What better way to say ‘Happy Birthday’ than with birthday candles? These special candles have long been associated with birthday wishes and frosted cakes. But what do you know about these tiny candles and what they really mean? Sure, you put one on the cake for each year of life but what is the meaning behind the celebration? Candle lighting is a momentous occasion but celebrating with candles was not always the tradition.

A long time ago, even before the birth of Christ, there were the Greeks who paid homage to their gods and goddesses. One goddess in particular was honored by the lighting of candles. A cake with birthday candles was lit as a way to pay honor to Artemis, the Moon goddess. The roundness of the cake was said to mimic the moon and the candles to mimic the moonlight that came from above.

The birthday candle on top of the cake was said to be lit as an offering and it was also thought to ward off evil spirits. Some cultures believed that candle lighting times were joyous occasions to offer homage to the gods and goddesses of their belief system. But at this time, should you have been alive, it was not customary to expect gifts. If you did receive a gift on your birth day, then you were very lucky indeed.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 6:55 pm and is filed under Arts, Crafts & Hobbies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.