Birthdays and Cake

Recently I've been wondering why exactly we eat cake to celebrate our birthdays. Apparently the tradition started with the ancient Greeks. They would make breads and such for special occasions. Then in ancient Rome they would bake honey cakes to celebrate birthdays of the emperor or imperial family. For other places it became popular during the Middle Ages and the Germans in particular popularized the tradition; they served a sweetened type of bread on someone's birthday. German bakeries marketed single-layer cakes for birthdays and weddings. This tradition solidified the connection between cake and birthdays... at least in Western culture. Originally only wealthy people got cake on their birthday but with the advancement of technology and the industrial revolution, cake became more accessible. Some people believe that the use of candles on the cake came from the Greeks. The Greeks believed that the smoke from the candle carried their prayers to gods. Other people believe that putting candles on the cake originated in Germany at Kinderfest in the 18th century, which was a large festival for children's birthdays.The candles, as they do today, signified a person's age. There are other pastries that people outside of the Western culture serve; basically all cultures celebrate with food. The rituals that surround eating the cake like singing "Happy Birthday" vary from culture to culture as well.