No matter where in the world you go, no matter the culture you immerse yourself in, similar to your own or more different than you thought possible, celebration of someone’s day of birth is pretty much universal.
No matter how far north, south, east or west you go, people have developed any number of traditions to celebrate the anniversary of a person being born. Italian birthdays are, all things considered, not the most contrived seeming celebrations to the Western reader, but they do certainly have their own unique quirks.
So, how are birthdays celebrated in Italy?
How Do You Say Happy Birthday in Italian?
As with many things in languages, the literal translations don’t always give the full context behind their usage, and in this case these ways of saying happy birthday are all pretty general purpose.
- “Tanti aguri” — translated as “best wishes”
- “Felice anniversario” — translated as “happy anniversary”
- "Felice compleanno" - translated as "happy birthday"
- "Auguri di buon compleanno" - translated as "best wishes for a happy birthday"
These are all different ways of wishing someone a happy birthday, and are often used flexibly to wish someone a happy birthday. They all convey the same general meaning of happy birthday with all the usual Italian cheer and enthusiasm!
Other Italian Vocabulary For Birthdays
Memory updated
Here are some Italian vocabulary words related to birthdays, including phrases:
- Compleanno - Birthday
- Torta - Cake
- Candeline - Candles
- Regalo - Gift
- Auguri di compleanno! - Happy Birthday!
- Buon compleanno! - Happy Birthday!
- Ti auguro un felice compleanno! - Wishing you a happy birthday!
- Tanti auguri! - Best wishes!
- Buon divertimento alla tua festa! - Have fun at your party!
- Felice anniversario! - Happy anniversary!
- Goditi la tua giornata speciale! - Enjoy your special day!
- Brindiamo alla tua felicità! - Let's toast to your happiness!
- Questo regalo è per te! - This gift is for you!
- Ti auguro un anno pieno di sorprese e felicità! - Wishing you a year full of surprises and happiness!
- Che tutti i tuoi desideri si avverino! - May all your wishes come true!
- Con affetto in questo giorno speciale! - With love on this special day!
- Buon compleanno, amico mio! - Happy Birthday, my friend!
- Festeggiamo insieme! - Let's celebrate together!
- Buona fortuna per il nuovo anno! - Good luck for the new year!
How to write your birthday in Italian
So, let’s imagine it’s your birthday being celebrated in Italy. Maybe you want to let people know when it is and when to celebrate with you. One of the most classic scheduling errors of our time is using the wrong date system!
Italy uses the same date system as England and Europe, with the day-month-year format. So if someone tells you their birthday is 02/08, they mean August 2nd not February 8th!
Writing it is all well and good, but what if someone asks you in person? You can’t so easily just respond by writing down numbers. If someone were to ask you “quand'è il tuo compleanno?” or any other such variation, the standard response would be “il mio compleanno è il due agosto”, replacing “due agosto” with whatever date your birthday is.
What to write an Italian birthday card
There’s no traditional standard for what to write in Italian birthday card greetings, but there are some reasonably safe bets. As in any culture, it’s about expressing sincere birthday wishes, with any combination of the above discussed or any other ways you can think of to wish a happy birthday to your Italian friends!
How to make Italian birthday cake
The Italian birthday cake is a centrepiece of the celebration as much as it is in any other culture, if not more so. But what is Italian birthday cake made of? It’s often either a profiterole cake filled with cream and covered in chocolate or a light sponge cake drizzled with liquor and filled with jam or custard.
There are more house recipes for birthday cakes than there are stars in the sky! As such, rather than conforming to one single standard, you’ll likely find that your own style of “traditional” birthday cake will take form based on your family and friends around you.
An expression of their combined experiences, perfectly formed into a cake that suits you just right. Something truly special!
What does an Italian birthday feast contain?
As one might expect from a culture with some of the most universally adored food in the world, one of the most important Italian birthday traditions if the Italian birthday feast. An Italian birthday meal doesn’t have an exact set of foods, but as one might expect, it is equal parts decadent and mouth-watering.
As one might expect, the centrepiece of any such meal is pasta. Whatever form that takes, and indeed more likely than not it will take the form of multiple pasta dishes of all sorts, the pasta is a crucial element. Nobody does pasta quite like the Italians, and nothing does it for the Italians quite like pasta!
Perhaps equally crucial to any Italian meal, but especially a birthday feast, is the antipasto platter. Literally translating as “before meal platter” the antipasto platter will usually be a carefully curated selection of cured meats, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, marinated mushrooms, and a plethora of other mouth-watering delicacies to kick off the birthday meal.
These two components are probably the most crucially Italian bits of the feast. They are the “meat and potatoes” so to speak of the Italian birthday dinner, although there are of course plenty of other Italian dishes that can fill out the table to make it a true feast.
What do Italians drink on their birthday?
For adults in Italy, there is really only one choice for the birthday beverage, and that’s prosecco. A bottle of bubbly from Italy’s finest is an absolute must in any birthday celebration in Italy.
As the go-to drink for any kind of celebration in Italy, it’s only natural that prosecco be the drink of choice for any and all birthday celebrations. Any excuse for a glass of the stuff, really!
How do Italian birthday presents work?
As one might expect, presents and gifts are a customary part of an Italian birthday. In general, they are very similar in concept and formality to gifts in other western countries, but in Italy there is a far greater value placed on the physical object.
A tactile object that can be touched is considered a much more appropriate gift than something intangible or an experience. It’s difficult to say where this particular aspect of the tradition comes from, but it does seem rather quintessentially Italian when you think about it!
What is an Italian birthday party like?
The Italian for birthday party is “La festa di compleanno” and there’s no more appropriate sounding phrase than this. Just by reading it, you can get a sense of the kind of high energy affair that such a party is likely to be, and your assumption would be pretty much spot on.
Plenty of food, drinks, and dancing in the most merry way one can imagine, as you would expect from the Italian culture. Their reputation very much precedes them in such events, in a good way, and they do not disappoint.
And of course, what good birthday celebration would be complete with some proper Italian birthday music?
What is the Italian birthday song with lyrics?
Perhaps surprisingly, given how properly defined all of their other traditions are, the traditional birthday song in Italy is quite literally just an “Italian happy birthday to you”. Basically a word for word translation of the English, the lyrics are as follows:
“Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri [name],
Tanti auguri a te!”
Of course, you replace the [name] with the name of the person whose birthday you are celebrating, so for instance if the person’s name is Alexandra you would sing:
“Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri Alexandra,
Tanti auguri a te!”
Since “tante aguri” literally translates to “happy birthday”, and “a te” literally translates to “to you”, it’s an exact mirror of the English version we all know and love. It seems it’s a classic whatever language you speak!
Armed with this basic knowledge, there’s no doubt you’ll be the talk of any Italian party you go to either at home or in Italy, but there’s so much more to Italian culture that one simply cannot learn through just reading.
Italian is a beautiful language that opens up a beautiful culture behind it. A world of wonder and fascination, from the storied ruins of Rome to the beautiful peaks of the Dolomites and the temple of speed at Monza.
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