We know a lot of people also have personal birthday traditions as well, like Donnie LOVES pineapple upside down cake and that is what he always gets for his birthday! 😊 Do you have any personal traditions or favorite birthday treats?? 😃 Also! Don’t forget to check out this link to Skillshare! The first 1000 people to use our link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/passporttwo11201
I get an Cheesecake in every birthday made by my mother, she even travel 200 km by train to bring me the cake. because no one is able to bake the cake like my mother can do (and she do like my grandma did
In meiner Kindheit haben wir viele Spiele an den Geburtstagen gemacht. Du hast den eingeladenen Kindern nicht einfach am Ende eine Tüte mit Sachen/Süßigkeiten gegeben, die mussten sich alle in den Spielen "erarbeiten". 1. waren dann alle beschäftigt und hatten viel Spaß 2. gab es "Preise", natürlich auch für die "Verlierer", niemand ist leer ausgegangen. Spiele waren: 1.) Topf schlagen, 2.) Schokolade auspacken 3.) Apfel aus dem Wasserbad essen (ohne Hände) 4.) Sich möglichst viele Gegenstände auf einem Tablett merken, dass dann wieder abgedeckt wird und wissen 5.) Pudding füttern von hinten mit den Händen eines anderen 6.) Stadt, Land, Fluß 7.) irgendwas war noch mit Würstchen an einem Seil hängend essen, weiß ich aber nicht mehr genau und noch viele mehr -glaube ich-.
@Passport Two We had a big jewish population until the worst period of the 20th century! We had, some still have, traditions words and phrases that a melted (so not 100% the same) with jewish tradition. German jewish (sometimes east european jewish) was called Jiddisch, even most german and jewisch people today doesn't know today. For example: Meschugge, Pinke Pinke, Malochen, Kaff (ein Ort wird als Kaff beschrieben), vermasseln (massel + ver), mies (sich mies fühlen) usw. (www.oppisworld.de/zeit/judentum/jjiddwor.html). Most of them still exist in the "berliner Mundart", but it is sadly dieing out, like everything else... Why I say that? The chair thing is a jewish tradition, mainly for weddings, as far as aI know (and I am just an history enthusiast, no degree or anything). In the USA mainly the "Beschneidung" made it into american traditions (here absolutly not, it is only done for medical purposes). I hate german birthdays, but american birthdays shock me even more! I would call the cops if someone broke into my home to through me a suprise party! And 2nd thing, most people bring shitty gifts, there are completly selfcentered and gift you what they want for themselves, or cheap shit. Also there is a mix of birthday traditions. For example for a friend I always wants me to make my potato salad (like 15-20 kg) and thats my gift for his birthday. Thats also what I often did for my birthday, I provide the basics, and guests bring specialties. Because it isn't about the gifts, its about being together with people that honestly like you and don't just come, because its the event of the weekend, imo!
if i was like "oh my birthday is next week" and someone told me happy birthday i would be so confused :D like its not my birthday now?? cant believe thats actually a thing people do in America;D
Well, it is more like this. You say something like, "Well, if I don't see you then, I sure hope you have a Happy Birthday." What you are saying is NOT the official birthday greeting. You are just wishing them well as they approach the special day. Or, you say it to them if you know for sure you will not see them on their birthday.
Because of the fact we Germans don't congratulate before the birthday, it is sometimes common to phone a very good friend short after midnight to congratulate. For me it have something competitive to be the first one who congratulate the friend/family member before every one else have the chance.
Yeah, I know people who do this. That's the easiest way to finish a friendship with me. I am a morning person and I've gotten very angry with friends who wake me up at midnight for no good reason ... (I consider this very very rude and disrespectful).
These phone calls can even become quite stressful, in particular in you do not feier rein. All your relatives call on the phone - on the same day - while you may be busy preparing dinner and/or cake, or you are already celebrating and eating cake, and you just can´t spend time with your guests, hanging on the phone. But: Being gratulated in advance just does not feel right! In overall: Having a birthday means more and more chores, the older you grow...
@@nriamond8010 I'm with you on that! I would be angry if someone called me after midnight. The phone ringing would scare me to death. I would be thinking that something bad has happened to a family member.
This was the case when I was a child: In Switzerland when a child holds a birthday party they are supposed go give the other children bags filled with sweets when they leave the party. Of course the mother has to organize this. They also have to bring a cake to school. Not directly connected with your birthday but it's a nice tradition. In the village where I live all the people who turn 40 in that year have to plan the yearly "Chilbi" (etwas wie Jahrmarkt)
That tradition of giving bags with sweets at the end of a party is also done in the US! 😃 We had forgotten completely about that but we also did this to and is expected. We call them "party favors," "goody bags," or somebody early commented they called them "loot bags." 😊
The spanking-thing in Germany would be "jemanden hochleben", the birthday-person sits on a chair and a few others lift the chair the new age plus one more time up.
@@PassportTwo We had a big jewish population until the worst period of the 20th century! We had, some still have, traditions words and phrases that a melted (so not 100% the same) with jewish tradition. German jewish (sometimes east european jewish) was called Jiddisch, even most german and jewisch people today doesn't know today. For example: Meschugge, Pinke Pinke, Malochen, Kaff (ein Ort wird als Kaff beschrieben), vermasseln (massel + ver), mies (sich mies fühlen) usw. (www.oppisworld.de/zeit/judentum/jjiddwor.html). Most of them still exist in the "berliner Mundart", but it is sadly dieing out, like eerything else... Why I say that? The chair thing is a jewish tradition, mainly for weddings, as far as aI know (and I am just an history enthusiast, no degree or anything). In the USA mainly the "Beschneidung" made it into american traditions (here absolutly not, it is only done for medical purposes). I hate german birthdays, but american birthdays shock me even more! I would call the cops if someone broke into my home to through me a suprise party! And 2nd thing, most people bring shitty gifts, there are completly selfcentered and gift you what they want for themselves, or cheap shit. Also there is a mix of birthday traditions. For example for a friend I always wants me to make my potato salad (like 15-20 kg) and thats my gift for his birthday. Thats also what I often did for my birthday, I provide the basics, and guests bring specialties. Because it isn't about the gifts, its about being together with people that honestly like and don't just come, because its the event of the weekend, imo!
I'm turnin 61 next week. My friends and I are just too full of bodily aches and pains to do a chair lift. However, a first-class dinner, a birthday toast with friends and a day of relaxing fun.
Me too, but I wouldn't even have considered any superstition as a reason. It is just not how it is done or at most, not what would be considered "good manners"
Some turn it into a “spanking machine” where everyone lines up standing wide legged and the birthday person has to army crawl thru the spread legs. This makes it a game for the ones giving the spanking to try and get all the spanks in (the age of the person). Writing this celebrating my 44th day today (March 4).
Different concepts are at the bottom of this birthday thing. In America, you wish somebody luck on their birthday - no harm in doing this beforehand. In Germany, you congratulate ("gratulieren") somebody for having made it through another year, which obviously means tempting fate if you do it before the feat has been accomplished. No need to worry, though. If it happens to you, just spit over your shoulder and knock on wood three times, and you should be fine... ;)
11:20 „birthday slaps“ ... there was an old, now outdated similarly in Germany (guess Europe): a newborn child was softly slap at the button, to force a cry and assure, the breathing „is activated“ (if baby is not crying after birth)... that’s SEEMS right, as the baby has to switch to breath by lung direct after birth. Today breath, pulse, reflexes, muscle are observed closely, so that traditional should be obsolete... I can imagine, that American „one hit per birthday“ tradition has its roots there.
That definitely was done in the US as well and very well may be the origins of that tradition! Hadn't made that connection but now that you say it, it seems to make total sense. 😃
That made a lot of sense. Maybe that is why we do it here. I always thought it was brought up by the meanest person at the party because they liked the thought of you being in pain.
There is a tradition in some rural areas of Germany that the unmarried person who becomes 30 has to clean something in public, e.g. door handles of a church, organized by friends, until a person of the opposite sex kisses her / him.
some further information - if wanted - :-) the female usually has to clean public doorhandles, which have been prepared by some "friends" with toothpaste, mustard and so on, the male has to sweep the steps or the place in front of a public building, which are preapred, too, with torn papers, little pieces of wood (sägespäne), and so on. the rule is, that they have to convince someone of the other sex, who is "virgin", to kiss them free..... what makes it even more difficult, for the birthday-person is mostly funny dressed, their equiment is absolutley inefficent and the friends "help" them, paying possible virgins not to kiss and laying some more stuff to be cleaned.... normaly, they set a time for that ritual, it is announced in newspappers or on big posters, too... this tradition is only for the unmarried, who celebrate their 30th birthday.... for funny videos on yout tube search for "muss klinken putzen" or "muss fegen"... :-) stay healthy!
This tradition comes originally from Bremen. An unmarried man of 30 years has to sweep the stairs of the Dom untill a virgin comes to free him by a kiss. So the young man should have the chance to find someone to marry. This was taken to the female in the 60ths too. They had to clean the doorhandles of the Dom. (Today you only can pretend to do so bc it got out of controll, by littering the stairs too much and using tools damaging the material of the handles.) This endes in a large party afterwords whith all the family and friends who whittnessed and the person who gave the kiss. I know about a bunch of people fleeing this tradition. Not wanting the hole city to see them doing this.😳 This tradition was taken to lots of other locations all over Northern Germany today. Even to the ocean. My best friend turned 30 while working on the MS Europa. She had to clean the big bell of the ship. Colleges new about this tradition for a "Bremer Deern" (girl from Bremen). They had a hard time to find a young man on board to kiss her free. Happens to be a 12 year old passanger 🤣.
So i‘m from lower saxony and here we definetly have the Birthday spanking (Geburtstags klatsche) and the Birthday punches (Geburtstags kloppen) but ist is not Common for adults. Mostly Teens would do this TP their friends. 😁
When our daughter turned 17 on the 17th in Minnesota, (on an exchange program), we were told that this was her "sweet birthday" and is very special. I thought they had made a mistake and thought she was turning 16, but no, it's the birthday of the number day you are born on. It only goes until you are 31 years old, obviously. In Austria you get one extra candle on your cake, for good luck. So 7 candles when you turn 6 and so forth. Mostly until you're in your mid 20s, then it might only be that one candle for all the following years.
- The video effects are getting better and better. Thumbs up! And the Pineapple Upside Down Cake looks super delicious. Yummy! - Everybody in Germany knows the saying "don't praise the day before the evening", but where does "don't praise the sword before the battle" and "don't praise the bed before the night" come from? I've never heard that before and Google couldn't tell me. - "Topfschlagen" at children's birthday partys: Here in our area it is common to have a treasure hunt where all children get a small bag with sweets (plus a funny children's tattoo, a fancy eraser or some similar small items). Pot hitting is out. - Birthday spanking definitely does not exist here. It sounds crazy. Does it stop at some age or do you give your grandmother a hundred slaps?
-Thanks so much for the encouragement! We try and make them better and better! -Don't know where it comes from originally either but it was just what we found in our research 🤷♂️😊 -Kind of sounds like an Easter Egg Hunt in the US! -Haha, we would not spank our grandparents, but maybe a grandmother would spank her husband 😂 It is a tradition that is just for laughs and is normally reserved for siblings, really really close friends and such. 😊
I got my last spanking at age 30, and that was uncommon. It was because of the 'buddies' that came to my house. They got carried away with it and it began to hurt. I threatened to punch them out! Ha. This spanking thing usually ends in high school. And very few people do it, anyway. No, you don't slap your grandmother no matter what age she is. Ha.
Happy birthday, Donny! I’m from Slovakia and we have many traditions similar to German ones - such as not to wish happy birthday before the day, also a birthday person provides their peers with some treats ... I’m not superstitious and I don’t have a problem to start celebrating a week beforehand week after 🥳 last couple of birthdays my husband planned a trip somewhere so i felt treated and pampered... no one had to bake a cake, we went for a meal out. A win win situation 😍
Nice one! I have to share with you, that I witnessed our sweet neighbor who is german, being given a present before her 4 th birthday and she told the giver she would open it later on her birthday. They must teach them young! Also, 18 is the big birthday here because that's when kids can get their drivers license. I too experienced a birthday celebration of my german friend and she spared no expense on the food, drink and experience. It is fascinating to see these differences!
I am German and I moved to Denmark a few years ago. I can remember that my danish guests were kind of disappointed when I put the presents aside to open up later when all guests are together. In Denmark you open the gift right away when you almost get it in your hand. I was rised by my parents, when you celebrate your Birthday you welcome and serve your guests first to feel them welcomed. Later, maybe after dinner, you open the gifts when all guests are joint together, so you can share the gifts and surprises with all.
That’s really interesting! It still amazes us to see how incredibly different countries can be in Europe despite how close they are to each other. Thanks for sharing 😊
Yes! We once celebrated my friends birthday with "reinfeiern" and she collected her birthday presents to open after midnight. Its her 21. Birthday and I actually made 21 little presents. So she opend 20 of them before midnight and the 21. on her actual birthday :D
That actually seems to be one of the things every family does differently. In our family presents are usually opened immediately, except all guests are rushing in at once and opening presents and greeting guests would get chaotic, in this case you greet the guests first and immediately afterwards open the presents
Well, that's usually how it is done in America. Even if it is little kids or adults, when guests arrive, they put the gifts on the "gift table" and do not hand them to you, normally. After a meal, or just cake eating, THEN the gifts are opened in front of everyone. And no matter what you get, you look so amazed and happy and tell them what a great gift it is. Can't hurt anyone's feelings.
Topfschlagen was definitely a very big thing during my childhood. No birthday without Topfschlagen! A friend of mine broke a lot of wooden cooking spoons, because he always hit the pot extreme enthusiastically. Thank you for the super video example of Topfschlagen 🥁!
Haha, I inherited a pot with marks on the bottom from me hitting it very hard during topfschlagen. I wonder what kinde of spoon I used to leave marks in a stainless steel pot..
