Happy Birthday and Birthday Cakes
The song " Happy birthday to you" is sung all over the world just before the birthday boy or girl blows out the candles on the cake. It is so simple in melody1 and lyric that children as young as three can sing it without hesitation. The song， with its original title " Good Morning to You" ， was written in 1893 by the two sisters， Mildred and Patty Smith Hill. They were the daughters of a progressive2 Kentucky couple， who believed in female education at a time――the mid-nineteenth century―― when it was still a novel idea and who trained their two daughters to be schoolteachers. They were long involved in elementary3 education， and Patty， in particular. She achieved considerable prominence4 as a pioneer in kindergarten5 education， and for several decades a major spokesperson for preschool education. She taught at Columbia University's Teachers College from 1905 to 1935，and at her retirement became one of the first women to be named a professor emeritus6 by Columbia.
A birthday cake with burning candles is also indispensable7 at one's birthday party. It may derive， distantly， from8 the ancient Greek practice of offering to Artemis， goddess of the hunt and of the moon， a round honey cake into which a candle was stuck. After German bakers invented the modern birthday cake in the Middle Ages， a similar custom was adopted for the invocation9 of good spirits at birthdays. The cake， ready by morning， would be surrounded by burning candles， in a kind of protective fire circle， and they would be kept lit all day， until dessert time at the evening meal.
The candle-blowing-out custom may be associated with candles' dual10 meaning at birthdays. Some people believe that each birthday is another step toward the end， and what we celebrate at birthday gatherings is not only our growth， but our transience11.Thus，candles at birthdays are symbols of duality，life and death，hopes and fears， increase and loss， and so on.
中文翻譯
"生日快樂"與生日蛋糕
全世界過生日的男孩和女孩在吹滅生日蛋糕上的蠟燭之前都有人唱"祝你生日快樂"這首歌。它的詞和曲都很簡單上口，連三歲的小孩都能毫不猶豫地唱出來。這首歌原來叫"早安"，是米爾德里德和帕蒂?史密斯?希爾兩姐妹在1893年創作的。她們的父母是一對非常開明的肯塔基州夫婦。他們堅信女子教育――在19世紀中期這還是個很新奇的觀點――并把兩個女兒培養成教師。姐妹倆，尤其是帕蒂，長期從事基礎教育。作為幼兒教育的先驅，帕蒂取得了顯著成就，并且幾十年來一直是學前教育領域的主要發言人。從1905年到1935年，她在哥倫比亞大學師范學院任教，退休時成為哥倫比亞大學最早的榮譽退休女教授之一。
生日聚會上還一定要有插著點燃著的蠟燭的生日蛋糕。這可能是源于古希臘用插著一支蠟燭的一個圓形蜂蜜蛋糕來拜祭月亮和狩獵之神阿爾特宓斯的習俗。德國的面包師在中世紀發明了現代的生日蛋糕以后，人們就采用了類似的一種習俗，在生日祈求福神。早上做好的蛋糕點上一圈蠟燭，像是一個保護性的火環。蠟燭整天都點著，一直點到晚飯吃甜點的時候。
吹蠟燭的習慣也許跟生日蠟燭的雙重意義有關。有人相信每一個生日都表示離死亡又近了一步。我們在生日聚會上慶祝的不僅是我們的成長，還有生命的短暫。因此，生日蠟燭象征著雙重含義：生命與死亡，希望與恐懼，得到與失去等等。
注釋：
1.melody n.（音）旋律，曲調
2.progressive adj.進步的
3.elementary adj.基礎的
4.prominence n.杰出，顯著
5.kindergarten adj.幼兒園的
6.emeritus adj.榮譽退職的
7.indispensable adj.必需的
8.derive vi.（與from搭配）起源
9.invocation n.祈禱
10.dual adj.雙重的
11.transience n.短暫
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