Why Birthday Cake and not Birthday Pie or Cookie?

My Spring semester course on Mediation and Conflict Resolution is coming to an end, as is the Family Law 40-hour Mediation Course. I have read and written about mediation more in the past 3 months that I ever thought I would, so I thought: why not switch it up?

Today, I made and delivered a birthday cake to a friend: a funfetti cake with buttercream and a single candle on it. As I was sitting at home, I started thinking “when did we start making birthday cakes and sticking candles on them and singing this song?” Obviously, like everything else in life, I first turned to Google, which then led me down the rabbit hole of Greek gods, Romans and Germans. The history is actually quite interesting.

First: Why are birthday cakes almost always round? Some say it’s because it’s supposed to be the shape of the moon and the candles were meant to be the stars. This was a tribute to the Greek goddess Artemis.

Second: When did people start having cakes to celebrate birthdays? Many people believe that the Germans were the first to have celebrated birthdays as we know them with cake in the 18th century; it was actually called Kinderfeste and sort of torture for the birthday kid whose cake would be lit in the morning, but not eaten until after dinner. Imagine having to look at that all day! However, there is some evidence that the Romans baked birthday cakes long before that, but only if you were male, famous and turning 50. Women’s birthdays weren’t celebrated until the 12th century.

Third: Where did the song “Happy Birthday” come from? The tune came from a song that school teachers would sing called “Good Morning to All,” composed in 1893 by American sisters Mildred and Patty Hill. The first time the combination of the words and melody of “Happy Birthday to You” appeared was in 1912. No one knows who actually wrote it. In 1924 Robert Coleman published updated lyrics that make up the popular tune we sing today. The song was copyrighted in 1935 and credit was given to the Hill sisters. Around that moment, the birthday song was worth $5 million.

Finally, the most popular birth month is September and the most popular cake flavors: chocolate, marble, red velvet and funfetti!