Editing Birthday cake (section)

==By culture==
{{more citations needed|section|date=March 2024}}
There are many variations of sweets which are eaten around the world on birthdays. Different cultures have different unique birthday cake traditions.

=== Chinese ===
The Chinese birthday pastry is the {{transliteration|zh|shòu bāo}} ({{zh|t=壽包|s=寿包}}) or {{transliteration|zh|shòu táo bāo}} ({{zh|t=壽桃包|s=寿桃包|link=no}}), a lotus-paste-filled bun made of wheat flour and shaped and colored to resemble a peach. Rather than serving one large pastry, each guest is served their own small {{transliteration|zh|shòu bāo}}.

=== Russian and Lithuanian ===
In Western Russia, birthday children are served fruit pies with a birthday greeting carved into the crusts.  As well in Russia and Lithuania, rather than a birthday cake, Russian adolescents receive a pie with a sweet birthday message that is illustrated with icing on top of the birthday pie.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Redlich |first=Orly |date=2020 |title=The Concept of Birthday: A Theoretical, Historical, and Social Overview, in Judaism and Other Cultures |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344327597 |journal=World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=14 |issue=14 |pages=791–800 |via=International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation}}</ref>

=== Swedish ===
The Swedish birthday cake is made like a [[pound cake]] that is often topped with marzipan and decorated with the national flag. Dutch birthday pastries are fruit tarts topped with whipped cream.

=== English ===
Traditionally an English birthday cake is infused with artifacts that signify importance and good luck when baking the cake. To illustrate, adding a coin into the baking of the cake can represent financial success for the birthday individual.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Redlich |first=Orly |date=2020 |title=The Concept of Birthday: A Theoretical, Historical, and Social Overview, in Judaism and Other Cultures |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344327597 |journal=World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=14 |pages=791–800 |via=International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation}}</ref> Different artifacts within cake can be used to symbolize a wish for the birthday girl or boy.

=== Egyptian ===
Birthday parties in Egypt consist of two different birthday cakes for the birthday girl or boy. Often only one birthday cake has a set of birthday candles while the other is left untouched. While two birthday cakes are significant in Egyptian culture, other sweet treats can be seen at birthday parties such as cakes known as “ghettos”.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Redlich |first=Orly |date=2020 |title=The Concept of Birthday: A Theoretical, Historical, and Social Overview, in Judaism and Other Cultures |journal=World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=14 |pages=791–800 |via=International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 14(9) 2020}}</ref>

=== Israeli ===
In Israel, individuals celebrate their birthdays with candles on their birthday cakes that align with the number of years the birthday individual was born. As well an additional candle is added to the birthday cake to represent a candle for the following year.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Redlich |first=Orly |date=2020 |title=The Concept of Birthday: A Theoretical, Historical, and Social Overview, in Judaism and Other Cultures |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344327597 |journal=World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=14 |pages=791–800}}</ref>

=== American ===
In the United States, lighting a birthday candle in correlation to the age of the birthday recipient is mirrored off of German customs.<ref name=":2" /> As well, singing happy birthday songs has become engraved in American birthday culture while the candles on the birthday are lit. In the 20th century a birthday trend became evident in American culture where a birthday want or desire would only be achieved if the birthday recipient blew the candle in one exhale.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Gage |first=Mary and James |date=2012 |title=Birthday Cakes: History & Recipes |url=https://mobile.newenglandrecipes.org/Birthday-Cake.pdf |journal=New England Recipes |pages=1–16}}</ref>