Do American coworkers also collect money for someone's birthday secretly, from which someone buys a present and flowers for that person? I believe this is the reason behind treating our colleagues on our birthday. - Not sure, if you already noticed that, but Germans struggle a bit with being in someone's "Schuld", when we aren't friends with someone, and are given a present, or we are invited. - We try to keep track on how much someone spent on us, to kind of "get even", with that person... and we try to return that favor someone does for us. :) But we distinguish between family /friends and coworkers. Family and friends treat us on our birthday, bake a cake, but we are the ones, who treat our colleagues at work.
"Do American coworkers also collect money for someone's birthday secretly, from which someone buys a present and flowers for that person?" Yes, especially in a small workplace.
Some of the American birthday traditions sound very nice to me, especially the idea of organising a friend's birthday and doing anything to make the person feel special and card for. As far as children are concerned there is a tradition that the birthday girl/boy takes sweets to Kindergarten / school to hand out to the classmates and the teacher will light a candle and sing a birthday song along with the class. At work you bring a cake or some breakfast to your team and will get flowers or a shared present in return, but only if there is a friendly work climate. When I was a little child my parents would wake me up at midnight for a little celebration and present opening. Later my mother told me they started that because there was too much time pressure if we had done that in the morning before school.
No matter if that tradition started out of necessity because of time in the morning or not, I really think that idea sounds really cute and fun! I like the idea of getting a surprise like that to kick off your birthday 😊
Wait... You treat the birthday person like a king, but at the same time he has do endure abuse and violence, even harder the older he get? Damn thats a quite good metaphoric example on life in general
Well done, entertaining and informative, as always. Thanks. This gives me the idea for a suggestion for a video topic: The differences in wedding celebration traditions. There are so many weird and silly traditions surrounding weddings in Germany, like "Polterabend", kidnapping the bride, playing a prank on the newlyweds, partying the whole night till the next morning and so on and there are things about American weddings Germans usually don't know about or don't understand, like rehearsal receptions, "Bridezillas" or giving people lists of presents you'd like to have. You could also talk about differences between different parts of the USA when it comes to weddings. That subject seems like something obvious to make "differences between the USA and Germany" videos about, because there are significant differences and yet, I never saw it even mentioned on any channel that does videos like that. It is a blind spot on all the "German windows tilt!"-channels I know of. You could really pioneer something and conquer undiscovered land there. It kind of was a blind spot to me too. I had seen American weddings in movies and TV shows, but never paid the differences much attention, till my sister went to the USA for a internship as a student and was invited to a wedding party and told me about how different it was. She did her internship at the Dallas airport in Texas and I don't know how much the things that seemed weird to my sister and me are a Texan thing, or maybe just specific to a certain region.
That's a great idea! In my German class we talked about some of these wedding differences and it was really interesting to learn about. We haven't gotten the opportunity to go to a German wedding yet, but I'm sure we could do some research and find these differences out! 😃
I appreciate that your videos are always well researched. German living in the US, so I have done the opposite journey. One addition to “special” birthdays in Germany would be a Schnapszahl (like 22, 33, 44 etc.)
It does not necessarily mean bad luck if congratulated early, but it seems very weird, I have never heard nor done or experienced it. It just is normal to congratulate on the day. Even if you wish a belated birthday a day or several late does no harm at all. Birthday presents or cards coming early (by mail or parcel) does not hurt at all. But you never ever open them until your actual birthday, never ever would you dare to. If you get a birthday wish by phone it does not hurt if the actual present comes after your birthday. „Reinfeiern“ is usually done when your birthday is on a Sunday or Monday. „Nachfeiern“ is quite common if your birthday is between Monday and Thursday. So you invite your friends to celebrate a f t e r your actual birthday on Friday or Saturday evening, nothing wrong with it. No one would invite and celebrate on say Saturday if your birthday is on the following Monday or Tuesday. The concept is that you have to achieve the actual day to be able to celebrate it. You might die the day before, and you celebrated your 30. birthday, when you died at 29. Absolutely a no go. And yes, you are expected to invite your friends or colleagues, not the other way round. It might be a coffee or tea, some biscuits or cake, a glass or bottle of beer and a sausage. Just something small to honor your friendship (and maybe -small- gifts) you might receive.
We have definitely been told by multiple Germans they did not want the bad luck that comes from being wished an early birthday! Maybe not bad luck or superstitious for all, but for some it definitely is that way I guess 😂😅
Dem schließe ich mich gerne an: herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich an Donnie, und herzlichen Glückwunsch auch an Aubrey, natürlich ebenfalls nur nachträglich (zu dem vom letzten Jahr; so kann man zeigen, daß man alles Gute wünscht, ohne im Voraus zu gratulieren :-)
I have also been told wishing a happy birthday early is tempting fate - the person might not live to see their birthday, you never know. As for presents, a lot of people (well the grown ups) will ask if they should open the present now (early) or wait until the real birthday so they are not hurting anyone's feelings.
In some parts of Germany it's common that men who are unmarried have to clean the stairs in front of the townhall. Family and friends get the stairs extra dirty for the birthday boy and hand them different items to clean them, usually starting with a toothbrush. The birthday boy gets released if an unmarried woman kisses him in front of his family and friends. Birthday girls who turn 30 and are unmarried clean the doorknobs of the townhall, however, some people like to switch places in a leap year, so the birthday girl gets to clean the stairs and the birthday boy has to clean the doorknobs. This tradition is rather celebrated in smaller towns than in a cities.
That is so interesting! This of course is something we definitely don't have in the US and we haven't gotten the chance to see in Germany. Love these unique traditions!! 😃
Here in Hannover, that is often a feature of an unmarried man's birthday at the age of ... 30? 35? - depending on what his friends decide. He has not yet made his generational contribution to society, so he has to symbolically clean up behind them so he is at least useful in that way.
The cake thing. I usually wish for a cake as a gift because im not good at baking. If it is a bigger gathering bringing a cake as a present is very common. The party thing is also not so definite. Many times i've asked a friend if they could host my party because im to lazy to clean before and after the party xD. Oh and i always stealth my way around my birthday so i don't have to bring cookies or cake to the office. But that's because i don't like to bring attention to me having my birthday. I buy snacks for my colleagues all the time, just not on my birthday ^^.
So a few points of my own ( Luxembourg and friends from neighbouring countries): *wishing ahead is like counting the spoils of harvest before doing the harvest. Also it may appear a bit like " but i wished you a week ago, dont mind that i forgot to wish you on the same day again... ugh" * the host paying for the restaurant and such is mostly comon here in europe i think, the exception is if your friends invite/ organize a party for you. like "the party and meals are our gift for you " * a cake or so for office seems to be " comon" as well but also depends on the work environment. you cant be expected to bring cake for 100+ people but for the good friends at work or the group you often bring a cake or something like that, not necessarely self baked though. ( i will admit that i skip that rule cos they always expect me to bake on of my cakes but as im too lazy for that i often simply take that week off :D :D) *my super sweet 16 ... ugh cringe.. kill me please... lets say that series made a joke of the states sorry :P the spanking isnt that comon here, but i know from some docomentaries that some countries they pinch your earlobe for the same effect but dont ask me which country that was. if i remember right denmark? has a tradition on 25th bday that if you're still single you get cinnamon'd on your bday but not sure on country and age. great video in the whole sum though ;) maybe leak Aubreys Bday for us to wish well and happy delayed birthday wished to Donnie ;)
Ah, that reminds me of another German tradition : young men have to sweep the stairs to the town hall if they are not married by their 30th birthday - the town hall being the place where you sign your wedding papers before getting married in church. This is normally planned by their male friends who will watch and cheer .
* the host NOT paying for a restaurant happens now and then, and it feels somehow legit, if the host is maybe a student, or just does not have the money (eating out is often quite expensive in Germany). But in that cases it´s more accepted to invite at home and maybe just serve a very simple meal like Pasta, even if it´s in a small apartment ('flat' ;) ) or WG-Küche. In such cases, some of the good friends will show up with an additional dessert or cake, or booze, maybe ask in advance, if they can bring something to sweeten the chore. Being 'invited' to a restaurant for a birthday party and being expected to pay for your own meal feels like the host took the easy Ausfahrt to slip away from their chores. At the end - some commenters already mentioned - the celebration is meant for the guests (who bring presents!) and not for the host. (Once you´re grown up.) The surprise party, organised by friends, may be an issue planned well ahead for example, if the 'birthday child' has to work late, or other reasons keep them from celebrating properly. And then it´s quite often the partner pulling all the strings.
To wish somebody a happy birthday before their birthday just means bad luck When i get a present early i ask the giver if its ok to open now or if i should wait. You dont have to pay the whole dinner. You can say in advance that you’ll pay the drinks. Or the first soda and one cocktail. Or whatever you want. I once celebrated my birthday at a bowling arena and i paid for the bowling and everyone else for their drinks. In germany also the ages 22,33,44,55 etc are special birthdays. We cann it Schnapszahl so snappsnumber (liquor number).
In my culture, party invitees don't bring gifts. Their expression of friendship by coming is their gift. Each will be given a gift by the birthday boy or girl, for them to take home and share with their family. Also, the first anniversary of one's birth is one's SECOND birthday, as one' birth day is one's first birthday. BTW, in British tradition, the greeting is not Happy Birthday, but Many Happy Returns, which says, in effect, may you return for many more birthdays.
The best game at children's birthday parties when I was a kid was the one where there was a wrapped bar of chocolate , knife and fork, gloves, a scarf and a beanie and you threw a dice and if you got a 6 you would need to put on the stuff and try to get to the chocolate with knife and fork before the next kid got a 6. Did that have a name?
Haha, that’s fun! There is a similar party game now in the US for Christmas where a gift is wrapped in a bunch of paper or Saran Wrap and you have to try and get it open with oven mits before the next person rolls a 6. maybe that came from the game you’re talking about!
@@PassportTwo The Name of the Game in Germany is called "Stopeating", You roll the dice and try to get a slice of the chocolate (or schnitzel or whatever) before one of the other kids roll a 6. To slow you down and to make it funnier for all, you have to put on gloves, a scarf etc, before you can grab the knife and fork to start eating. This gives the other kids some time to roll a 6 and stop you from eating, so they can have their try.
In my childhood in the 80's it was called "Schokolade-Schlachten" ("chocolate slaughter"). There was also "stop eating", but that was something else (in the area where I lived). There you shouted "Stop" at dinner and whoever wiggled had to take something off.
for children one per year, for young/medium aged women a dozen less, and for everybody else probably a single big one (that lasts for hours) on the table to not trigger the alarm. and since only you yourself should put out all flames *(never* extinguish someone else's "light of life"; see _"Lebenslicht auspusten"),_ and you should succeed with one single breath (to make a wish come true), having not too many candles can be an advantage.
Topfschlagen was my favorite party game in elementary school😂 My grandma bakes my birthday cake every year. In general, at least the people in the area I live get homemade birthday cakes from friends oder family members. On UA-cam I often see Americans buying a fully decorated cake at a store instead of baking it themselves. Of course you can't generalize this (like any other topic aswell) but I wanted to ask if this case is more an exception or a regularity in the US? (I hope you can understand what I want to say...:) )
I would personally say it is more of an exception and my family and friends always baked our own cake because we usually have a specific one that is our favorite and that we want for our birthday. However, I really don't know exactly if this is just what I am used to seeing in my circle of friends and family or not. 😊 I could understand perfectly! 😊
@@PassportTwo that was true. My aunt was married to a French Military Officer and was living all over Europe and stayed through the Hollidays with her Family by my grandmother, my unkle lived in Fürth and we in Freiburg
Actually even though it normally is expected for the birthday person to pay for food and buy a birthday cake, between me and my friendgroup we changed that. It should never be the birthday person, so between us we always bake or buy a cake.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich auch von mir, Donnie. :). Another special birthday in Germany is the 100th, you receive an official gratulation of the Federal President (same on the 105th and every subsequent birthday thereafter.).
Vielen vielen Dank!! 😊 Wow! I hadn't heard about the 100th birthday special wish. Thanks for sharing!! Gonna have to look into that interesting tradition more 😃
In my region we also have a weird birthday tradition. When someone turns 14 years old their head is "decorated" with Schokoküssen or smashed with them. (Sometimes whipped cream is also used) On the 16th birthday they are then showered with flour (and sometimes also with eggs) but I'd also say that this tradition has gotten less as I've haven't seen it in quite a while and we barely did it with our friends... 😂
I.will only speak about birthdays in my family, in the US, and Gary Indiana in particular. Birthdays in the immediate household was usually celebrated on the actual day. With family, most couldn't make it on the actual day, and usually celebrated that person's birthday on a Saturday or Sunday before, or after the birthday. Gifts are given and opening on the day of the party, whether it's on the actual day, or observed on a different day to make it convenient for family and friends to meet. Spanking wasn't common in my family, but it was common in some of friend's family traditions. My maternal grandmother did not like her birthday, because she was bored on Christmas Day (December's 25th), and as a kid, she never got to have a birthday, and was cheated out of separate birthday gifts. Because my birthday is near Halloween, my birthday has occasionally been observed on Halloween to make it convenient for family to attend. Now you aren't aware about the smoking age in the US. On March 18th, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into Federal law, raising the smoking age to 21. It was because of individual states raising the minimum age of smoking to 21. So it hit the 28 to 20 year old that hard, because unless someone else bought their tobacco products, they went cold turkey, and it's not wise for everyone to go cold turkey. Some people who go cold turkey on nicotine can get ill, or worse, have a heart attack. My friend's husband had a heart attack at age 35, when he went cold turkey.
After having lived as an American in Germany for many, many years, I still feel somewhat like I did at the beginning regarding birthdays: Once a year, German society punishes you for having had the audacity to be born (Birthday spankings are nothing in comparison). Germans see this sentiment as totally incomprehensible and even insulting, but arguing with culturally grounded negative reactions does not do much to alleviate them. In my family of origin, my birthday was my Queen for a Day celebration. Here, I have to see to it that there is enough cake and drinks for everybody. Once in a while, I do this and enjoy it. At other times, I take a daytrip to somewhere ... anywhere.
