moon but there is no evidence to suggest that this practice is related to modern birthday cakes.

There is also a theory that birthday candles have their origins in Pagan rituals which often involved flames and fire. However, it is much more likely that birthday candles first appeared in 18th century Germany. In 1746 a festival was held to honour the birthday of Count Ludwig Von Zinzendorf. Accounts of the occasion mention a huge cake which had candles sunk into it and there was one candle for each year of the count's life and one in the middle. Further accounts of significant 19th century birthday celebrations in Germany indicate that the custom of placing candles on cakes, and in numbers to recognise the age that the recipient had attained, was now firmly established.

So there you have it! Candles have been used in celebrations for many centuries but their special role in birthday celebrations seems to have begun in Germany.