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To get a deeper sense of the German culture around birthdays, check out this video explaining how to craft the perfect invitation to a kid’s birthday party.
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Special note on this one: be sure to show up with your birthday cake in hand-it’s expected and guaranteed to be consumed. Be prepared for those colleagues you know well (and even those you don’t) to go out of their way to wish you well on your special day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG IN GERMAN FREE
But feel free to start partying the night before! So, you shouldn’t wish someone “happy birthday” before the actual day of their birth-but no one said you can’t get the party started early.Best to keep those pre-birthday wishes to yourself, lest you be deemed the one to blame should hard luck befall the Geburtstagskind (birthday child) in the coming year. This is considered a big no-no in Germany. You probably wouldn’t add wishing someone “Happy Birthday” before their actual birthday to the list, but the Germans sure do.įrom my American perspective, I’ve been known to give a pre-birthday wish to friends and colleagues who I suspect I might not see on their actual birthday. Superstition prevails-refrain from early birthday wishes. Crossing paths with a black cat, opening an umbrella indoors, breaking a mirror… we know them well, those classic fears that come soaked in bad luck should we fall victim.Now, while birthdays can inspire quite the festivities, there are a handful of customs that are highly ingrained in the way Germans approach this annual occasion, steeped in tradition with a smattering of superstition thrown in.Īvoid cultural faux pas by taking note of what it looks like to celebrate one’s birthday, German style: I think it’s fair to say that globally, Germans have quite the reputation for being “the life of the party,” and birthday celebrations are indeed no exception. This practice was mostly reserved for the wealthy, but with the ushering in of the Industrial Revolution, the masses soon gained access to these wonderful treats and thus eating cake in celebration of one’s special day became the norm. Try FluentU for FREE! Happy Birthday History: How Germans Started the Partyĭid you know that we can thank the Germans for developing modern birthday celebrations? Although history shows evidence of the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations celebrating the birthdays of their gods with fanciful festivities, it was the Germans who brought the practice down to us mere mortals.ĭating back to the Middle Ages, when bakers found that there was money to be made in the marketing of Geburtstagstorten (birthday cakes) for children’s birthdays, the rise of the Kinderfest (child celebration) began.