Taking a day trip somewhere on that day is not a half bad idea! It is hard for us to also get used to the idea that your birthday isn't a day that you are completely celebrated and served rather than hosting and working. 😊
The difference is, we don't see it as a punishment to care for guests on your birthday. It is an honour that people and relatives come to your home and celebrate you on your birthday. They also would bring you gifts. That's why you have the honour to care for your guests with cake or dinner. Within a family, all would help together that the birthday child or parent would be free of household work and be celebrated.
@@benjaminjakob1906 Well, some of us DO see it as a punishment - I like to cook and have a few people as guests, but I hate throwing partys - it gives me the feeling that I have to make sure that everyone is entertained without being entertained myself at all. So a daytrip somewhere seems the much better option for me ...
In Germany we do have something similar to the spanking. We call it Geburtstagsschläge. You punch the person celebrating their birthday in the arm as many times as they turned ( for example 16 punches for turning 16). I think it's a thing between siblings.
You actually can wish someone a "happy birthday" when you phrase it like this: "Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Geburtstag", "Hab einen schönen Geburtstag" or "Feier schön". You just cannot congratulate someone (usually done by saying "Alles Gute") because that would be like congratulating someone before their wedding day or before a promotion. It doesn't make sense because you haven't actually "achieved" this milestone yet. You can congratulate after the birthday by saying "nachträglich" after your birthday wish.
I did Topfsuchen as a child here in Austria, wow that is so nostalgic! I haven't done it in forever. We also always played Sesseltanz at birthday parties. I don't think I have been to a birthday party where we didn't play Sesseltanz :D another popular game was searching for smarties or gummy bears in a pile of flour, but only being allowed to use your mouth. Man, I miss those times. Btw, if you like to see the reactions to your gifts, I would always rather give them late then early. Or if it's someone you don't see often, you can always send it via snail mail and time it in such a way that it arrives close to their birthday.
You can always see if a child in the house has birthday or celebrates. There are always balloons hanging from the fence or balcony. And retrospectively all the best!
Ah, that's a fun way of showing it! Sometimes in the US parents will fly balloons from the mailbox on the street to show it. So, kind of similar I guess. Thanks!! 😊
1. Happy birthday. Donnie! 2. I know, this "never wish early happy birthday"-thing is a dumb superstition. But we do it anyway. 3. 16 is an important age in Germany, too. Because you can have your first driver's licence for little motorcycles. And yes, you are alowed to drink some alcohol in public, but I don't think that is a big deal. 18 is probably the most important birthday, because now you are allowed to everything (except becoming a crafts "Meister" or "Bundespräsident") 4. I've never heard of some kind of hitting the birthday kid. But I like the idea! We'll try that next time. Oh, wait - the next birthday in my family is my own. We'll take a raincheck.
@@mikelastname1220 At least we can join the military at the same point in time as buying cigarettes and liquor Well, take this gun and die in a desert but don't fckkng touch this beer!
Congratulation for the 10000 subscribers. When we lived in the US my sons where quite young and there where many birthdays. One of themain differences on birthday celebrations between US and D was for kids birthdays - the loot bag. This was not really common in Germayn at that time (maybe now it is)
Thanks so much for that!! 😊 By loot bag I guess you are talking about the bag of goodies they give out to party guests at the end of a party as they leave? I think we used to call that just "party favors" where we are from. I think we forgot about those! 😃
.. a friend of mine was born on the 01.01.83 ... 31.03ten my big one ..... 01.04th my little one ... skip aheasd 10 years... 2 day party!! (five years later... collecting drunk chicks from the streets ...) "we had an awesome time!!":-D
We have the tradition of Fegen (sweep) the steps of the Dom in Bremen on your 30 Birthday, if your not married. You have to sweep until a "virgin" Kiss you.
@@martinschulz326 No, it's also a thing in NRW. Not every there and just for men. Woman who are not married with 25 get also not everythere an old box wreath because she is an "old box" ("alte Schachtel", in english better "old bag"). The friends collect sometimes month before cigarette boxes for a long wreath around the house door or in a tree in front of the door.
Birthday spankings are not very common here in Germany. In my friend group we do them sometimes, but only, because we are all into Bdsm, so it's fun for us. With my other friends we don't do that and I think, most of them have never heard about that tradition before.
For me the not congratulating/ opening gifts before the actual birthday thing isn't about superstition. I have vaguely heard about it being bad luck, but really it just feels weird to celebrate something, that hasn't happened yet.
Great video, as always as I am finding lol. I am confused, I am not sure if I should say Happy Belated Birthday to Donnie or Happy future (just in case I miss it) Birthday Aubrey. Lol lol, I am kidding, it is always fun researching different traditions between the USA and Germany. :) :) PS- I love all of the outtakes lol. :).
It's important to know the different meanings behind German and American birthday congratulations to understand the different timings. Germans congratulate to you with something in a meaning like All good wishes for your next year in life. In the birthday case this is very appropriate because you have actually arrived at the gate of this new year, birthday congrats not being made before time in Germany. In contrary to this, Americans congratulate with something like Have a nice birthday/Have a happy birthday/Enjoy your birthday. Thereby they express their wish that the birthday itself should be a good and a smooth day. Supposedly, the rest of the next year is also implied to these wishes, but this is not said loudly. And for that the birthday wishes can easily be timed beforehand. Whereas in Germany, it is hard to express best wishes for a coming time without even having arrived at the gates of this coming up time period. The explanation lies in the content of the phrase with the birthday wish.
Oh one more thing I discovered in germany. Some people have the tradition that the Birthday child is King the whole day. And what the King say is law. So if you want to do something or want to go anywhere everyone have to do this.
@@PassportTwo oh I learned it from older people, that at parties it becomes decisive what everybody has to drink, who have to buy new bier and what kind of music should be heard. XD
I actually Like the idea of someone else baking me a cake or planning my birthday party because I always feel stressed on my birthday otherwise. Other classic game on a kids birthday in Germany are "Sackhüpfen" ( a contest in the fastest hopping with both legs in one bag) or "Schokoladenwettessen". Here all Kids sit around a table and roll a dice in turns. When it shows a 6 you have to quickly put in a woolhat, a shawl and gloves and try to eat a bar of chocolate with a knife and a fork. Meanwhile the other ones keep rolling the dice and when a 6 falls you have to pass in all the stuff plus the chocolate to the one who had the 6 as a result. This can be very frustrating because you didn't eat any chocolate...its a very quick game!
Sackhüpfen - We call that sack races or potato sack race. Everyone does it to see who can cross the finish line first. Lot of people falling down and making it humurous.
That "alternative" baseball bat killed me. ;-) Also congratulation to your 10k subscibers! Do you notice that you wouldn't have accepted this too early at 9990 subs? That's how we feel about birthday wishes. When people are too early I tend to say "I heaven't heard it, but I will remember tomorrow". :-)
haha, you're the first to comment on that 😅 That is a good point about the subs number! Although we did have a lot of family and friends congratulate on being close to 10K 😂
Hallo Ihr beiden. Wieder ein witziges Video :-). The tradition when you spank someone on his birthday isn´t common in Germany. I never heard about this. Belated happy birthday Donnie :-)
Hallo und danke schön!! There really may be no tradition like it in Germany, and maybe to the luck of all German birthday boys and girls who don’t have to go through that 😂😂
Isnt the Piñata generally a mexican tradition? When I was a kid and we used to live in Germany I only did the Topfschlagen in school when we celebrated our birthdays. I am Croatian and a lot of stuff is the same as in Germany...Topfschlagen is none of them though xD
Thanks for your great videos! A remark on the "superstitions" surrounding wishing someone a happy birthday or a happy new year early: This may well be founded in actual superstition "back in the day", but I very much doubt most of us Germans still really believe this will bring bad luck. It has simply become a custom and we don't think much of it. When Germans quote such superstitions, we do this jokingly most of the time, at least in my experience (having been born and living in Northrhine-Westphalia in the West of Germany for these 51 years of my life.) Your milage my differ, though (glimpsing at Bavaria, in a jesting way). :)
Its not a obligation bring your own stuff to workplace. Most people wont do, some people pay for the celebrating person. Depends on the family and friends. Our big Milestone Party is the 18 th Birthyday. So you become a Legal Aduld. A Tradtion in the nothern germany on Round Bithdays or Mariage Days is "kränzen" they hang a big girlande of pine around your door with a Number and you have give them Schaps as a present.They often bring Money oder other things for your Birthday. Held in smaller towns
What do Americans do with their birthday cake. In Germany, birthday party starts 3-4 pm. Cake time. Americans don't have it. When do they eat the cake ? Or when do they start their party ?
I think I am a little confused by the question but I will try my best and explain. A party can be whenever somebody wants it to start, but I would say midday or afternoon is most popular for children's parties and evenings for adults. Most of the time, if a party starts at 6PM as a random example, you will hang out, eat dinner or snacks, play games, and then after a little while, sing "Happy Birthday" with candles on the cake lit, at the end of the song they blow the candles out and then immediately serve the cake for everybody to eat. However, the cake normally is sitting out for everybody to see during the party because they are decorated. So most likely the cake is eaten in the middle or towards the end of the party, but no set rules.
@@PassportTwo Thanks. But you do have this "Kaffee und Kuchen" video, why are you confused. It is this meal you are inviting for (at least in families). After that, the table is cleared, and re-opened for dinner later on. It's more dining table setup then buffet setup. Eating a cake as desert ist quiet strange for Germans, this will hardly ever happen. It's a meal, not a course. Oh, and something else is different. There is cake and there is Birthday Cake. The cream cake for Birthday most people only buy one for birthday. Or 1 piece per guest or so. But cause people want to eat more, they are hungry, they eat 3-4 pieces of cake, but not all the same. My grandma used to make 8 cakes for 20 people. Most of them you would call a pie or a tarte or sponge cake. Or just one layer biscuit with Yello fruit topping.
@@holger_p Now I'm even more confused 😂 "Kaffee und Kuchen" and birthday parties are two completely different things. "Kaffee und Kuchen" is a weekly (or sometimes daily) break in a day to sit and have coffee and cake that is completely unrelated to birthday parties. Obviously, birthday parties are parties to celebrate a birthday and just happens to also have cake involved.
@@PassportTwo "Kaffee und Kuchen" is a daily meal, like the 5 o clock-tee in England. It's often reduced to the weekend nowadays, or sometimes taken at offices, cause people are not home at this time of the day. Or people skip to due to the calories, but traditional it's daily. The span from lunch (12pm) to dinner 7 pm is too long. So you have this snack at 3:30. This meal is the central and essential part of a birthday party. At least in the tradition, with grandma's etc. It's the occasion to socialize. AND: Kuchen is only eaten at this meal. So it only makes sense to have a birthday cake, if you invite for "Kaffee und Kuchen" What should you do with a cake, if people come at 6pm ? I would have no idea, this does not make any sense to a German. Cake time is over. It's as strange as offering cereals for dinner. To make the day special, you extend your daily apple pie, or Streuselkuchen, with a cream cake, for the special occasion. Younger people change it today, to the more international style, just drinking together or having dinner. But no cake then. There are American influences already, like rectangular cakes, or cakes with prints on it. Also restaurants offering cake as desert is just commitment to american tourists or so. A "dinner" itself is also completely unrelated to birthday parties, but you most often have dinner at your birthday ;-) You invite your guests for one or the other meal. Maybe you missed the social component in "Kaffee und Kuchen", it's the #1 occasion to meet people, you are semi-close (loose friends). Same as "having a coffee together" in America, just the time is set and the cake comes with it. Drinking coffee without eating something is a new and imported habit. In country style, with all the neighbors passing by, wishing good luck, you supply only cake, may be Schnapps for the men, Champaign for the women, at around 4pm. In summertime maybe you have a BBQ, but as more guests you have, as more likely you do not have a big dinner, it's just too expensive, or too much effort to cook for 20 people.
Wichtige Grundregeln an Geburtstagen/Feiern für den Gastgeber, die viele Deutsche aber auch vergessen: Man feiert eine Feier für die Gäste, nie für sich selbst.
Manche Leute feiern ja auch in den Geburtstag hinein, das wird insbesondere gemacht, wenn der Geburtstag an einem Sonntag ist. Ähnlich wie bei einer Silvesterfeier ist dann Mitternacht der große Zeitpunkt, aber es wird diesmal dem Geburtstagskind gratuliert und mit Sekt angestoßen.
Hey Aubrey and Donnie, i like your videos! They are allways extremly vell researched, very funny and charming ☺️. Here are a few experiences from the perspective of an Austrian 🇦🇹: Einen Ausgeben: YES. Often the others spend more rounds afterwards. In the office: Yes, you bring something (if you don't want to keep your birthday secret) ..but you should be prepared. It is often common for men to bring a 🍺beer crate or/and 🍕pizza instead of a cake. But of course, somethimes colleagues organize a surprise birthday celebration . No congratulations beforehand: 100 % YES 👍. It's kind of a law. It doesn't matter if you are religious or superstitious or not. Like you said: "Don't praise the day before the evening!" 🎈 Party: You don't usually make the 🎂cake yourself, it is organized by your loved ones (girlfriend, boyfriend) but yes, you pay for the rest. 🍽️ Dinner invitation: Yes, you pay unless someone close to you (father, brother, best friend, girlfriend, boyfriend) has secretly paid faster (sometimes the drinks). (secretly paying for something is a thing on many occasions)
For me and my friend the rite not to wish a happy birthday before the day was always more something like a joke, like the other one: if you don't look the person in the eyes you are clinking glasses with, it will earn you 7 years of bad sex. There are many such playful "superstitions" around - nobody does really believe it but it is fun to play-act. To wait for your birthday before opening presents however counts simply as good manners (in an old-fashioned way) - and many may believe to get more joy by opening all presents together in a kind of special ceremony. If you know however the donor will not be around that day, it's common to ask him if to open now (so they can see your reaction) or at your birthday (it could be sth. special which is e.g. linked to that date). On the other side: If you don't expect a gift to be special (or expect it to be on the rather cheap side) you may even want to avoid humiliating the donor by opening it before his eyes... Many people take for their birthday a day off, so they can sleep in after celebrating in. If not, they are expected to bring some cake or sweets to the office at their birthday, which will led to a prolonged coffee break with gratulations. If going to a birthday party it is common to bring a cake with you. Since however not everyone does this (or can do this) the host (or his/her family) will also provide some cake and other treats. The birthday party is either organized by you yourself or by you family living with you. So you decide if you want have a party (and at which day). No surprise parties welcome! Since my own birthday is in winter, but I wanted to have my party in the garden I invented my own birthday tradition: I don't celebrate my birthday at all, but my halfbirthday exactly 6 months after. In my mother's childhood it was still customary in some catholic regions not to celebrate your birthday (at least not much) but your name day. And since often many members of your family or in your village hat the same given name that would often be a really big event. Many men where named Peter or Paul, and so St. Peter and Paul's day was a fixed holiday in many rural regions even after it had lost its status as official or legal holiday back in the 19th century.
