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    Birthday Cake and Candles 

 

        Many countries celebrate birthdays with a cake or a pastry of some kind. The origins of birthday cakes are unclear. Some think that the custom started with the ancient Greeks nearly three thousand years ago. They celebrated the birthday of the moon goddess Artemis on the sixth day of every month and baked round honey cakes which represented the full moon. 

Candles were put on the cakes to signify moonlight. 

        Others think that birthday cakes originated in Germany in the Middle Ages when people made sweet bread to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Later this "birthday cake" was made for children's birthday parties. A candle, symbolizing "the light of life," was put on the cake. Some people baked lucky and unlucky objects into a cake: if a gold coin was found in a cake, for example, they believed that the finder would become wealthy. 

        Today there are often several candles on a birthday cake to show how old somebody is. Some people make a silent wish when they blow out the candles. If they blow the candles in one go, they believe their birthday wish will come true. 

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