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47-428: Several cultures engage in customs that entail wish-granting, such as blowing out the candles on a birthday cake , praying, seeing a shooting star at night, tossing a coin into a wishing well or fountain , breaking the wishbone of a cooked turkey , blowing a dandelion, or writing wishes on a ribbon or a sky lantern . Many believe such wishes can only come true if they are kept a secret from other people. Others, on

94-457: A Brothers Grimm tale, "Little Briar Rose", a modified version of the Perrault story. Perrault had written " Little Red Riding Hood " as a warning to readers about strangers preying on young girls walking through the forest. He concludes his fairy tale with a moral, cautioning women and young girls about the dangers of trusting men. He states: "Watch out if you haven't learned that tame wolves/ Are

141-447: A beautiful child might have been a coincidence, but the father's wish in " The Seven Ravens " transforms his seven sons into ravens, just as the mother's wish in " The Raven " transforms her daughter. This is common in a tale involving a person, male or female, wishing for a child, even one that is a hedgehog , or a sprig of myrtle , or no bigger than a hazel nut . The number of wishes granted varies. Aladdin had an unlimited number in

188-733: A coin into the baking of the cake can represent financial success for the birthday individual. Different artifacts within cake can be used to symbolize a wish for the birthday girl or boy. 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”. In Israel, individuals celebrate their birthdays with candles on their birthday cakes that align with

235-469: 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 shòu bāo . 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

282-527: A request for wealth being granted through inheritance/insurance on the death of a loved one). Certain authors have also tried an "always on" approach: the careless use of the word "wish" in everyday conversation having, often unpleasant, consequences. Birthday cake A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of a birthday celebration. While there is no standard for birthday cakes, they are typically highly decorated layer cakes covered in frosting , often featuring birthday wishes ("Happy birthdays") and

329-553: A target of mockery from Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux . Charles Perrault died in Paris on 16 May 1703, at the age of 75. On 12 January 2016, Google honoured him with a doodle by artist Sophie Diao depicting characters from the Tales of Mother Goose ( Histoires ou contes du temps passé ). In 1695, when he was 67, Perrault lost his position as secretary and decided to dedicate himself to his children. In 1697 he published Tales and Stories of

376-500: A wealthy bourgeois family and was the seventh child of Pierre Perrault (father) and Paquette Le Clerc. He attended very good schools and studied law before embarking on a career in government service, following in the footsteps of his father and elder brother Jean. He took part in the creation of the Academy of Sciences as well as the restoration of the Academy of Painting. In 1654, he moved in with his brother Pierre , who had purchased

423-512: A wide variety of, more or less, inanimate objects. W. W. Jacob's Monkey's Paw is an example of this. Piers Anthony puts a spin on this idea in Castle Roogna : a magic ring claims to grant wishes and then claims credit when a wish comes true, apparently from the unaided efforts of the characters—but every wish made on the ring sooner or later comes true. Some wishes appear to be granted by nothing in particular. Snow White 's mother's wish for

470-475: Is considered to parallel the Philosopher's Stone of western alchemy and also thought to be capable of fulfilling any wishes. In many works of fantasy fiction a wish is a supernatural demand placed on the recipient's unlimited request. When it is the center of a tale, the wish is usually a template for a morality tale , "be careful what you wish for"; it can also be a small part of a tale, in which case it

517-480: Is customary for the guests to sing Happy Birthday to You in unison, or an equivalent birthday song appropriate to the country. Upon the conclusion of the song, the celebrant is traditionally prompted to blow out the candles and make a wish, which is thought to come true if all the candles are extinguished in a single breath. Another common superstition holds that the wish must be made in silence, not to be shared with anyone else, or else it will not come true. Though

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564-399: Is illustrated with icing on top of the birthday pie. 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. Traditionally an English birthday cake is infused with artifacts that signify importance and good luck when baking the cake. To illustrate, adding

611-421: Is often used as a plot device . One can wish on many things for example: wishing wells , dandelions when one blows the seeds or light them on fire, stars and much more. When one wishes on a well, a coin is thrown in and the thrower silently makes a wish in the hope it comes true. A template for fictional wishes could be The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , specifically the tale of Aladdin , although in

