We possibly cannot think of birthdays without some savoury birthday cakes for the matter. Birthdays can never be complete without some mouth-watering birthday cake to grace the occasion. It wouldn’t be too wrong to state that birthday cakes are the most important part of birthday celebrations. Baked in an array of designs, birthday cakes come in distinctive flavours like, chocolate, pineapple, butterscotch etc.
We also avail online birthday cakes delivery to drop in delightful birthday surprises for our loved ones. It has become customary to blow out candles and cut the cake on birthdays. This custom was slowly come into being as it wasn’t like this in the previous times. In today’s blog we shall take a look at the brief history of birthday cakes. Interested to know more?
Well, read on…
Cakes, Cookies And Candles
It is believed by majority of the historians that ancient Egypt the first culture to celebrate birthdays. Egyptians has this strong belief that pharaohs became Gods when they were crowned. Thus, coronations were celebrated with much pomp and glory as it marked the ‘’birth of a God’’. Festivities and feasts took place whenever a new pharaoh was born for the matter. It was much like today’s birthday parties to put it precisely. ‘’Khak’’ cookies were known to be served on their birthdays in ancient Egypt.
This was done to honor Ra, the sun God. It symbolized the completion of another year around the sun successfully. The cookies were absolutely mild in flavour. It was made of butter, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and milk. The Khak cookies are still use even in the present times for the matter.It was in ancient Rome and in ancient Greece that cakes were marke as the common food for birthday celebrations. It was during the ancient times that Romans typically served cakes during birthdays and also at weddings. The first cakes were circular in shape and was made with flour, honey, nuts and leavened yeast.
It was honey that made the cakes taste sweet. Ancient Greece had also made the cake to celebrate birthdays to put it precisely. Especially on the sixth day of every lunar year it was celebrated with moon-shaped birthday cakes along with candles. The cakes were served as a pious offering to Artemis, ancient Greece’s goddess of the Moon. The lit candles did represent the moon’s shine for the matter. It was Artemis candles which has been considered as the first ‘’birthday candles’’. History bears evidence that cakes and candles were used to celebrate birthdays in other pagan cultures across the globe.
These cultures held the popular belief that it was the fire from the lit candles that did scare away the evil spirits. It was the smoke from the lit candles that carried the heartfelt prayers to the gods. People did make a whole lot of noise on a person’s birthday in the endeavour to ward off the evil spirits.
Evolution And Commercialization Of The Birthday Cake
The birthday cake has evolved over the years. It was as early as 1400s that German Bakeries had started selling sweet cakes to put it precisely. These cakes were especially brought forth to celebrate the birthday parties of young children. The parties that were arranged for birthday purposes were called Kinderfest and the called were popularly called Geburtstagorten. Although these cakes were initially designed for the wealthy people, but Industrial Revolution changed the scenario. It was for it’s effect that birthday cakes became widespread across Germany for the matter.
This was by the 17700s that German children could celebrate birthdays with a cake on the table. It included multiple layers of cake, candles, icing and decorations to put it precisely. It was the confectioner’s and the granulated sugars that were used to make this cake. Even candles were used for decorating the birthday cakes during that time. It was in 1881 in Switzerland that there’s the record for the first account of blowing out candles. In the contemporary times, one can easily order cakes online for the perfect celebration of birthdays to put it precisely. There’s something magical about birthday cakes for it leaves behind a memorable aftertaste!