Wow! Thanks so much for the in depth information 😃 With Aubrey’s birthday being in December, she was always jealous of summer birthdays be able to have pool parties. One year her mom rented out a whole indoor pool just so she could finally fulfill that dream even in the winter 😂 So she completely understands your dilemma! 😊
@@PassportTwo: The thing about Germans staring at you is a bit related to the ways of glass clinking. The bad luck superstition, due to not looking into each others eyes, is of course a regular source of silly jokes. However, it is important and considered a sign of mutual respect to look into each other´s eyes while greeting; glass clinking included, as it is usually linked to some wishes for good luck. "Auf Augenhöhe" probably is an expression of a republican, citizen-like mutual respect, instead of the servility of the feudal system in Europe over centuries. Depending on the specific reign and period, off course, the non-nobles were supposed not to stare at the superiors, and being allowed/encouraged to look into the sovereign´s face would be a special honour. (Well, I did not check this background with a sociologist in detail.) Growing up in a small village, I was taught to always greet other people on the streets, and in particular the younger were supposed to greet the older first. (Which meant, that at around 16 you suddenly felt the looming shadow of age, as kids started to greet YOU, FIRST!) Off course, in a city, you would be very busy to greet anyone, so habits are obviously different there. One important part of greeting is looking into the eyes. Quickly averting your gaze after a moment somehow suggests that the other person has a disfigured face and you are ashamed of seeing that - absolutely a No-Go! This eye-gazing ritual means, that when someone approaches walking the street, you have to line them up upon getting closer, and finally say "Grüß Gott/ Guten Tag/ Hallo/ Mojn/ Hi" (depending on the region and/or age / social relation) when the right distance or time is there. A slight nod, even without smiling may also do. (Usually you want to be on the same level, so when you are greeted "Guten Tag!", it´s better to "Guten Tag!" back and not only nod. This way, you also learn the local habit....) It is perfectly understandable, that the convention of lining someup up by eye until the "greeting distance is reached" can be easily experienced as staring. Oh, and off course, looking on to other people´s eyes will keep you from checking out their chest. Which we off course only do when they are not noticing...
The only place I know of in the USA for "name day" took place in our Catholic school. Your "name" was your Baptismal name, which is not usually your first name. This celebration has just about died out completely.
@@indrobiswas4474 Loved this response. We said "Gruss Gott" in Baden- Wurtemburg to most anyone when we walked into a shop or a public building. I think it is a regional thing.
I'm not supersticious at all but I would just find it really weird If someone wished me happy birthday before my birthday 🤷🏻♀️ When I was a kid in the 90s Topfschlagen was the most popular birthday game, but nowadays piñatas are becoming more an more popular and you can find them in stores easily. My daughter (4) had one for her Birthday 🥳
Yeah! You did the topfschlagen thing, and the sweet 16 thing! Very nice. 👍😘 I may got a topic for you. It's FREEDOM. I watched a few videos of a dude who bought his own ghost town in California and I was impressed, and sad, because something like that is almost impossible in Europe. But the I think about the "SCHENGEN ABKOMMEN" or real free speech, and I am curious. Peace guys
Ya, it is a little strange, but we did forget to mention it is reserved for very very close family and friends only typically! You won't find your boss spanking a colleague at work! 😂
ok we also celebrate 16 and 18 as you do and we are very excited about it. 16 is the legal drinking age, but on your 16th birthday it often becomes quite a mess with some people sleeping extremely drunk in the bathroom and puking into your mom's trash. a lot of people experience their first hangover on their 16th. It is normal that you have experience with beer and wine in Germany before you are 16. But on the birthday it is unfortunately often exaggerated. On the 18th you often get your car, as a present (usually the old car of your grandmother, or a cheap used car) and in addition you drink a lot because now also the schnapps is legal. Often you rent a big hall and invite many people
We treat others on our own birthday as a kid you got to wear a birthday crown at school with your name and age you then will give the kids some candy or cookies at least when I was young now the kids must bring healthy stuff, also need as an adult you bring cake or pay the bill. Weirdly you also congratulate with EVERYONE at the party. This in my hime country The Netherlands. Here in the uk you don’t unwrap in front of the guests.
I think it depends on the region. As far as I know name days are celebrated in southern germany or other mainly catholic areas, but not in the mainly protestant regions in the north of Germany.
When I was an Au Pair in the US and the host-family gave me a cake and presents the evening before my 20th birthday that was odd. Not that I believe something bad would happen, but that is not something you do in Germany, you honor the birthdaychild by taking time on his or her birthday, so that was very disappointing for me. My birthday ist August 15th and my Mom would tell me months before, if she is on vacation at that day. And no we do not spank, do not try that with a college, he oder her migth tell the boss. And I like to bring something for my birthday to work, so I can show off, that I am a good baker!
Spanking definitely would never be done to a colleague at work in the US either! Even most friends wouldn't do it to each other, honestly. That is really reserved just for siblings and really really close friends to do! Maybe should have given that disclaimer before a German might get confused and think they have to do that with an American friend!! 😂😂
Ok to be fair, here the rest of the story: On my 20th birthday I went to church (first time at that church) and a lady (evening service) asked if I want to join her for dinner at big boy and when I told her, that it is my birthday she told the waiter and the waiter came with a cookie and a candle on it!
I have never heard of Bithday spanking before, but the Fact that you get spankt the amount of years you are alive, reminds me of "Hochleben lassen". In this tradition the Bithday boy or girl gets put on a chair and several adults will lift the chair up and let it down again the amount of years you are becoming while the other kids will shout "er/sie lebe hoch, hoch, hoch..." .
well I know of one restaurant in germany where you get spankings if they find out its your birthday xD I am never setting a foot in there on my birthday lol (of course your friends do it, not the staff that would bei weird)
@@PassportTwo actually the 21st changed in Germany decades ago. When my mother turned 21 back in the 70s she was already considered an adult, but not fully "legally competent" until reaching legal age at 21. So to start an apprenticeship make any contract etc until the age of 21 you needed your parents to sign, or in case you were already married, your spouse if of legal age as well. If younger you needed of course your parents permission for marriage. On the other hand, at least if male, you had been eligible for mandatory military service from age 18. I think it was changed in 1974. Only for criminal law you can still be charged as an adolescent until the age of 21, but that is decided for any case age 18 to 21 individually (if the court considers the accused person immature)
You forgot to mention that when no one is allowed to congratulate beforehand, tons of friends and relatives (who are not able to make a visit) will call you on the phone on that particular day for a ten minute chit chat, while you are already stressed out planning your own party, preparing food, etc. The american way of celebrating seems so much better !!!
- Ah yes, we don´t wish happy birthday before the actual date, because as everyone says: bad luck otherwise^^ that also extends to not opening the presents and cards beforehand^^ - About "reinfeiern": I´ve never experienced it anywhere, maybe I don´t have friends like that - I certainly never did that on my birthday. - My family - and also my friends - are of the opinion that it´s stupid to have to pay for everyone on your own birthday when dining at a restaurant, so instead the birthday person gets invited... I´m on the american side for this xD - But we still feel obligated to bake a cake or something similar ourselves for your co-workers to bring in on our birthday (I haven´t done that in years, though, because I´m usually on vacation at that time, so it gets overlooked thankfully).. I like the amercan way of throwing a birthday party :) - I would also prefer the pinata over the Topfschlagen xD I remember this was a thing at most of the birthday parties when I was a kid. - never heard of the spanking and I´m pretty sure it´s not a thing in germany o.o
Reinfeiern macht man gerne, wenn man an einem Sonntag Geburtstag hat. Am Samstag können nämlich mehr Leute saufen als am Sonntag, da sie Sonntags meistens frei haben und Montag nicht. In der Woche kenne ich keinen, der reinfeiert.
The difference is easy to explain, You can wish, or you can congratulate. Germans tend to congratulate, Americans tend to wish. If you see a marathon runner, you don't congratulate 1 km before goal, if one has an exam, you congratulate not before the results are out. Nothing bad will happen if you do, it's just stupid to do so. First you have to finish, your year of live, then you get congratulations. You also don't give condolences, before somebody is dead, do you ? Might be a common miss-translation to convert "Ich gratuliere Dir zum Geburtstag" into "I wish you a happy birthday". Actually nobody is wishing the day shall be happy, no you wish your next year shall be splendorous, healthy or whatever.
I like how you always point out how diverse German and American culture are. As a German I am often surprised at the things you present as German only to find out in the comments that they are completely normal for other Germans.
Funny that the big birthdays 18, 21 and 25 in America are just the 18th in Germany. Also the driving and drinking ages are switched(except for high alcohol contents) so you can drink at 16 and drive at 18. Also you get the right to vote in small regional elections at 16
1:49 „superstitious Germans“ You are correct: In Germany you do not open your birthday presents, BEFORE the correct day AND you do not wish „happy Birthday“ before 1st Minute of actual day of birth, but you are allowed to congratulate some days after e.g. „herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag NACHTRÄGLICH“ ____like on Christmas: And in my Family on on Christmas, you do not open your presents before 24. AND „Bescherung“ 18h was declared around 18h with a small bell 🔔. Family join for lunch 12-13h or „coffee-time“ 16h... where ALL presents were PUT under the Christmas Tree for all to see, but not touch and wait for Bescherung. Bescherung: my whole family joins after choffee-time 16h and before dinner 18h, sing a Christmas song (earlier someone dressed up as Santa Claus bring the presents or report, if the children were good/Bad this year) and then presents were exchanged and then opened TOGETHER.
We know a lot of people also have personal birthday traditions as well, like Donnie LOVES pineapple upside down cake and that is what he always gets for his birthday! 😊 Do you have any personal traditions or favorite birthday treats?? 😃
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I get an Cheesecake in every birthday made by my mother, she even travel 200 km by train to bring me the cake. because no one is able to bake the cake like my mother can do (and she do like my grandma did
In meiner Kindheit haben wir viele Spiele an den Geburtstagen gemacht. Du hast den eingeladenen Kindern nicht einfach am Ende eine Tüte mit Sachen/Süßigkeiten gegeben, die mussten sich alle in den Spielen "erarbeiten". 1. waren dann alle beschäftigt und hatten viel Spaß 2. gab es "Preise", natürlich auch für die "Verlierer", niemand ist leer ausgegangen. Spiele waren: 1.) Topf schlagen, 2.) Schokolade auspacken 3.) Apfel aus dem Wasserbad essen (ohne Hände) 4.) Sich möglichst viele Gegenstände auf einem Tablett merken, dass dann wieder abgedeckt wird und wissen 5.) Pudding füttern von hinten mit den Händen eines anderen 6.) Stadt, Land, Fluß 7.) irgendwas war noch mit Würstchen an einem Seil hängend essen, weiß ich aber nicht mehr genau und noch viele mehr -glaube ich-.
My sister bakes me a russian Napoleon cake. On my sweet 16 she actually made 16 layers. That thing was huge.
Skorpian too?
@Passport Two We had a big jewish population until the worst period of the 20th century!
We had, some still have, traditions words and phrases that a melted (so not 100% the same) with jewish tradition.
German jewish (sometimes east european jewish) was called Jiddisch, even most german and jewisch people today doesn't know today.
For example: Meschugge, Pinke Pinke, Malochen, Kaff (ein Ort wird als Kaff beschrieben), vermasseln (massel + ver), mies (sich mies fühlen) usw. (www.oppisworld.de/zeit/judentum/jjiddwor.html). Most of them still exist in the "berliner Mundart", but it is sadly dieing out, like everything else...
Why I say that? The chair thing is a jewish tradition, mainly for weddings, as far as aI know (and I am just an history enthusiast, no degree or anything). In the USA mainly the "Beschneidung" made it into american traditions (here absolutly not, it is only done for medical purposes).
I hate german birthdays, but american birthdays shock me even more! I would call the cops if someone broke into my home to through me a suprise party! And 2nd thing, most people bring shitty gifts, there are completly selfcentered and gift you what they want for themselves, or cheap shit.
Also there is a mix of birthday traditions. For example for a friend I always wants me to make my potato salad (like 15-20 kg) and thats my gift for his birthday. Thats also what I often did for my birthday, I provide the basics, and guests bring specialties.
Because it isn't about the gifts, its about being together with people that honestly like you and don't just come, because its the event of the weekend, imo!
if i was like "oh my birthday is next week" and someone told me happy birthday i would be so confused :D like its not my birthday now?? cant believe thats actually a thing people do in America;D
Haha, it very much is a thing and nobody would think anything about it in America 😂
It's more of a way of saying, "I probably won't see you next week so I am telling you now" sort of thing. It's not bad luck here.
Well, it is more like this. You say something like, "Well, if I don't see you then, I sure hope you have a Happy Birthday." What you are saying is NOT the official birthday greeting. You are just wishing them well as they approach the special day. Or, you say it to them if you know for sure you will not see them on their birthday.
Love your reeanactments :D especially the topfschlagen one 😂
Haha, glad they are appreciated 😂
Because of the fact we Germans don't congratulate before the birthday, it is sometimes common to phone a very good friend short after midnight to congratulate. For me it have something competitive to be the first one who congratulate the friend/family member before every one else have the chance.
Haha, that’s a fun tradition! 😃 Hadn’t heard about that one yet!
Yeah, I know people who do this. That's the easiest way to finish a friendship with me. I am a morning person and I've gotten very angry with friends who wake me up at midnight for no good reason ... (I consider this very very rude and disrespectful).