658-549: The Tales (Gallimard, Folio, Paris, 1999.- p. 10). ) These tales, based on European popular tradition, became very popular in France. Of all his abundant literary production in verse and in prose (odes, epic poetry, essays, etc.) these little stories for children are the only works still read today, and he is often credited as the founder of the modern fairy tale genre. Naturally, his work reflects awareness of earlier fairy tales written in

705-399: The fables of Aesop in the labyrinth of Versailles in the gardens of Versailles . The work was carried out between 1672 and 1677. Water jets spurting from the animals' mouths were conceived to give the impression of speech between the creatures. There was a plaque with a caption and a quatrain written by the poet Isaac de Benserade next to each fountain. Perrault produced the guidebook for

752-428: The 19th century. However, the link between cakes and birthday celebrations may date back to ancient Roman times; in classical Roman culture , cakes were occasionally served at special birthdays and at weddings . These were circles made from flour and nuts, leavened with yeast, and sweetened with honey. In Germany by the 18th century, the tradition of celebrating birthdays with a birthday cake and candles began. One of

799-461: The Anglosphere, the number of candles often corresponds to the age of the individual being celebrated, occasionally with one extra for luck. An increasingly popular alternative is to use candles shaped as the numeral digits of the celebrant's age. Sparklers may also be used alongside or instead of the traditional wax candles. The cake is usually presented with all the candles lit, at which point it

846-707: The German versions published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have been adapted to most entertainment formats. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene and was the leader of the Modern faction during the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns . Charles Perrault was born in Paris on 12 January 1628, to

893-529: The Great , 1687) and Parallèle des Anciens et des Modernes ( Parallel between Ancients and Moderns , 1688–1692) where he attempted to prove the superiority of the literature of his century. Le Siècle de Louis le Grand was written in celebration of Louis XIV's recovery from a life-threatening operation. Perrault argued that because of Louis's enlightened rule, the present age was superior in every respect to ancient times. He also claimed that even modern French literature

940-475: The Italian artist was in residence at Louis' court in 1665) and François Mansart . One of the factors leading to this choice included the fear of high costs, and second was the personal antagonism between Bernini and leading members of Louis' court, including Colbert and Perrault. King Louis himself maintained a public air of benevolence towards Bernini, ordering the issuing of a royal bronze portrait medal in honor of

987-531: The Past with Morals ( Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé, avec des moralités ), subtitled Tales of Mother Goose ( Les Contes de ma Mère l'Oye ). (The spelling of the name is with "y" although modern French uses only an "i".) This "Mother Goose" has never been identified as a person, but used to refer to popular and rural storytelling traditions in proverbial phrases of the time. (Source : Dictionnaire de l'Académie , 1694, quoted by Nathalie Froloff in her edition of

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1034-475: The Swiss middle class. One statement depicted a birthday cake as having lighted candles which correspond to each year of life. These candles were required to be blown out, individually, by the person who is being celebrated. In June 2017 researchers at Clemson University reported that some individuals deposit a large number of bacteria onto the cake frosting when blowing out the candles. They found that on average,

1081-482: The act increased the amount of bacteria by 14 times, but one of the researchers described this as "not a big health concern". There are many variations of sweets which are eaten around the world on birthdays. Different cultures have different unique birthday cake traditions. The Chinese birthday pastry is the shòu bāo ( simplified Chinese : 寿包 ; traditional Chinese : 壽包 ) or shòu táo bāo (simplified Chinese: 寿桃包 ; traditional Chinese: 壽桃包 ),

1128-488: The artist in 1674. However, as Perrault further describes in his Memoirs , the king harbored private resentment at Bernini's displays of arrogance. The king was so displeased with Bernini's equestrian statue of him that he ordered it to be destroyed; however, his courtiers prevailed upon him to have it redone instead, with a head depicting the Roman hero Marcus Curtius . In 1668, Perrault wrote La Peinture ( Painting ) to honor

1175-486: 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. Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( / p ɛ ˈ r oʊ / peh- ROH , US also / p ə ˈ r oʊ / pə- ROH , French: [ʃaʁl pɛʁo] ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703)

