The Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses.
Among them was one called Artemis, the Goddess of the Moon.
The Greeks celebrated her birthday once each month by bringing special cakes to her temple.
The cakes were round like a full moon.
And, because the moon glows with light, the cakes were decorated with lighted candles.
The lit candles on the cake represented protection and the glow of the moon, and the smoke from the candles carried their prayers and wishes to the gods who lived in the skies.
As far as gift giving, ancient Greeks gave gifts to those celebrating their birthday as a way to get rid of evil spirits.
It is believed, like many other pagan cultures, that days of major change, such as these “birth” days, welcomed evil spirits.
They lit candles in response to these spirits almost as if they represented the moon and light in the darkness.
Perhaps birthday celebrations started as a form of protection.
In addition to candles, friends and family would gather around the birthday person and protect them from harm with good cheers, thoughts, and wishes.
They would give gifts to bring even more good cheer that would ward off evil spirits.
Noisemakers were also used to scare away the unwanted evil.
