Birthday celebrations in Australia are mostly like how birthdays are portrayed in western movies. We have all the usual elements of birthday celebrations such as the birthday cake, blowing of the candles and singing the ‘Happy Birthday song’. But of course, we also have birthday traditions that are uniquely Australian.
Now that you’re in Australia, you’ll most likely host birthday parties once in a while specially if you have children. You’re probably curious as to how Aussies do their birthday parties so you could apply some of it to the ones you’d host. If you want to know a bit about how birthdays are usually celebrated in Australia, then read on.
Fairy Bread
No Australian kids’ birthday party would be complete without the fairy bread. Sounds magical doesn’t it? But what is this kids birthday party staple? It’s simply a buttered slice of bread sprinkled very generously with hundreds and thousands. And for those who don’t know, hundreds and thousands are basically some multi-coloured tiny sugar beads ‘sprinkles’.
Hip Hip Hooray!
The singing of the ‘Happy Birthday’ song is a common tradition the world over. In Australia however, it doesn’t just end with the song. It needs to be followed by shouting ‘Hip, hip, hooray’, usually around three times. Some of you might find this weird and ask why Aussies do it? Well, why not? In my opinion, it’s an enthusiastic cheer that makes birthdays more fun!
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Other Birthday Party Food
If you’re used to birthday parties where they serve “full meals” (like Filipino birthday parties), then it’d be a good idea to eat a “proper meal” before going to a birthday party here because you will probably get hungry. Most Australian birthday parties serve a spread that’s easy to prepare and are mostly comprised of finger food. Some of the usual ones you’d see are sausage rolls, small hot dogs with tomato sauce, devon rolls, and packet snacks that are then put in a bowl (i.e. chips). Adult birthday parties would also usually star barbecues of just about anything like snags, steaks, prawns, hamburgers and so on.
Venues
The most common venues for Australian birthday parties are:
- Own home- free
- Park – Usually free
- Beach – Usually free
- Pub/ restaurant – Fair warning: unlike in some cultures, in Australia, when you’re invited to dine out in a pub or a restaurant be that to simply hang out or for a special occasion, each person pays for their own meals.
- Special rented venue- host pays for venue
Important Birthdays
Most birthdays in Australia are a simple affair unless it’s a milestone birthday. These birthdays are usually celebrated in a more special way like with a big party on a special venue. These are a person’s 18th, 40th, 50th, and 60th birthdays. I think most childrens’ birthdays are celebrated with parties where friends and families are invited to come along and there would be activities, games and lolly filled goodie bags.
Conclusion
Before I let you go, I want to point out that though there are Australian birthday traditions that are widely followed by Aussies, the way birthdays are celebrated still differs from person to person. We also have to note that being the multicultural nation that it is, Australian birthday celebrations also vary from culture to culture.
Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.
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