@@nriamond8010 In flight mode calls don't go through, so maybe try that ^^
These phone calls can even become quite stressful, in particular in you do not feier rein. All your relatives call on the phone - on the same day - while you may be busy preparing dinner and/or cake, or you are already celebrating and eating cake, and you just can´t spend time with your guests, hanging on the phone.
But: Being gratulated in advance just does not feel right!
In overall: Having a birthday means more and more chores, the older you grow...
@@nriamond8010 I'm with you on that! I would be angry if someone called me after midnight. The phone ringing would scare me to death. I would be thinking that something bad has happened to a family member.
This was the case when I was a child: In Switzerland when a child holds a birthday party they are supposed go give the other children bags filled with sweets when they leave the party. Of course the mother has to organize this. They also have to bring a cake to school.
Not directly connected with your birthday but it's a nice tradition. In the village where I live all the people who turn 40 in that year have to plan the yearly "Chilbi" (etwas wie Jahrmarkt)
That tradition of giving bags with sweets at the end of a party is also done in the US! 😃 We had forgotten completely about that but we also did this to and is expected. We call them "party favors," "goody bags," or somebody early commented they called them "loot bags." 😊
oo that's also done in the UK (party bags)
The spanking-thing in Germany would be "jemanden hochleben", the birthday-person sits on a chair and a few others lift the chair the new age plus one more time up.
Haven't gotten to see that in person but it sounds like a fun tradition!
@@PassportTwo the older you get the rarer it gets. So the children are getting it, but adults not so often.
We did this in Kindergarten. I wouldn't want my friends to have to lift me up thirty times now. We're all old now and have back pains 😅😬
@@PassportTwo We had a big jewish population until the worst period of the 20th century!
We had, some still have, traditions words and phrases that a melted (so not 100% the same) with jewish tradition.
German jewish (sometimes east european jewish) was called Jiddisch, even most german and jewisch people today doesn't know today.
For example: Meschugge, Pinke Pinke, Malochen, Kaff (ein Ort wird als Kaff beschrieben), vermasseln (massel + ver), mies (sich mies fühlen) usw. (www.oppisworld.de/zeit/judentum/jjiddwor.html). Most of them still exist in the "berliner Mundart", but it is sadly dieing out, like eerything else...
Why I say that? The chair thing is a jewish tradition, mainly for weddings, as far as aI know (and I am just an history enthusiast, no degree or anything). In the USA mainly the "Beschneidung" made it into american traditions (here absolutly not, it is only done for medical purposes).
I hate german birthdays, but american birthdays shock me even more! I would call the cops if someone broke into my home to through me a suprise party! And 2nd thing, most people bring shitty gifts, there are completly selfcentered and gift you what they want for themselves, or cheap shit.
Also there is a mix of birthday traditions. For example for a friend I always wants me to make my potato salad (like 15-20 kg) and thats my gift for his birthday. Thats also what I often did for my birthday, I provide the basics, and guests bring specialties.
Because it isn't about the gifts, its about being together with people that honestly like and don't just come, because its the event of the weekend, imo!
I'm turnin 61 next week. My friends and I are just too full of bodily aches and pains to do a chair lift. However, a first-class dinner, a birthday toast with friends and a day of relaxing fun.
If somebody wished me "happy birthday" in advance, I would be VERY confused and say something like: "Hold on, not yet!"
Me too, but I wouldn't even have considered any superstition as a reason. It is just not how it is done or at most, not what would be considered "good manners"
I never heard of birthday spanking before and your Topfschlagen-tutorial was really funny 😂
Haha, glad you enjoyed that and learned something new 😂😊
Some turn it into a “spanking machine” where everyone lines up standing wide legged and the birthday person has to army crawl thru the spread legs. This makes it a game for the ones giving the spanking to try and get all the spanks in (the age of the person).
Writing this celebrating my 44th day today (March 4).
This is common with some US birthdays as well, where someone gets spanked for how old they are. It's rarely done at adult birthdays, but does happen.
@@jeremyhelquist This is October 21, 2021. Can't wish you a Happy Birthday, but just know I would if I could! Ha.
Different concepts are at the bottom of this birthday thing. In America, you wish somebody luck on their birthday - no harm in doing this beforehand. In Germany, you congratulate ("gratulieren") somebody for having made it through another year, which obviously means tempting fate if you do it before the feat has been accomplished. No need to worry, though. If it happens to you, just spit over your shoulder and knock on wood three times, and you should be fine... ;)
Emphasis on the *SHOULD* be fine 😅😂
don't forget it must be your LEFT shoulder and spit three times !
11:20 „birthday slaps“ ... there was an old, now outdated similarly in Germany (guess Europe): a newborn child was softly slap at the button, to force a cry and assure, the breathing „is activated“ (if baby is not crying after birth)... that’s SEEMS right, as the baby has to switch to breath by lung direct after birth. Today breath, pulse, reflexes, muscle are observed closely, so that traditional should be obsolete... I can imagine, that American „one hit per birthday“ tradition has its roots there.
That definitely was done in the US as well and very well may be the origins of that tradition! Hadn't made that connection but now that you say it, it seems to make total sense. 😃
That made a lot of sense. Maybe that is why we do it here. I always thought it was brought up by the meanest person at the party because they liked the thought of you being in pain.
There is a tradition in some rural areas of Germany that the unmarried person who becomes 30 has to clean something in public, e.g. door handles of a church, organized by friends, until a person of the opposite sex kisses her / him.
Such an interesting tradition! Hope to get to see that sometime 😄
Pewtah, well, I know this tradition more in this way, that a man cannot be "kissed free" by any woman - it has to be a "virgin" - a girl in this case.
some further information - if wanted - :-) the female usually has to clean public doorhandles, which have been prepared by some "friends" with toothpaste, mustard and so on, the male has to sweep the steps or the place in front of a public building, which are preapred, too, with torn papers, little pieces of wood (sägespäne), and so on. the rule is, that they have to convince someone of the other sex, who is "virgin", to kiss them free..... what makes it even more difficult, for the birthday-person is mostly funny dressed, their equiment is absolutley inefficent and the friends "help" them, paying possible virgins not to kiss and laying some more stuff to be cleaned.... normaly, they set a time for that ritual, it is announced in newspappers or on big posters, too... this tradition is only for the unmarried, who celebrate their 30th birthday.... for funny videos on yout tube search for "muss klinken putzen" or "muss fegen"... :-) stay healthy!
This tradition comes originally from Bremen. An unmarried man of 30 years has to sweep the stairs of the Dom untill a virgin comes to free him by a kiss. So the young man should have the chance to find someone to marry. This was taken to the female in the 60ths too. They had to clean the doorhandles of the Dom. (Today you only can pretend to do so bc it got out of controll, by littering the stairs too much and using tools damaging the material of the handles.) This endes in a large party afterwords whith all the family and friends who whittnessed and the person who gave the kiss. I know about a bunch of people fleeing this tradition. Not wanting the hole city to see them doing this.😳 This tradition was taken to lots of other locations all over Northern Germany today. Even to the ocean. My best friend turned 30 while working on the MS Europa. She had to clean the big bell of the ship. Colleges new about this tradition for a "Bremer Deern" (girl from Bremen). They had a hard time to find a young man on board to kiss her free. Happens to be a 12 year old passanger
🤣.
O, I'm glad they spared me from this! Did not know this. Eine Frau ohne Mann ist wie ein Fisch ohne Fahrrad! (lived alone until age of 35)
So i‘m from lower saxony and here we definetly have the Birthday spanking (Geburtstags klatsche) and the Birthday punches (Geburtstags kloppen) but ist is not Common for adults. Mostly Teens would do this TP their friends. 😁
When our daughter turned 17 on the 17th in Minnesota, (on an exchange program), we were told that this was her "sweet birthday" and is very special.
I thought they had made a mistake and thought she was turning 16, but no, it's the birthday of the number day you are born on. It only goes until you are 31 years old, obviously.
In Austria you get one extra candle on your cake, for good luck. So 7 candles when you turn 6 and so forth. Mostly until you're in your mid 20s, then it might only be that one candle for all the following years.
- The video effects are getting better and better. Thumbs up! And the Pineapple Upside Down Cake looks super delicious. Yummy!
- Everybody in Germany knows the saying "don't praise the day before the evening", but where does "don't praise the sword before the battle" and "don't praise the bed before the night" come from? I've never heard that before and Google couldn't tell me.
- "Topfschlagen" at children's birthday partys: Here in our area it is common to have a treasure hunt where all children get a small bag with sweets (plus a funny children's tattoo, a fancy eraser or some similar small items). Pot hitting is out.
- Birthday spanking definitely does not exist here. It sounds crazy. Does it stop at some age or do you give your grandmother a hundred slaps?
-Thanks so much for the encouragement! We try and make them better and better!
-Don't know where it comes from originally either but it was just what we found in our research 🤷♂️😊
-Kind of sounds like an Easter Egg Hunt in the US!
-Haha, we would not spank our grandparents, but maybe a grandmother would spank her husband 😂 It is a tradition that is just for laughs and is normally reserved for siblings, really really close friends and such. 😊
I got my last spanking at age 30, and that was uncommon. It was because of the 'buddies' that came to my house. They got carried away with it and it began to hurt. I threatened to punch them out! Ha. This spanking thing usually ends in high school. And very few people do it, anyway. No, you don't slap your grandmother no matter what age she is. Ha.
Happy birthday, Donny!
I’m from Slovakia and we have many traditions similar to German ones - such as not to wish happy birthday before the day, also a birthday person provides their peers with some treats ...
I’m not superstitious and I don’t have a problem to start celebrating a week beforehand week after 🥳 last couple of birthdays my husband planned a trip somewhere so i felt treated and pampered... no one had to bake a cake, we went for a meal out. A win win situation 😍
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes as well as the insight to what happens in Slovakia! 😃
It's the same in Poland, maybe it's generally an European thing, or at least central European.
Nice one! I have to share with you, that I witnessed our sweet neighbor who is german, being given a present before her 4 th birthday and she told the giver she would open it later on her birthday. They must teach them young! Also, 18 is the big birthday here because that's when kids can get their drivers license. I too experienced a birthday celebration of my german friend and she spared no expense on the food, drink and experience. It is fascinating to see these differences!
Wow! I'm super impressed with that little girl's patience and discipline! 😃
At least in my area (Hannover, Lower Saxony) we have an equivalant to the birthday spanking and it's called "Geburtstagsschläge", birthday punches :)
Congratulations
10000 subscribers 🥳
Thank you so much!! 🥳😃
Sehr schöne Darstellung von Topfschlagen.
haha, vielen Dank 😂
I was always told that the birthday cake would have a bad taste if you say "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag" too early.(It never did though) :D
I am German and I moved to Denmark a few years ago. I can remember that my danish guests were kind of disappointed when I put the presents aside to open up later when all guests are together. In Denmark you open the gift right away when you almost get it in your hand.
I was rised by my parents, when you celebrate your Birthday you welcome and serve your guests first to feel them welcomed. Later, maybe after dinner, you open the gifts when all guests are joint together, so you can share the gifts and surprises with all.
That’s really interesting! It still amazes us to see how incredibly different countries can be in Europe despite how close they are to each other. Thanks for sharing 😊
Yes! We once celebrated my friends birthday with "reinfeiern" and she collected her birthday presents to open after midnight. Its her 21. Birthday and I actually made 21 little presents. So she opend 20 of them before midnight and the 21. on her actual birthday :D
That actually seems to be one of the things every family does differently. In our family presents are usually opened immediately, except all guests are rushing in at once and opening presents and greeting guests would get chaotic, in this case you greet the guests first and immediately afterwards open the presents
Well, that's usually how it is done in America. Even if it is little kids or adults, when guests arrive, they put the gifts on the "gift table" and do not hand them to you, normally. After a meal, or just cake eating, THEN the gifts are opened in front of everyone. And no matter what you get, you look so amazed and happy and tell them what a great gift it is. Can't hurt anyone's feelings.
Topfschlagen was definitely a very big thing during my childhood.
No birthday without Topfschlagen!
A friend of mine broke a lot of wooden cooking spoons, because he always hit the pot extreme enthusiastically.
Thank you for the super video example of Topfschlagen 🥁!
Haha, I inherited a pot with marks on the bottom from me hitting it very hard during topfschlagen. I wonder what kinde of spoon I used to leave marks in a stainless steel pot..
“Schnapszahl” Birthdays as 22, 33, 44, 55 aso. are also kind of special. Not celebrating vice but these numbers mean luck
Ah! We had never heard of those before some of you have commented on them. Thanks for teaching us more! 😊
Do American coworkers also collect money for someone's birthday secretly, from which someone buys a present and flowers for that person?
I believe this is the reason behind treating our colleagues on our birthday. - Not sure, if you already noticed that, but Germans struggle a bit with being in someone's "Schuld", when we aren't friends with someone, and are given a present, or we are invited. - We try to keep track on how much someone spent on us, to kind of "get even", with that person... and we try to return that favor someone does for us. :)
But we distinguish between family /friends and coworkers.
Family and friends treat us on our birthday, bake a cake, but we are the ones, who treat our colleagues at work.
"Do American coworkers also collect money for someone's birthday secretly, from which someone buys a present and flowers for that person?" Yes, especially in a small workplace.
Some of the American birthday traditions sound very nice to me, especially the idea of organising a friend's birthday and doing anything to make the person feel special and card for.
As far as children are concerned there is a tradition that the birthday girl/boy takes sweets to Kindergarten / school to hand out to the classmates and the teacher will light a candle and sing a birthday song along with the class.
At work you bring a cake or some breakfast to your team and will get flowers or a shared present in return, but only if there is a friendly work climate.
When I was a little child my parents would wake me up at midnight for a little celebration and present opening. Later my mother told me they started that because there was too much time pressure if we had done that in the morning before school.
No matter if that tradition started out of necessity because of time in the morning or not, I really think that idea sounds really cute and fun! I like the idea of getting a surprise like that to kick off your birthday 😊
Wait...
