Why do we put candles on top of a birthday cake?

As it turns out, putting candles on birthday cakes is a tradition that has been around for a long, long time.

It can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks, who often burned candles as offerings to their many gods and goddesses.

• For the Ancient Greeks, putting candles on a cake was a special way to pay tribute to the Greek moon goddess, Artemis. They baked round cakes to symbolize the moon. Candles were added to represent the reflected moonlight.