1222-470: The celebrant's name. In many cultures, it is also customary to serve the birthday cake with small lit candles on top, especially in the case of a child's birthday. The cake often accompanies the singing of " Happy Birthday to You ". Variations include cupcakes , cake pops , pastries , and tarts . Birthday cakes have been a part of birthday celebrations in Western European countries since the middle of

1269-514: The entity from its constraint, usually by some simple action, allows the object's possessor to make a wish. The subservience of the extraordinarily powerful entity to the wisher can be explained in several ways. The entity may be grateful to be free of its constraint and the wish is a thank-you gift. The entity may be bound to obedience by its prison or some other item that the wisher possesses. The entity may, by its nature, be unable to exercise its powers without an initiator. Other wish providers are

1316-482: The exact origin of the birthday candle ritual is unknown, there are multiple theories which try to explain this tradition. One theory explaining the tradition of placing candles on birthday cakes is attributed to the early Greeks, who used candles to honor the goddess Artemis ' birth on the sixth day of every lunar month. The link between her oversight of fertility and the birthday tradition of candles on cakes, however, has not been established. In 18th century Germany,

1363-400: The history of candles on cakes can be traced back to Kinderfest, a birthday celebration for children. This tradition also makes use of candles and cakes. German children were taken to an auditorium-like space. There, they were free to celebrate another year in a place where Germans believed that adults protected children from the evil spirits attempting to steal their souls. In those times there

1410-569: The king's first painter, Charles Le Brun. He also wrote Courses de tetes et de bague ( Head and Ring Races , 1670), written to commemorate the 1662 celebrations staged by Louis for his mistress, Louise-Françoise de La Baume le Blanc, duchesse de La Vallière . At Colbert's instigation, Perrault was elected to the Académie française in 1671. He married Marie Guichon, who was aged 19, in 1672. She died in 1678. In 1669 Perrault advised Louis XIV to include thirty-nine fountains each representing one of

1457-571: The labyrinth, Labyrinte de Versailles , printed at the royal press, Paris, in 1677, and illustrated by Sebastien le Clerc. Philippe Quinault , a longtime family friend of the Perraults, quickly gained a reputation as the librettist for the new musical genre known as opera, collaborating with composer Jean-Baptiste Lully . After Alceste (1674) was denounced by traditionalists who rejected it for deviating from classical theater, Perrault wrote in response Critique de l'Opéra (1674), in which he praised

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1504-461: The merits of Alceste over the tragedy of the same name by Euripides . This treatise on Alceste initiated the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns ( Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes ), which pitted supporters of the literature of Antiquity (the "Ancients") against supporters of the literature from the century of Louis XIV (the "Moderns"). He was on the side of the Moderns and wrote Le Siècle de Louis le Grand ( The Century of Louis

1551-431: The most dangerous of all". Perrault warns the readers about the manipulation and false appearances some men portray: "I say Wolf, for all wolves are not of the same sort; there is one kind with an amenable disposition – neither noisy, nor hateful, nor angry, but tame, obliging and gentle, following the young maids in the streets, even into their homes. Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves are of all such creatures

1598-416: The most dangerous!" Indeed, in Perrault's version, the girl gets into bed with the wolf and is devoured, lacking the happy ending found in most current versions of the story. He had actually published his collection under the name of his last son (born in 1678), Pierre (Perrault) Darmancourt ("Armancourt" being the name of a property he bought for him), probably fearful of criticism from the "Ancients". In

1645-540: The most notable occasions where using a birthday cake with candles took form was during Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Marienborn's birthday party in 1746 in Germany. His cake was said to be as big as an oven could make it, with candles stuck in it, marking the years of his age. From the 18th century, elaborate cakes continued to take form, having many aspects of the contemporary birthday cake, like multiple layers, icing, and decorations. However, these cakes were only available to

1692-462: 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. In the United States, lighting a birthday candle in correlation to the age of the birthday recipient is mirrored off of German customs. As well, singing happy birthday songs has become engraved in American birthday culture while the candles on