You treat the birthday person like a king, but at the same time he has do endure abuse and violence, even harder the older he get? Damn thats a quite good metaphoric example on life in general
Well done, entertaining and informative, as always. Thanks.
This gives me the idea for a suggestion for a video topic: The differences in wedding celebration traditions.
There are so many weird and silly traditions surrounding weddings in Germany, like "Polterabend", kidnapping the bride, playing a prank on the newlyweds, partying the whole night till the next morning and so on and there are things about American weddings Germans usually don't know about or don't understand, like rehearsal receptions, "Bridezillas" or giving people lists of presents you'd like to have.
You could also talk about differences between different parts of the USA when it comes to weddings.
That subject seems like something obvious to make "differences between the USA and Germany" videos about, because there are significant differences and yet, I never saw it even mentioned on any channel that does videos like that.
It is a blind spot on all the "German windows tilt!"-channels I know of.
You could really pioneer something and conquer undiscovered land there.
It kind of was a blind spot to me too. I had seen American weddings in movies and TV shows, but never paid the differences much attention, till my sister went to the USA for a internship as a student and was invited to a wedding party and told me about how different it was.
She did her internship at the Dallas airport in Texas and I don't know how much the things that seemed weird to my sister and me are a Texan thing, or maybe just specific to a certain region.
That's a great idea! In my German class we talked about some of these wedding differences and it was really interesting to learn about. We haven't gotten the opportunity to go to a German wedding yet, but I'm sure we could do some research and find these differences out! 😃
I appreciate that your videos are always well researched. German living in the US, so I have done the opposite journey. One addition to “special” birthdays in Germany would be a Schnapszahl (like 22, 33, 44 etc.)
Oh and I completely forgot about Topfschlagen. Thanks for the childhood memory!
It does not necessarily mean bad luck if congratulated early, but it seems very weird, I have never heard nor done or experienced it. It just is normal to congratulate on the day. Even if you wish a belated birthday a day or several late does no harm at all. Birthday presents or cards coming early (by mail or parcel) does not hurt at all. But you never ever open them until your actual birthday, never ever would you dare to. If you get a birthday wish by phone it does not hurt if the actual present comes after your birthday. „Reinfeiern“ is usually done when your birthday is on a Sunday or Monday. „Nachfeiern“ is quite common if your birthday is between Monday and Thursday. So you invite your friends to celebrate a f t e r your actual birthday on Friday or Saturday evening, nothing wrong with it. No one would invite and celebrate on say Saturday if your birthday is on the following Monday or Tuesday. The concept is that you have to achieve the actual day to be able to celebrate it. You might die the day before, and you celebrated your 30. birthday, when you died at 29. Absolutely a no go. And yes, you are expected to invite your friends or colleagues, not the other way round. It might be a coffee or tea, some biscuits or cake, a glass or bottle of beer and a sausage. Just something small to honor your friendship (and maybe -small- gifts) you might receive.
We have definitely been told by multiple Germans they did not want the bad luck that comes from being wished an early birthday! Maybe not bad luck or superstitious for all, but for some it definitely is that way I guess 😂😅
Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich Donnie :-)
Vielen vielen Dank! 😃
Dem schließe ich mich gerne an: herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich an Donnie, und herzlichen Glückwunsch auch an Aubrey, natürlich ebenfalls nur nachträglich (zu dem vom letzten Jahr; so kann man zeigen, daß man alles Gute wünscht, ohne im Voraus zu gratulieren :-)
I have also been told wishing a happy birthday early is tempting fate - the person might not live to see their birthday, you never know.
As for presents, a lot of people (well the grown ups) will ask if they should open the present now (early) or wait until the real birthday so they are not hurting anyone's feelings.
Ah, thanks for the additional insight into these traditions! 😃
On the other hand, to be looking forward to your birthday and then never to hear it because you ended up dying? That sounds very sad.
In some parts of Germany it's common that men who are unmarried have to clean the stairs in front of the townhall. Family and friends get the stairs extra dirty for the birthday boy and hand them different items to clean them, usually starting with a toothbrush. The birthday boy gets released if an unmarried woman kisses him in front of his family and friends. Birthday girls who turn 30 and are unmarried clean the doorknobs of the townhall, however, some people like to switch places in a leap year, so the birthday girl gets to clean the stairs and the birthday boy has to clean the doorknobs.
This tradition is rather celebrated in smaller towns than in a cities.
That is so interesting! This of course is something we definitely don't have in the US and we haven't gotten the chance to see in Germany. Love these unique traditions!! 😃
Here in Hannover, that is often a feature of an unmarried man's birthday at the age of ... 30? 35? - depending on what his friends decide. He has not yet made his generational contribution to society, so he has to symbolically clean up behind them so he is at least useful in that way.
The cake thing. I usually wish for a cake as a gift because im not good at baking. If it is a bigger gathering bringing a cake as a present is very common.
The party thing is also not so definite. Many times i've asked a friend if they could host my party because im to lazy to clean before and after the party xD.
Oh and i always stealth my way around my birthday so i don't have to bring cookies or cake to the office. But that's because i don't like to bring attention to me having my birthday.
I buy snacks for my colleagues all the time, just not on my birthday ^^.
I mean - what if people DIE before the birthday!? Better not to tempt fate!
exactly. you would congratulate for an exam before its been passed either, would you?
The same with a so called Baby-Shower-Party !!
Lieber Donnie, auch, wenn ich mich widerhole, herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich zum Geburtstag!
Vielen vielen Dank! 😊
Donnie playing Topfschlagen was really funny! :-D
No spanking tradition here in Germany. :-)
So a few points of my own ( Luxembourg and friends from neighbouring countries):
*wishing ahead is like counting the spoils of harvest before doing the harvest. Also it may appear a bit like " but i wished you a week ago, dont mind that i forgot to wish you on the same day again... ugh"
* the host paying for the restaurant and such is mostly comon here in europe i think, the exception is if your friends invite/ organize a party for you. like "the party and meals are our gift for you "
* a cake or so for office seems to be " comon" as well but also depends on the work environment. you cant be expected to bring cake for 100+ people but for the good friends at work or the group you often bring a cake or something like that, not necessarely self baked though. ( i will admit that i skip that rule cos they always expect me to bake on of my cakes but as im too lazy for that i often simply take that week off :D :D)
*my super sweet 16 ... ugh cringe.. kill me please... lets say that series made a joke of the states sorry :P
the spanking isnt that comon here, but i know from some docomentaries that some countries they pinch your earlobe for the same effect but dont ask me which country that was.
if i remember right denmark? has a tradition on 25th bday that if you're still single you get cinnamon'd on your bday but not sure on country and age.
great video in the whole sum though ;) maybe leak Aubreys Bday for us to wish well and happy delayed birthday wished to Donnie ;)
Thanks for all your insights as well! Glad you enjoyed the video 😊 Aubrey's birthday is December 28th 😃
Ah, that reminds me of another German tradition : young men have to sweep the stairs to the town hall if they are not married by their 30th birthday - the town hall being the place where you sign your wedding papers before getting married in church. This is normally planned by their male friends who will watch and cheer .
* the host NOT paying for a restaurant happens now and then, and it feels somehow legit, if the host is maybe a student, or just does not have the money (eating out is often quite expensive in Germany). But in that cases it´s more accepted to invite at home and maybe just serve a very simple meal like Pasta, even if it´s in a small apartment ('flat' ;) ) or WG-Küche. In such cases, some of the good friends will show up with an additional dessert or cake, or booze, maybe ask in advance, if they can bring something to sweeten the chore.
Being 'invited' to a restaurant for a birthday party and being expected to pay for your own meal feels like the host took the easy Ausfahrt to slip away from their chores. At the end - some commenters already mentioned - the celebration is meant for the guests (who bring presents!) and not for the host. (Once you´re grown up.)
The surprise party, organised by friends, may be an issue planned well ahead for example, if the 'birthday child' has to work late, or other reasons keep them from celebrating properly. And then it´s quite often the partner pulling all the strings.
To wish somebody a happy birthday before their birthday just means bad luck
When i get a present early i ask the giver if its ok to open now or if i should wait.
You dont have to pay the whole dinner. You can say in advance that you’ll pay the drinks. Or the first soda and one cocktail. Or whatever you want.
I once celebrated my birthday at a bowling arena and i paid for the bowling and everyone else for their drinks.
In germany also the ages 22,33,44,55 etc are special birthdays. We cann it Schnapszahl so snappsnumber (liquor number).
In my culture, party invitees don't bring gifts. Their expression of friendship by coming is their gift. Each will be given a gift by the birthday boy or girl, for them to take home and share with their family. Also, the first anniversary of one's birth is one's SECOND birthday, as one' birth day is one's first birthday. BTW, in British tradition, the greeting is not Happy Birthday, but Many Happy Returns, which says, in effect, may you return for many more birthdays.
The best game at children's birthday parties when I was a kid was the one where there was a wrapped bar of chocolate , knife and fork, gloves, a scarf and a beanie and you threw a dice and if you got a 6 you would need to put on the stuff and try to get to the chocolate with knife and fork before the next kid got a 6. Did that have a name?
Haha, that’s fun! There is a similar party game now in the US for Christmas where a gift is wrapped in a bunch of paper or Saran Wrap and you have to try and get it open with oven mits before the next person rolls a 6. maybe that came from the game you’re talking about!
@@PassportTwo The Name of the Game in Germany is called "Stopeating", You roll the dice and try to get a slice of the chocolate (or schnitzel or whatever) before one of the other kids roll a 6. To slow you down and to make it funnier for all, you have to put on gloves, a scarf etc, before you can grab the knife and fork to start eating. This gives the other kids some time to roll a 6 and stop you from eating, so they can have their try.
I loved that game so much as a kid. But I cant recall the name either.
@@ingevonschneider5100 Bei uns hieß das einfach "Schokoladen-Essen"
In my childhood in the 80's it was called "Schokolade-Schlachten" ("chocolate slaughter"). There was also "stop eating", but that was something else (in the area where I lived). There you shouted "Stop" at dinner and whoever wiggled had to take something off.
What about the number of candles on a birthday cake? I’m aware that some people put as many candles as years plus one “to grow on” or “for good luck”.
for children one per year, for young/medium aged women a dozen less, and for everybody else probably a single big one (that lasts for hours) on the table to not trigger the alarm.
and since only you yourself should put out all flames *(never* extinguish someone else's "light of life"; see _"Lebenslicht auspusten"),_ and you should succeed with one single breath (to make a wish come true), having not too many candles can be an advantage.
Ya! We normally do candles for every year or just candles in the shape of the age that you are turning. Like the one to grow on extra candle though! 😃
Topfschlagen was my favorite party game in elementary school😂
My grandma bakes my birthday cake every year. In general, at least the people in the area I live get homemade birthday cakes from friends oder family members. On UA-cam I often see Americans buying a fully decorated cake at a store instead of baking it themselves. Of course you can't generalize this (like any other topic aswell) but I wanted to ask if this case is more an exception or a regularity in the US? (I hope you can understand what I want to say...:) )
I would personally say it is more of an exception and my family and friends always baked our own cake because we usually have a specific one that is our favorite and that we want for our birthday. However, I really don't know exactly if this is just what I am used to seeing in my circle of friends and family or not. 😊 I could understand perfectly! 😊
@@PassportTwo Thank you for your answer☺
Every year we was going to my grandmother to celebrate her birthday on the 25. January.
There we meet the whole family.
She was born 1910.
That’s fun it becoming like a family reunion! 😊
@@PassportTwo that was true. My aunt was married to a French Military Officer and was living all over Europe and stayed through the Hollidays with her Family by my grandmother, my unkle lived in Fürth and we in Freiburg
Actually even though it normally is expected for the birthday person to pay for food and buy a birthday cake, between me and my friendgroup we changed that. It should never be the birthday person, so between us we always bake or buy a cake.
That sounds like a great friend group to be a part of! 😃 haha
Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich auch von mir, Donnie. :). Another special birthday in Germany is the 100th, you receive an official gratulation of the Federal President (same on the 105th and every subsequent birthday thereafter.).
Vielen vielen Dank!! 😊
Wow! I hadn't heard about the 100th birthday special wish. Thanks for sharing!! Gonna have to look into that interesting tradition more 😃
In my region we also have a weird birthday tradition. When someone turns 14 years old their head is "decorated" with Schokoküssen or smashed with them. (Sometimes whipped cream is also used)
On the 16th birthday they are then showered with flour (and sometimes also with eggs) but I'd also say that this tradition has gotten less as I've haven't seen it in quite a while and we barely did it with our friends... 😂
I.will only speak about birthdays in my family, in the US, and Gary Indiana in particular. Birthdays in the immediate household was usually celebrated on the actual day. With family, most couldn't make it on the actual day, and usually celebrated that person's birthday on a Saturday or Sunday before, or after the birthday. Gifts are given and opening on the day of the party, whether it's on the actual day, or observed on a different day to make it convenient for family and friends to meet. Spanking wasn't common in my family, but it was common in some of friend's family traditions. My maternal grandmother did not like her birthday, because she was bored on Christmas Day (December's 25th), and as a kid, she never got to have a birthday, and was cheated out of separate birthday gifts. Because my birthday is near Halloween, my birthday has occasionally been observed on Halloween to make it convenient for family to attend.
Now you aren't aware about the smoking age in the US. On March 18th, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into Federal law, raising the smoking age to 21. It was because of individual states raising the minimum age of smoking to 21. So it hit the 28 to 20 year old that hard, because unless someone else bought their tobacco products, they went cold turkey, and it's not wise for everyone to go cold turkey. Some people who go cold turkey on nicotine can get ill, or worse, have a heart attack. My friend's husband had a heart attack at age 35, when he went cold turkey.
After having lived as an American in Germany for many, many years, I still feel somewhat like I did at the beginning regarding birthdays: Once a year, German society punishes you for having had the audacity to be born (Birthday spankings are nothing in comparison). Germans see this sentiment as totally incomprehensible and even insulting, but arguing with culturally grounded negative reactions does not do much to alleviate them. In my family of origin, my birthday was my Queen for a Day celebration. Here, I have to see to it that there is enough cake and drinks for everybody. Once in a while, I do this and enjoy it. At other times, I take a daytrip to somewhere ... anywhere.
