Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
April 14, 2002
By Janice Lewis
Vigo County Historical Society
Candleholders take the cake on birthdays
In the General Store exhibit at the Vigo County Historical Museum one can view a set of pink, rose-shaped birthday candleholders. They are much like the ones every mother surely has squirreled away in a buffet drawer or kitchen cabinet.
Our society would find it difficult to fail to celebrate or at least remember birthdays and anniversaries, but until ancient people began to pay attention to moon cycles and changing seasons, annual events were not recognized. The earliest birthday celebrations date back to before the time of Christ. Out of fear of evil spirits that were believed to be more powerful to a person during a change in daily life, such as turning a year older, was born the birthday celebration. To protect the celebrant from evil, friends and family would gather and honor the person with laughter and good will. Gifts bestowed on the guest of honor were considered a sign of exceptional good luck. The first recorded birthday celebrations were for kings and high-ranking nobility. Historians reason that only such people were important enough and possessed the wealth to warrant and finance such festivities. It is believed that this is where the tradition of wearing a birthday “crown” originated. Over time it became common to commemorate everyone’s birthday. The Germans are credited with being the first to celebrate children’s birthdays with parties called Kinderfests.
We are all familiar with a birthday cake decorated with one candle for each year of life and one to grown on, the singing of Happy Birthday, and being granted a secret wish if all the candles are extinguished with one big puff of breath.
Throughout the world, every culture has unique customs to celebrate the milestone of another year of life. In Mexico, children take turns whacking at paper mache pinatas The party-goers are rewarded with candy and small toys.
Special extra-long noodles, signifying a long life, are served for lunch to birthday children in Hong Kong and some Chinese communities. Blinking colored lights are a sign that someone in a Filipino family is celebrating a birthday. Regardless of how you celebrate family milestones, visit the Vigo County Historical Museum and view its birthday candle holders from the past.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Web site: http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.