Danish children’s birthdays – lots of celebration, joy and rituals
Let’s start with the best of the best. A typical Danish ‘børnefødselsdag’ (child’s birthday) is full of lots of little rituals that all add up to giving the child a feeling of being significant and loved.
Songs and musical instruments
The guests sing a birthday song that the child gets to choose. And if the child picks “the one with the instruments”, then all guests must imitate the musical instrument the child picks. You can really ham it up if you like! After the singing, the child gets to blow out all the candles on the cake. The cake might be a large ‘brunsviger’ (a sugary, yeast-based cake) shaped like a person and decorated with sweets – perhaps with liquorice straws for hair. We call it a ‘kagemand’ (’cake man’) or ’kagekone’ (’cake lady’).
At home, at nursery school or a professional event?
You can either invite the child’s friends to come home or celebrate the child in their nursery school. You can arrange that with the people working there. Either way, it’s the parents’ job to make sure there is a little something to eat. Some nursery schools don’t allow sugar. This is to make sure the children eat a healthy and varied diet even though they take part in lots of birthday parties throughout the year. You have to respect that. A third option is to celebrate a child’s birthday somewhere in town, perhaps a museum, a pool, a theme park etc., where there is staff who can arrange different activities for the children.
When the song is sung and the candles blown out, it’s time to open the gifts. Often, the parents will get together beforehand and agree to the price of the gifts. That way, everyone can bring a gift without blowing their budget. Some nursery schools have a tradition for giving a gift. An example of this could be a t-shirt that all the other kids have drawn on.
Birthdays for grown-ups in Denmark – nowhere near as fun
We must admit that birthdays for grown-ups aren’t quite as exciting. There aren’t that many traditions, but there is one thing you must know about birthdays in a Danish workplace: When it’s your birthday, you are the one bringing your colleagues a treat! Not the other way round.
’Round’ birthdays are something special
We call it ‘en rund fødselsdag’ (a ’round’ birthday) when your age can be divided by ten. These birthdays are usually celebrated with a bigger party for family and friends. And at work there might be a small reception arranged by your boss or by yourself.
We also have a few ’halvrunde’ (‘half-round’) birthdays that are celebrated a little more. Especially 25th and 75th birthdays. An 18th birthday is also something very special, and many celebrate it with a big party. On the other hand, 21 is usually just a regular birthday.
There is an old Danish tradition of giving speeches and writing special song lyrics for the person that we celebrate at a big birthday bash. The tradition has been extremely popular, and its popularity might be fading a bit. But it is still a tradition that is present in large parts of Danish society.
Danish words using ’fødselsdag’
And now we’d like to give you four Danish words using ’fødselsdag’ (birthday) that will teach you even more about Danish culture.
Fødselsdagsflag
A ’fødselsdagsflag’ (’birthday flag’) is simply the Danish flag, also known as Dannebrog. It might be made of paper or fabric. We use the very smallest ’fødselsdagsflag’ made from paper to decorate our cakes. In Denmark, you don’t need to be a nationalist or have a specific political stance in order to use ’fødselsdagsflag’. Almost everyone does it.
Fødselsdagsbarn – but not ’fødselsdagsvoksen’
A ’fødselsdagsbarn’ (’birthday child’) is a child celebrating his or her birthday. The title is only valid on the day of your birthday. (The next day, you’re simply a regular child again!) Funnily enough, we have the expression ’fødselsdagsbarn’, but we don’t say ’fødselsdagsvoksen’ (’birthday grown-up’). Instead, we call that ’fødselar’.
Fødselar
A ’fødselar’ is a person who has a birthday that day. It sounds a little funny or old-fashioned, but Danes will definitely be impressed if you use the word.
Fødselsdagshilsen
In the old days, a ’fødselsdagshilsen’ (birthday greeting) was a physical card. Pre-printed or handwritten. Now, it’s usually just a text or a message on Facebook. Still, the most important part remains, namely the words: ”Tillykke med fødselsdagen! Jeg håber, du får en rigtig dejlig dag.” (”Happy birthday. I hope you have a lovely day.”) And if the sun is shining, Danes usually say that it’s because the ’fødselar’ behaved so well in the past year. So you might even add: ”Tak for det dejlige solskin, som du har sørget for!” (”Thank you for the lovely sunshine that you provided!”)