What is the history of birthday candles?

The first known connection with birthday candles is with the Greeks. They used to make a cake to offer to the Goddess of the Moon, Artemis. Placing lit candles on the cake made it glow like the moon and please her.

Many customs came about due to the belief that the Gods lived in the sky. Candles were lit with the idea that signals and messages could be sent to the Gods. It was also believe that if you made a wish whilst blowing out the candles, the wish would make it to the Gods for answering. We still keep part of this tradition now when lighting birthday candles. The birthday person closes their eyes, makes a wish and blows out the birthday candles.

There are two superstitions with birthday candles. One is that you should blow out all the candles in one go in order for your wish to come true. The other is that you should never reveal your wish or it will not come true. We hold the tradition of using one birthday candle for each year you have been alive.

The Germans had a tradition of lighting one large candle in the middle of a cake as a religious representation of ‘light of life’. They are also credited with having the first birthday cakes. They make cakes in the shape of Jesus as a baby to celebrate his birth. Germans then used these cakes to use celebrate the births of their own children.

The Latino cultures have a ceremony involving candles. On a girl’s 15th birthday she has a Quincentenary celebration. It is a religious event where the girl lights her parents’ candle with the flame of her own candle. Her parents then light their parents’ candle. It is to show the passing of childhood into adulthood.