Alles gut zum Geburtstag! Happy Birthday!

A friend of mine has a birthday tomorrow, which prompted me to write about this subject today. Once again, there seems to be cultural differences, this time when celebrating birthdays here in Germany.

One such difference that I have observed is that folks here aren’t so gift orientated when it comes to birthdays. The focus is more on the celebration. It’s interesting to me that Germans usually celebrate the day before the actual birthday so that when midnight comes around, the birthday is toasted. They may also party the next day too, but the partying the day before the birthday is a new concept for me. I think our (Americans) thinking is if you’re lucky and your birthday happens to fall on a Friday or Saturday, you celebrate on that Friday or Saturday or whatever day that’s convenient, but the focus has never been on the day before your actual birthday. Of course there are exceptions and I’m sure certain family traditions, but I think the norm is to celebrate on your special day.

Another occurrence that was different to me was entertainment. Many Germans create some sort of skit or gag, or recite a poem or story during the birthday celebration. A friend of mine threw her husband a huge 40th birthday party last summer. It was held under tents in the middle of a field in town. She went all out: ton’s of food, a beverage trailer; the works. Her husband happens to be in a band that plays covers as well as traditional German music. The trumpets, drums and acoustic guitars entertained us while we ate. Followed by the skit, four people dressed as TUV inspectors entered the tent. TUV is the German version of Motor vehicle inspection. You have to pass this before you can renew your car registration. They made the birthday boy stand on a table and proceeded to treat him like a car being inspected. They incorporated the getting old concept with an old car…aging parts, dim headlights, etc. It was a hilarious skit. At the end they presented him a vanity plate with his name and birthday on it.

Birthday gifts are often more or less presented as entertainment and/or gags as well. Another friend of mine’s brother works with metal. I think he does auto body work. He presented his brother a car door with all his friends’ signatures and birthday messages on it. He also gave him a metal birthday card. Really! It was welded shut and the birthday boy had to figure out how to open it. I think he ended up using some sort of metal cutters (Ok, I’m sure they’re called something else, but I’m at a loss when it comes to naming tools, sorry). When he finally got it open he discovered a gift certificate for the local Italian restaurant here in town. Several people at the party chipped in for it. Group gifts are more common here it seems and pretty unique and clever. Germans seem to put a lot of thought into what they do. They’re planners.

I was present at yet another birthday gathering and the gag gift that was presented had to be opened outside in the street. It was a decent sized barrel filled with saw dust, metal shavings, condoms and a gift certificate to that same restaurant. Crazy and unique. I loved it.