1739-513: The original story, but was restricted to three wishes in the 1992 Disney film . As in the Charles Perrault tale " The Ridiculous Wishes ", three is the most common, but others may be granted to fit the constraints of the tale. Several authors have spun variations of the wish for more wishes theme, though some disallow this as cheating. In many stories the wording of the wish is extremely important. For example, characters often say, "I wish I

1786-531: The other hand, believe that wishes come true only if they are told to someone else. In Christianity , especially among Roman Catholic , Lutheran and Anglican denominations, believers pray novenas to request a favour they wish to obtain. Within Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism , the Kalpavriksha trees were believed to have once held the ability to grant wishes. The Cintamani stone of Hindu-Buddhist origin

1833-576: The position of chief tax collector of the city of Paris. When the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres was founded in 1663, Perrault was appointed its secretary and served under Jean Baptiste Colbert , finance minister to King Louis XIV . Jean Chapelain , Amable de Bourzeys , and Jacques Cassagne (the King's librarian) were also appointed. Using his influence as Colbert's administrative aide, in April 1667 he

1880-452: The salons, most notably by Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy , who coined the phrase "fairy tale" and wrote tales as early as 1690. Some of his popular stories, particularly " Cinderella " and " The Sleeping Beauty ", are still commonly told similar to the way Perrault had written them, while others have been revised over the years. For example, some versions of "Sleeping Beauty" published today are based partially on

1927-426: The tale of Aladdin the actual wishes were only part of the tale. Also, Aladdin's demands, while outrageous, were mainly variations on wealth (which is still often taken as the most common request). Classically the wish provider is often a spirit, genie , or similar entity, which is bound or constrained within a commonplace object (Aladdin's oil lamp for example) or a container closed with Solomon 's seal. Releasing

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1974-404: The very wealthy. Birthday cakes became accessible to the lower class as a result of the industrial revolution and the spread of more materials and goods. The practice of serving cake on birthdays is commonplace in many cultures. In contemporary Western cultures, birthday cakes for children are often topped with candles, secured with special holders or simply pressed down into the outer frosting. In

2021-548: Was a French author and member of the Académie Française . He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale , with his works derived from earlier folk tales , published in his 1697 book Histoires ou contes du temps passé . The best known of his tales include " Little Red Riding Hood ", " Cinderella ", " Puss in Boots ", " Sleeping Beauty ", and " Bluebeard ". Some of Perrault's versions of old stories influenced

2068-570: Was able to get his brother, Claude Perrault , appointed to a committee of three, the Petit Conseil, also including Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Brun , who designed the new section of the Louvre, the Colonnade , built between 1667 and 1674, to be overseen by Colbert. The design was chosen over designs by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (with whom, as Perrault recounts in his Memoirs, he had stormy relations while

2115-568: Was no tradition of bringing gifts to a birthday; guests would merely bring good wishes for the birthday person. However, if a guest did bring gifts it was considered to be a good sign for the person whose birthday it was. Later, flowers became quite popular as a birthday gift. A reference to the tradition of blowing out the candles was documented in Switzerland in 1881. Researchers for the Folk-Lore Journal recorded various "superstitions" among

2162-790: Was superior to the works of antiquity, and that, after all, even Homer nods . In 1682, Colbert forced Perrault into retirement at the age of 56, assigning his tasks to his own son, Jules-Armand, marquis d'Ormoy. Colbert would die the next year, and Perrault stopped receiving the pension given to him as a writer. Colbert's bitter rival succeeded him, François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois , and quickly removed Perrault from his other appointments. After this, in 1686, Perrault decided to write epic poetry and show his genuine devotion to Christianity, writing Saint Paulin, évêque de Nôle ( St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola , about Paulinus of Nola ). Just like Jean Chapelain 's La Pucelle, ou la France délivrée , an epic poem about Joan of Arc , Perrault became

2209-444: Was wealthy." This wording could be taken literally, the wish granted so that at one time the wisher was (used to be) wealthy but is not any more. Saying, "I wish to be wealthy", then because "to be" refers to either the present or the future, they would become wealthy. A common problem is the granter of the wish being either extremely literal or through malice granting the request in a manner designed to cause maximum distress (such as

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