# Birthday candles.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthday-candles/375761>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 9, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthday-candles/375761 "2006-10-09T01:23:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthday-candles/375761/1 "2006-10-09T01:23:38Z")

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My girlfriend wants to know why we put candles on a birthday cake and how it started.

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthday-candles/375761/2 "2006-10-09T02:10:08Z")

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Wikidedia didn’t give much clue.

So…I’m going to have to go with that it probably doesn’t have much meaning beyond having been a cheap and easy way through history to get something shiny and bright, and equals the number of years the person lived. Entirely a guess though.

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthday-candles/375761/3 "2006-10-09T02:26:56Z")

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[QUOTE=copperwindow]  
My girlfriend wants to know why we put candles on a birthday cake and how it started.  
[/QUOTE]  
An ancitent practice and tradition handed down through the centuries.

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