00:00Why do we celebrate the miracle of birth by lighting a cake on fire and immediately extinguishing it with spit?
00:06Let's rewind the candle clock all the way back to ancient Greece, where birthdays weren't just celebrated.
00:12They were offered to gods.
00:14The Greeks had a thing for Artemis.
00:16She was...
00:16The goddess of cake?
00:17No, the moon.
00:18Oh.
00:18So worshippers would bake round honey cakes to represent the moon, then place candles on them to make them glow.
00:24And blowing out the candles? That was meant to send your wishes skyward in a puff of breath-powered divine messaging.
00:31No postage required.
00:33Things really heated up in 18th century Germany, where the tradition became what we now recognize as a birthday party.
00:39Back then, they called it Kinderfest, which sounds adorable, until you realize it involved putting a lit candle on a cake for each year of life in a mathematical reminder of your mortality.
00:49Over time, the custom evolved into the modern ritual we know today.
00:52Always Wondered Podcast.
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