If the song is sung on television or in public, legally one should pay a royalty fee to Warner.
Trivia: the song’s origins are from two sisters in Kentucky who came up with the lyrics in the late 1800s, and has been copyright protected by Warner Music. But, to be honest, I have yet to hear it here sung in German. The song, “Happy Birthday to You” is one of the most recognized English language songs in the world, and can be sung in German. I am not going to pretend that I know why it is not simply “ glücklich Geburtstag” but my guess it has to do with the difference between grammar in both English & German. The word for “congratulations” is used because basically you are telling someone “congratulations you made another year vs. Another German expression is Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag (heartfelt congratulations for your birthday). In German, it is “ Alles Gute zum Geburtstag” literal translation is (All Good for Birth Day). Therefore, the awesome thing about this….as long as I am in Germany, I will have an automatic day off from work!įirst difference is the obvious one in wishing someone a “ Happy Birthday” based on the difference in language. So, I just wanted to be clear because some traditions may not be followed by everyone in either country.Ī special note about my particular birthday is that October 3rd is a national holiday in Germany, as it is Unification Day to celebrate the re-unification of West & East Germany. In other words, some of the traditions associated with birthdays may vary between Bavaria and Berlin, or if someone is from a Turkish background in Germany or an immigrant from Mexico in the US. Obviously this post provides general differences, but these can vary depending on the region of each country as well as the origin of the people involved. So, with October 3rd being my birthday, I thought it would interesting to post the differences in traditions associated with birthdays between the US and Germany.