This is how 'Happy Birthday' is sung in 70 countries
“Happy birthday, happy birthday, we wish you all, happy birthday!” As expected, you will have read that sentence with a specific intonation and melody, humming in your head.
It's about that eternal song for congratulate our family and friends which is usually accompanied by cake and candles. And, on many occasions, used to embarrass the lucky recipient.
We have some traditions so internalized , that we don't even stop to think about its nature outside our borders, beyond the classic “Happy birthday to you”, which most of us know. To solve the unknown, 70 countries around the world have wanted to tell us, or rather, sing us their way of celebrating the birthday of their relatives . Surprises have not been rare.
THE ALWAYS MELODY BUT IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE
It is true that a large number of these countries use the same melody, only changing the language depending on where they reside. **Switzerland, South Africa, Estonia, Georgia, Taiwan, Egypt…**
Sometimes, this change of language makes the lyrics also experience some nuances, as is the case, for example, of ** Italia , in which they sing “Tanti auguri a te”**, whose literal translation would be something like “ Happy Birthday to you".
ENGLISH, FRENCH AND SPANISH, THE MOST USED LANGUAGES OF 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'
The three most repeated languages around the world are English, Spanish and French. ** Canada , India , Pakistan , or Czech Republic ** prefer it in English.
** Haiti, Mali, Ivory Coast and obviously France **, opt for the French.
Apart from ** Spain ,** ** Venezuela , Chile ** or Dominican Republic congratulate on Spanish.
This is how 'Happy Birthday' is sung in 70 countries
AN EXOTIC 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY': THE DIFFERENT MELODIES
However, the happy birthday of some countries is far from what we traditionally know. In Iran, Romania, Poland, Greece or Israel, the lyrics change, but also the music, coming to sound songs worthy of our Spotify playlist. Some, **even accompanied by a chord dance, as in the case of Russia **.
For example, in the Netherlands and Belgium they sing the same song, in Dutch. The translation would be "She will live long in glory", to end with a festive "Hip, hip, hurrah!". We don't know if you will be able to perfectly reproduce the language, but says so :
“Lang zal ze leven, Lang zal ze leven / Lang zal ze leven in de gloria / In de gloria, In de gloria / Hiep, hip, hoera!”
In some Latin American cities, they also completely change the melody . What we would sing here like "He's a fine boy...and he always will be," in Ecuador it is :
"You're getting old, you're getting old, you're getting old, all you need is the cane!"
While in Mexico , a place where the intonation and the letter also change, culminate: _ “To pretty girls, we sing them like this” _ , final verse of a popular song called Las mañanitas.
COUNTRIES THAT DON'T SING 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'
But the real surprise is not that the song is one way or another, which we could already imagine, but that several of the locations do not have! In countries like Ghana, Bosnia, Senegal, Kazakhstan or Nigeria do not have a custom to sing any song the day of your birthday. It's more, in Tanzania, it is not even a habit to celebrate it . In the end, the proverb already says: About tastes there is nothing written.
Learn to sing 'Happy Birthday' in 70 countries