In China, birthdays are mostly celebrated when you are very young or older than 50. Happy Birthday in Chinese: 生日快乐 ( Shēngrì Kuàilè) Lastly, they offer up food such as rice to Samshin Halmoni, the Grandmother Spirit, for taking care of the baby. They also send rice cakes to as many friends and family as possible because sharing rice cakes brings a long life. If the child is sick, the parents will skip over the day so as to not bring bad luck on their child. Happy Birthday in Korean: 생일 축하 ( Saeng-il Chugha)Īlso translated as “Congratulations on your birthday.” In Korea, 100 days after you’re born, you celebrate your first birthday! Parents celebrate their child’s life with a small feast, and they predict the child’s future by the items he or she picks up. All children go when they are three years old, boys when they are five, and girls when they are seven. They pray and give thanks for their good health and strength. These are lucky numbers and children go to a Shinto shrine on 15th November if they had a lucky birthday that year. “Congratulations on your birthday!” In Japan, they celebrate Shichi-Go-San, which literally means 7-5-3.
Such as turning 16 and getting flour dumped all over you, or having eggs cracked over your head when you turn 18! Happy Birthday in Japanese: お誕生日おめでとうございます ( Otanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu) In Germany, it’s considered quite bad luck to wish someone a Happy Birthday early, and they have many fun celebrations based on their age. This is more accurately translated as, “All the best on your birthday.” Birthday parties started in Germany in 1200 A.D. It’s not unusual to see an 18th birthday party with hundreds of people wishing you a “Good Birthday!” Happy Birthday in German: Alles Gute zum Geburtstag But when it’s your 18th birthday, everyone goes all out. The most notable thing about birthdays in Italy? They prefer to stay home! The food and cakes are often homemade. This literally translates as “Good party!” Happy Birthday in Italian: Buon Compleanno In Quebec, you’ll hear Bonne fête! far more often than Bon anniversaire. So most parents won’t organise birthday parties then. As for Sundays, that’s considered family time. So most birthday parties are actually thrown on Wednesday when all the kids are out of school. The big difference is that schoolchildren have Wednesdays off, and go to school on Saturdays. They celebrate with a big party, cake and presents, and sing Joyeux Anniversaire. In French, people wish each other a “Good Birthday!” Birthday parties in France are much like those in English-speaking countries. Usually, a family member will shove the cake in their face, all while singing “Mordida! Mordida!” And, of course, a birthday party is not complete without the world-famous piñata! Happy Birthday in French: Bon Anniversaire And instead of blowing out candles on your cake, the birthday boy or girl has to eat the first bite without using utensils or hands. In Mexico, they sing their own unique birthday song, Las Mañanitas (“Little Mornings”). Translated as “Happy Completed Years,” everyone’s birthday is a big day of celebration in most Spanish-speaking countries. Happy Birthday in Spanish: Feliz Cumpleaños
Have you wondered if other cultures sing a Happy Birthday song, like in English? Do they give gifts? What about cake? Read on and learn how to say Happy Birthday in many languages around the world, and the cultural meaning behind it.
So take this as an opportunity for more speaking practice! After all, who doesn’t like to be wished a Happy Birthday? You could even plan a birthday celebration in the language you’re learning! Traditions for celebrations around the world always vary, but birthdays are one of the things that all people have in common, even if they speak different languages. Happy Birthday to you! The gifts, the cake, the celebration…īirthdays are a joyful occasion, to be sure! If you enjoy watching K-drama, you probably have seen Korean people eating 미역국 on their birthdays.Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As a matter of fact, 미역국 is one of my favorite Korean soups. On a birthday morning, a Korean starts his/her day with 미역국 (seaweed soup). However, there is a special birthday food that Koreans must have.
As numerous cultures do, Korean people celebrate this special day with a 선물 (present), 꽃 (flowers), a 카드(birthday card), 케이크 (birthday cake), and 파티(birthday party). Since everyone’s life has been hectic in 2018, this birthday celebration gave us an opportunity to get together and to catch-up with each other. Recently, I went to one of my friend’s 생일 (birthday) celebration, and we all had such a lovely time together.