Taking a day trip somewhere on that day is not a half bad idea! It is hard for us to also get used to the idea that your birthday isn't a day that you are completely celebrated and served rather than hosting and working. 😊
The difference is, we don't see it as a punishment to care for guests on your birthday. It is an honour that people and relatives come to your home and celebrate you on your birthday. They also would bring you gifts. That's why you have the honour to care for your guests with cake or dinner. Within a family, all would help together that the birthday child or parent would be free of household work and be celebrated.
@@benjaminjakob1906 Benjamin, I provide for my family and relatives every day of the year.
@@benjaminjakob1906 Well, some of us DO see it as a punishment - I like to cook and have a few people as guests, but I hate throwing partys - it gives me the feeling that I have to make sure that everyone is entertained without being entertained myself at all. So a daytrip somewhere seems the much better option for me ...
@@gepee3654 I never throw a party or entertain guests if I don't feel like it. Nobody can force me to celebrate my birthday.
In Germany we do have something similar to the spanking. We call it Geburtstagsschläge. You punch the person celebrating their birthday in the arm as many times as they turned ( for example 16 punches for turning 16). I think it's a thing between siblings.
You actually can wish someone a "happy birthday" when you phrase it like this: "Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Geburtstag", "Hab einen schönen Geburtstag" or "Feier schön". You just cannot congratulate someone (usually done by saying "Alles Gute") because that would be like congratulating someone before their wedding day or before a promotion. It doesn't make sense because you haven't actually "achieved" this milestone yet. You can congratulate after the birthday by saying "nachträglich" after your birthday wish.
1, 10, and 13 are big birthdays in the US also. 10 for being double digits and 13 for being a teenager
True! Forgot about those being big fun days!
Wishing a happy birthday before the actual birthday is the ultimate jinx.
Apparently! And unfortunately we learned it the hard way 😂
I did Topfsuchen as a child here in Austria, wow that is so nostalgic! I haven't done it in forever. We also always played Sesseltanz at birthday parties. I don't think I have been to a birthday party where we didn't play Sesseltanz :D another popular game was searching for smarties or gummy bears in a pile of flour, but only being allowed to use your mouth. Man, I miss those times. Btw, if you like to see the reactions to your gifts, I would always rather give them late then early. Or if it's someone you don't see often, you can always send it via snail mail and time it in such a way that it arrives close to their birthday.
Happy to bring back special memories for you 😊 Thanks for sharing the other game with smarties or gummy bears! We hadn't heard of that one 😃
You can always see if a child in the house has birthday or celebrates.
There are always balloons hanging from the fence or balcony.
And retrospectively all the best!
Ah, that's a fun way of showing it! Sometimes in the US parents will fly balloons from the mailbox on the street to show it. So, kind of similar I guess.
Thanks!! 😊
1. Happy birthday. Donnie!
2. I know, this "never wish early happy birthday"-thing is a dumb superstition. But we do it anyway.
3. 16 is an important age in Germany, too. Because you can have your first driver's licence for little motorcycles. And yes, you are alowed to drink some alcohol in public, but I don't think that is a big deal. 18 is probably the most important birthday, because now you are allowed to everything (except becoming a crafts "Meister" or "Bundespräsident")
4. I've never heard of some kind of hitting the birthday kid. But I like the idea! We'll try that next time. Oh, wait - the next birthday in my family is my own. We'll take a raincheck.
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes!! 😊 hahaha, ya, start the birthday spanking after your birthday! 😂😂
Turning 18 also means you are eligible to join the military!!! Some guys actually look forward to that.
@@mikelastname1220 At least we can join the military at the same point in time as buying cigarettes and liquor
Well, take this gun and die in a desert but don't fckkng touch this beer!
Congratulation for the 10000 subscribers.
When we lived in the US my sons where quite young and there where many birthdays. One of themain differences on birthday celebrations between US and D was for kids birthdays - the loot bag. This was not really common in Germayn at that time (maybe now it is)
Thanks so much for that!! 😊
By loot bag I guess you are talking about the bag of goodies they give out to party guests at the end of a party as they leave? I think we used to call that just "party favors" where we are from. I think we forgot about those! 😃
@@PassportTwo exactly, in NJ, at they called them loot bag.
.. a friend of mine was born on the 01.01.83 ... 31.03ten my big one ..... 01.04th my little one ...
skip aheasd 10 years...
2 day party!! (five years later... collecting drunk chicks from the streets ...) "we had an awesome time!!":-D
We have the tradition of Fegen (sweep) the steps of the Dom in Bremen on your 30 Birthday, if your not married.
You have to sweep until a "virgin" Kiss you.
That is hilarious! We have never seen or heard of that tradition before 😅
@@PassportTwo Maybe it is a Bremen thing.
@@martinschulz326 No, it's also a thing in NRW. Not every there and just for men.
Woman who are not married with 25 get also not everythere an old box wreath because she is an "old box" ("alte Schachtel", in english better "old bag"). The friends collect sometimes month before cigarette boxes for a long wreath around the house door or in a tree in front of the door.
Birthday spankings are not very common here in Germany. In my friend group we do them sometimes, but only, because we are all into Bdsm, so it's fun for us.
With my other friends we don't do that and I think, most of them have never heard about that tradition before.
For me the not congratulating/ opening gifts before the actual birthday thing isn't about superstition. I have vaguely heard about it being bad luck, but really it just feels weird to celebrate something, that hasn't happened yet.
Great video, as always as I am finding lol. I am confused, I am not sure if I should say Happy Belated Birthday to Donnie or Happy future (just in case I miss it) Birthday Aubrey. Lol lol, I am kidding, it is always fun researching different traditions between the USA and Germany. :) :) PS- I love all of the outtakes lol. :).
haha, we both will accept the wishes! 😂 Glad you enjoy the outtakes, we love showing these aren't as smooth to create as maybe one would think😅
@@PassportTwo Hee hee , love it .
It's important to know the different meanings behind German and American birthday congratulations to understand the different timings.
Germans congratulate to you with something in a meaning like All good wishes for your next year in life. In the birthday case this is very appropriate because you have actually arrived at the gate of this new year, birthday congrats not being made before time in Germany. In contrary to this, Americans congratulate with something like Have a nice birthday/Have a happy birthday/Enjoy your birthday. Thereby they express their wish that the birthday itself should be a good and a smooth day. Supposedly, the rest of the next year is also implied to these wishes, but this is not said loudly. And for that the birthday wishes can easily be timed beforehand. Whereas in Germany, it is hard to express best wishes for a coming time without even having arrived at the gates of this coming up time period. The explanation lies in the content of the phrase with the birthday wish.
Oh one more thing I discovered in germany. Some people have the tradition that the Birthday child is King the whole day. And what the King say is law. So if you want to do something or want to go anywhere everyone have to do this.
Hadn't heard of that one! That sounds like it would be a lot of fun to be a birthday kid in those houses!! 😃
@@PassportTwo oh I learned it from older people, that at parties it becomes decisive what everybody has to drink, who have to buy new bier and what kind of music should be heard. XD
Das kenne ich eher von der Geburtstagsfeier in der Kindergartengruppe
I actually Like the idea of someone else baking me a cake or planning my birthday party because I always feel stressed on my birthday otherwise. Other classic game on a kids birthday in Germany are "Sackhüpfen" ( a contest in the fastest hopping with both legs in one bag) or "Schokoladenwettessen". Here all Kids sit around a table and roll a dice in turns. When it shows a 6 you have to quickly put in a woolhat, a shawl and gloves and try to eat a bar of chocolate with a knife and a fork. Meanwhile the other ones keep rolling the dice and when a 6 falls you have to pass in all the stuff plus the chocolate to the one who had the 6 as a result. This can be very frustrating because you didn't eat any chocolate...its a very quick game!
Sackhüpfen - We call that sack races or potato sack race. Everyone does it to see who can cross the finish line first. Lot of people falling down and making it humurous.
That "alternative" baseball bat killed me. ;-)
Also congratulation to your 10k subscibers! Do you notice that you wouldn't have accepted this too early at 9990 subs? That's how we feel about birthday wishes. When people are too early I tend to say "I heaven't heard it, but I will remember tomorrow". :-)
haha, you're the first to comment on that 😅
That is a good point about the subs number! Although we did have a lot of family and friends congratulate on being close to 10K 😂
In germany you can drink beer at 16 and can drink all other types of alcohol at 18, because of the percentage of alcohol which is in it.
Hallo Ihr beiden. Wieder ein witziges Video :-). The tradition when you spank someone on his birthday isn´t common in Germany. I never heard about this. Belated happy birthday Donnie :-)
Hallo und danke schön!! There really may be no tradition like it in Germany, and maybe to the luck of all German birthday boys and girls who don’t have to go through that 😂😂
Isnt the Piñata generally a mexican tradition?
When I was a kid and we used to live in Germany I only did the Topfschlagen in school when we celebrated our birthdays. I am Croatian and a lot of stuff is the same as in Germany...Topfschlagen is none of them though xD
We have the 18th birthday, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and maybe we do it half a decade
Thanks for your great videos! A remark on the "superstitions" surrounding wishing someone a happy birthday or a happy new year early: This may well be founded in actual superstition "back in the day", but I very much doubt most of us Germans still really believe this will bring bad luck. It has simply become a custom and we don't think much of it. When Germans quote such superstitions, we do this jokingly most of the time, at least in my experience (having been born and living in Northrhine-Westphalia in the West of Germany for these 51 years of my life.) Your milage my differ, though (glimpsing at Bavaria, in a jesting way). :)
Its not a obligation bring your own stuff to workplace. Most people wont do, some people pay for the celebrating person. Depends on the family and friends. Our big Milestone Party is the 18 th Birthyday. So you become a Legal Aduld.
A Tradtion in the nothern germany on Round Bithdays or Mariage Days is "kränzen" they hang a big girlande of pine around your door with a Number and you have give them Schaps as a present.They often bring Money oder other things for your Birthday. Held in smaller towns
What do Americans do with their birthday cake. In Germany, birthday party starts 3-4 pm. Cake time. Americans don't have it. When do they eat the cake ? Or when do they start their party ?
I think I am a little confused by the question but I will try my best and explain. A party can be whenever somebody wants it to start, but I would say midday or afternoon is most popular for children's parties and evenings for adults. Most of the time, if a party starts at 6PM as a random example, you will hang out, eat dinner or snacks, play games, and then after a little while, sing "Happy Birthday" with candles on the cake lit, at the end of the song they blow the candles out and then immediately serve the cake for everybody to eat. However, the cake normally is sitting out for everybody to see during the party because they are decorated. So most likely the cake is eaten in the middle or towards the end of the party, but no set rules.
@@PassportTwo Thanks. But you do have this "Kaffee und Kuchen" video, why are you confused. It is this meal you are inviting for (at least in families). After that, the table is cleared, and re-opened for dinner later on. It's more dining table setup then buffet setup.
Eating a cake as desert ist quiet strange for Germans, this will hardly ever happen.
It's a meal, not a course.
Oh, and something else is different.
There is cake and there is Birthday Cake.
The cream cake for Birthday most people only buy one for birthday. Or 1 piece per guest or so.
But cause people want to eat more, they are hungry, they eat 3-4 pieces of cake, but not all the same.
My grandma used to make 8 cakes for 20 people. Most of them you would call a pie or a tarte or sponge cake. Or just one layer biscuit with Yello fruit topping.
@@holger_p Now I'm even more confused 😂 "Kaffee und Kuchen" and birthday parties are two completely different things. "Kaffee und Kuchen" is a weekly (or sometimes daily) break in a day to sit and have coffee and cake that is completely unrelated to birthday parties. Obviously, birthday parties are parties to celebrate a birthday and just happens to also have cake involved.
@@PassportTwo "Kaffee und Kuchen" is a daily meal, like the 5 o clock-tee in England.
It's often reduced to the weekend nowadays, or sometimes taken at offices, cause people are not home at this time of the day. Or people skip to due to the calories, but traditional it's daily.
The span from lunch (12pm) to dinner 7 pm is too long. So you have this snack at 3:30.
This meal is the central and essential part of a birthday party. At least in the tradition, with grandma's etc.
It's the occasion to socialize.
AND: Kuchen is only eaten at this meal.
So it only makes sense to have a birthday cake, if you invite for "Kaffee und Kuchen"
What should you do with a cake, if people come at 6pm ? I would have no idea, this does not make any sense to a German.
Cake time is over. It's as strange as offering cereals for dinner.
To make the day special, you extend your daily apple pie, or Streuselkuchen, with a cream cake, for the special occasion.
Younger people change it today, to the more international style, just drinking together or having dinner. But no cake then.
There are American influences already, like rectangular cakes, or cakes with prints on it. Also restaurants offering cake as desert is just commitment to american tourists or so.
A "dinner" itself is also completely unrelated to birthday parties, but you most often have dinner at your birthday ;-)
You invite your guests for one or the other meal.
Maybe you missed the social component in "Kaffee und Kuchen", it's the #1 occasion to meet people, you are semi-close (loose friends). Same as "having a coffee together" in America, just the time is set and the cake comes with it.
Drinking coffee without eating something is a new and imported habit.
In country style, with all the neighbors passing by, wishing good luck, you supply only cake, may be Schnapps for the men, Champaign for the women, at around 4pm.
In summertime maybe you have a BBQ, but as more guests you have, as more likely you do not have a big dinner, it's just too expensive, or too much effort to cook for 20 people.
Wichtige Grundregeln an Geburtstagen/Feiern für den Gastgeber, die viele Deutsche aber auch vergessen: Man feiert eine Feier für die Gäste, nie für sich selbst.
My birthday was just yesterday! 11/20/2020
Oh nice! Happy Birthday!! 😃
Manche Leute feiern ja auch in den Geburtstag hinein, das wird insbesondere gemacht, wenn der Geburtstag an einem Sonntag ist. Ähnlich wie bei einer Silvesterfeier ist dann Mitternacht der große Zeitpunkt, aber es wird diesmal dem Geburtstagskind gratuliert und mit Sekt angestoßen.
I don't believe that anything specific hapens when I wish someone an early birthday, I just don't do it.
Hey Aubrey and Donnie,
i like your videos! They are allways extremly vell researched, very funny and charming ☺️.
Here are a few experiences from the perspective of an Austrian 🇦🇹:
Einen Ausgeben: YES.
Often the others spend more rounds afterwards.
In the office: Yes, you bring something (if you don't want to keep your birthday secret) ..but you should be prepared.
It is often common for men to bring a 🍺beer crate or/and 🍕pizza instead of a cake.
But of course, somethimes colleagues organize a surprise birthday celebration .
No congratulations beforehand: 100 % YES 👍.
It's kind of a law. It doesn't matter if you are religious or superstitious or not.
Like you said: "Don't praise the day before the evening!"
🎈 Party: You don't usually make the 🎂cake yourself, it is organized by your loved ones (girlfriend, boyfriend) but yes, you pay for the rest.
🍽️ Dinner invitation: Yes, you pay unless someone close to you (father, brother, best friend, girlfriend, boyfriend) has secretly paid faster (sometimes the drinks).
(secretly paying for something is a thing on many occasions)
Here in America if you brought a keg of beer to work for a party you would be FIRED! No alcohol at work!
For me and my friend the rite not to wish a happy birthday before the day was always more something like a joke, like the other one: if you don't look the person in the eyes you are clinking glasses with, it will earn you 7 years of bad sex. There are many such playful "superstitions" around - nobody does really believe it but it is fun to play-act.
To wait for your birthday before opening presents however counts simply as good manners (in an old-fashioned way) - and many may believe to get more joy by opening all presents together in a kind of special ceremony. If you know however the donor will not be around that day, it's common to ask him if to open now (so they can see your reaction) or at your birthday (it could be sth. special which is e.g. linked to that date). On the other side: If you don't expect a gift to be special (or expect it to be on the rather cheap side) you may even want to avoid humiliating the donor by opening it before his eyes...
Many people take for their birthday a day off, so they can sleep in after celebrating in. If not, they are expected to bring some cake or sweets to the office at their birthday, which will led to a prolonged coffee break with gratulations.
If going to a birthday party it is common to bring a cake with you. Since however not everyone does this (or can do this) the host (or his/her family) will also provide some cake and other treats.
The birthday party is either organized by you yourself or by you family living with you. So you decide if you want have a party (and at which day). No surprise parties welcome!
Since my own birthday is in winter, but I wanted to have my party in the garden I invented my own birthday tradition: I don't celebrate my birthday at all, but my halfbirthday exactly 6 months after.
In my mother's childhood it was still customary in some catholic regions not to celebrate your birthday (at least not much) but your name day. And since often many members of your family or in your village hat the same given name that would often be a really big event. Many men where named Peter or Paul, and so St. Peter and Paul's day was a fixed holiday in many rural regions even after it had lost its status as official or legal holiday back in the 19th century.
Wow! Thanks so much for the in depth information 😃 With Aubrey’s birthday being in December, she was always jealous of summer birthdays be able to have pool parties. One year her mom rented out a whole indoor pool just so she could finally fulfill that dream even in the winter 😂 So she completely understands your dilemma! 😊
@@PassportTwo: The thing about Germans staring at you is a bit related to the ways of glass clinking. The bad luck superstition, due to not looking into each others eyes, is of course a regular source of silly jokes. However, it is important and considered a sign of mutual respect to look into each other´s eyes while greeting; glass clinking included, as it is usually linked to some wishes for good luck. "Auf Augenhöhe" probably is an expression of a republican, citizen-like mutual respect, instead of the servility of the feudal system in Europe over centuries. Depending on the specific reign and period, off course, the non-nobles were supposed not to stare at the superiors, and being allowed/encouraged to look into the sovereign´s face would be a special honour. (Well, I did not check this background with a sociologist in detail.)
Growing up in a small village, I was taught to always greet other people on the streets, and in particular the younger were supposed to greet the older first. (Which meant, that at around 16 you suddenly felt the looming shadow of age, as kids started to greet YOU, FIRST!) Off course, in a city, you would be very busy to greet anyone, so habits are obviously different there. One important part of greeting is looking into the eyes. Quickly averting your gaze after a moment somehow suggests that the other person has a disfigured face and you are ashamed of seeing that - absolutely a No-Go! This eye-gazing ritual means, that when someone approaches walking the street, you have to line them up upon getting closer, and finally say "Grüß Gott/ Guten Tag/ Hallo/ Mojn/ Hi" (depending on the region and/or age / social relation) when the right distance or time is there. A slight nod, even without smiling may also do. (Usually you want to be on the same level, so when you are greeted "Guten Tag!", it´s better to "Guten Tag!" back and not only nod. This way, you also learn the local habit....)
It is perfectly understandable, that the convention of lining someup up by eye until the "greeting distance is reached" can be easily experienced as staring. Oh, and off course, looking on to other people´s eyes will keep you from checking out their chest. Which we off course only do when they are not noticing...
The only place I know of in the USA for "name day" took place in our Catholic school. Your "name" was your Baptismal name, which is not usually your first name. This celebration has just about died out completely.
@@indrobiswas4474 Loved this response. We said "Gruss Gott" in Baden-
Wurtemburg to most anyone when we walked into a shop or a public building. I think it is a regional thing.
I'm not supersticious at all but I would just find it really weird If someone wished me happy birthday before my birthday 🤷🏻♀️
When I was a kid in the 90s Topfschlagen was the most popular birthday game, but nowadays piñatas are becoming more an more popular and you can find them in stores easily. My daughter (4) had one for her Birthday 🥳
Beside of all superstitions, would you celebrate New Year's eve 2 weeks earlier or later? ;)
PS: Happy birthday nachträglich :D
Vielen Dank! 😊
Yeah! You did the topfschlagen thing, and the sweet 16 thing! Very nice. 👍😘 I may got a topic for you. It's FREEDOM. I watched a few videos of a dude who bought his own ghost town in California and I was impressed, and sad, because something like that is almost impossible in Europe. But the I think about the "SCHENGEN ABKOMMEN" or real free speech, and I am curious. Peace guys
I remember the birthday spanking thing. We only did this when we were children though.
Ya, I think we will jokingly do it to our siblings or some really really close friends but that is pretty much it 😅
Never heard of the spanking tradition, sounds a bit strange :)
Ya, it is a little strange, but we did forget to mention it is reserved for very very close family and friends only typically! You won't find your boss spanking a colleague at work! 😂
In my experience, it’s also more for children’s birthday parties, not adults.
ok we also celebrate 16 and 18 as you do and we are very excited about it.
16 is the legal drinking age, but on your 16th birthday it often becomes quite a mess with some people sleeping extremely drunk in the bathroom and puking into your mom's trash. a lot of people experience their first hangover on their 16th.
It is normal that you have experience with beer and wine in Germany before you are 16. But on the birthday it is unfortunately often exaggerated.
On the 18th you often get your car, as a present (usually the old car of your grandmother, or a cheap used car) and in addition you drink a lot because now also the schnapps is legal. Often you rent a big hall and invite many people
So sounds a lot like the US versions of those special birthdays just at different ages! 😃
We treat others on our own birthday as a kid you got to wear a birthday crown at school with your name and age you then will give the kids some candy or cookies at least when I was young now the kids must bring healthy stuff, also need as an adult you bring cake or pay the bill. Weirdly you also congratulate with EVERYONE at the party. This in my hime country The Netherlands. Here in the uk you don’t unwrap in front of the guests.
Does Germany have name days like in Czech Republic?
I guess we would first have to know what name days even are 😂
I think it depends on the region. As far as I know name days are celebrated in southern germany or other mainly catholic areas, but not in the mainly protestant regions in the north of Germany.
I do believe it's a catholic tradition and therefore not very common in the North and East of Germany.
There are too many commercials in this video 😒
When I was an Au Pair in the US and the host-family gave me a cake and presents the evening before my 20th birthday that was odd. Not that I believe something bad would happen, but that is not something you do in Germany, you honor the birthdaychild by taking time on his or her birthday, so that was very disappointing for me.
My birthday ist August 15th and my Mom would tell me months before, if she is on vacation at that day.
And no we do not spank, do not try that with a college, he oder her migth tell the boss.
And I like to bring something for my birthday to work, so I can show off, that I am a good baker!
Spanking definitely would never be done to a colleague at work in the US either! Even most friends wouldn't do it to each other, honestly. That is really reserved just for siblings and really really close friends to do! Maybe should have given that disclaimer before a German might get confused and think they have to do that with an American friend!! 😂😂
Ok to be fair, here the rest of the story: On my 20th birthday I went to church (first time at that church) and a lady (evening service) asked if I want to join her for dinner at big boy and when I told her, that it is my birthday she told the waiter and the waiter came with a cookie and a candle on it!
I have never heard of Bithday spanking before, but the Fact that you get spankt the amount of years you are alive, reminds me of "Hochleben lassen". In this tradition the Bithday boy or girl gets put on a chair and several adults will lift the chair up and let it down again the amount of years you are becoming while the other kids will shout "er/sie lebe hoch, hoch, hoch..." .
well I know of one restaurant in germany where you get spankings if they find out its your birthday xD I am never setting a foot in there on my birthday lol (of course your friends do it, not the staff that would bei weird)
After 18, when we are allowed to do everything, we just celebrate the runde Geburtstage.20,30,40 a.s.o.
Sounds like America except after our 21st primarily. Interesting! 😊
@@PassportTwo Yeah, I guess 21 is not that important for Germans, since you are allowed to drink with 16/18.
Wir im Norden haben noch den 25, wo man entweder einen Flaschenkranz oder einen Schachtelkranz bekommt, wenn man noch nicht verheiratet ist.
@@PassportTwo actually the 21st changed in Germany decades ago. When my mother turned 21 back in the 70s she was already considered an adult, but not fully "legally competent" until reaching legal age at 21. So to start an apprenticeship make any contract etc until the age of 21 you needed your parents to sign, or in case you were already married, your spouse if of legal age as well. If younger you needed of course your parents permission for marriage. On the other hand, at least if male, you had been eligible for mandatory military service from age 18.
I think it was changed in 1974. Only for criminal law you can still be charged as an adolescent until the age of 21, but that is decided for any case age 18 to 21 individually (if the court considers the accused person immature)
You forgot to mention that when no one is allowed to congratulate beforehand, tons of friends and relatives (who are not able to make a visit) will call you on the phone on that particular day for a ten minute chit chat, while you are already stressed out planning your own party, preparing food, etc. The american way of celebrating seems so much better !!!
Haha, that would get in the way of all that planning and preparation that must be done! We do enjoy the American way, but we enjoy the differences 😊
- Ah yes, we don´t wish happy birthday before the actual date, because as everyone says: bad luck otherwise^^
that also extends to not opening the presents and cards beforehand^^
- About "reinfeiern": I´ve never experienced it anywhere, maybe I don´t have friends like that - I certainly never did that on my birthday.
- My family - and also my friends - are of the opinion that it´s stupid to have to pay for everyone on your own birthday when dining at a restaurant, so instead the birthday person gets invited... I´m on the american side for this xD
- But we still feel obligated to bake a cake or something similar ourselves for your co-workers to bring in on our birthday (I haven´t done that in years, though, because I´m usually on vacation at that time, so it gets overlooked thankfully).. I like the amercan way of throwing a birthday party :)
- I would also prefer the pinata over the Topfschlagen xD I remember this was a thing at most of the birthday parties when I was a kid.
- never heard of the spanking and I´m pretty sure it´s not a thing in germany o.o
Reinfeiern macht man gerne, wenn man an einem Sonntag Geburtstag hat. Am Samstag können nämlich mehr Leute saufen als am Sonntag, da sie Sonntags meistens frei haben und Montag nicht. In der Woche kenne ich keinen, der reinfeiert.
The difference is easy to explain, You can wish, or you can congratulate. Germans tend to congratulate, Americans tend to wish.
If you see a marathon runner, you don't congratulate 1 km before goal, if one has an exam, you congratulate not before the results are out.
Nothing bad will happen if you do, it's just stupid to do so. First you have to finish, your year of live, then you get congratulations.
You also don't give condolences, before somebody is dead, do you ?
Might be a common miss-translation to convert "Ich gratuliere Dir zum Geburtstag" into "I wish you a happy birthday".
Actually nobody is wishing the day shall be happy, no you wish your next year shall be splendorous, healthy or whatever.
I like how you always point out how diverse German and American culture are. As a German I am often surprised at the things you present as German only to find out in the comments that they are completely normal for other Germans.
And that sometimes does not even seem to be a regional thing. Some families seem to do certain things one way, others do it different.
Funny that the big birthdays 18, 21 and 25 in America are just the 18th in Germany. Also the driving and drinking ages are switched(except for high alcohol contents) so you can drink at 16 and drive at 18. Also you get the right to vote in small regional elections at 16
1:49 „superstitious Germans“ You are correct: In Germany you do not open your birthday presents, BEFORE the correct day
AND you do not wish „happy Birthday“ before 1st Minute of actual day of birth, but you are allowed to congratulate some days after e.g. „herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag NACHTRÄGLICH“
____like on Christmas:
And in my Family on on Christmas, you do not open your presents before 24. AND „Bescherung“ 18h was declared around 18h with a small bell 🔔.
Family join for lunch 12-13h or „coffee-time“ 16h... where ALL presents were PUT under the Christmas Tree for all to see, but not touch and wait for Bescherung.
Bescherung: my whole family joins after choffee-time 16h and before dinner 18h, sing a Christmas song (earlier someone dressed up as Santa Claus bring the presents or report, if the children were good/Bad this year) and then presents were exchanged and then opened TOGETHER.
And you in the US you WOULD be opening presents early if you open them on the 24th as we wait until the 25th to open presents 😊
Smooth sponsor transition 😂
🙃
That's what I thought... good job! 😜👍
I would feel okay if someone wish me happy birthday before my birthday. But I would be surprised and maybe would explain that its not today.