{"id":2487,"date":"2025-04-25T21:09:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T21:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/?p=2487"},"modified":"2026-10-20T18:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T18:07:30","slug":"italian-birthday-traditions-and-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/italian-birthday-traditions-and-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Birthday Traditions, Name Days and the Song"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Italian birthdays have much in common with birthdays elsewhere: a cake, candles, a song and a lot of greetings. A few details are distinctly Italian, though, and several are worth knowing before you wish an Italian friend a happy birthday. This page covers the song <em>Tanti auguri a te<\/em>, what happens at the table, a popular belief about early wishes, and the name day, the <em>onomastico<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img src=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card.webp\" alt=\"Birthday cake card that reads \u201cTanti auguri a te!\u201d, the title of the Italian birthday song\" class=\"wp-image-23361\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card.webp 1200w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-800x420.webp 800w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-696x365.webp 696w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/tanti-auguri-a-te-song-card-1068x561.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The birthday song: \u201cTanti auguri a te\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>The traditional Italian birthday song is <em>Tanti auguri a te<\/em> (TAHN-tee ow-GOO-ree ah teh), which means \u201cmany good wishes to you\u201d. It is sung to the same tune as \u201cHappy Birthday to You\u201d. It follows the same pattern as the English song:<\/p>\n<ul><li>Line 1: <em>Tanti auguri a te<\/em><\/li><li>Line 2: <em>Tanti auguri a te<\/em> (repeated)<\/li><li>Line 3: <em>Tanti auguri a\u2026<\/em> and the name of the birthday person<\/li><li>Line 4: <em>Tanti auguri a te<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n<p>Everyone sings it together while the cake is brought to the table. If you know the English tune, you already know the melody.<\/p>\n<h2>Cake, candles and the wish<\/h2>\n<p>The birthday cake is the <em>torta di compleanno<\/em>. It carries candles (<em>candeline<\/em>), and the birthday person blows them out (<em>spegnere le candeline<\/em>) while making a secret wish (<em>esprimere un desiderio<\/em>). The guest of honour is called <em>il festeggiato<\/em> (a man) or <em>la festeggiata<\/em> (a woman).<\/p>\n<h2>Do not wish happy birthday too early<\/h2>\n<p>Many Italians believe that wishing someone a happy birthday before the day itself brings bad luck, and some find it rude. It is a popular belief, not a law, and plenty of people ignore it, but it is the reason you will often see Italians waiting until the day, and then sending <em>auguri in ritardo<\/em> (belated wishes) if they miss it. If you are unsure, wait until the day. See <a href=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/happy-birthday-to-you-in-italian\/\">how to say happy birthday in Italian<\/a> for the phrases.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img src=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card.webp\" alt=\"Boho arch card that reads \u201cBuon onomastico!\u201d, meaning \u201chappy name day\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-23362\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card.webp 1080w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-1024x1024.webp 1024w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-768x768.webp 768w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-420x420.webp 420w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-696x696.webp 696w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/buon-onomastico-name-day-card-1068x1068.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Who pays for the party?<\/h2>\n<p>In Italy it is common for the birthday person to treat the guests, with a drink, an aperitivo or a meal, rather than being treated. The verb is <em>offrire<\/em>: <em>Offro io!<\/em> (\u201cIt\u2019s on me!\u201d). Language guides describe this as a custom to expect, although it varies between groups of friends and families.<\/p>\n<h2>Pulling the earlobes<\/h2>\n<p>Some Italians mark the day with a playful gesture: gently tugging the birthday person\u2019s earlobe, once for each year of age. It is described as a joke among friends and family rather than a formal ritual, and it is not universal. We have not found a reliable source for where it comes from, so treat any explanation you read with caution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img src=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card.webp\" alt=\"Fireworks card that reads \u201cSpegni le candeline!\u201d, meaning \u201cblow out the candles\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-23363\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card.webp 1200w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-800x420.webp 800w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-696x365.webp 696w, https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/spegni-le-candeline-card-1068x561.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Turning eighteen<\/h2>\n<p>At eighteen a person becomes <em>maggiorenne<\/em>, which in Italian law means being a legal adult (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/vocabolario\/maggiorenne\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Treccani: maggiorenne<\/a>). The eighteenth birthday, <em>i diciotto anni<\/em>, is often celebrated with a bigger party than other birthdays.<\/p>\n<h2>A traditional wish: \u201cCento di questi giorni\u201d<\/h2>\n<p><em>Cento di questi giorni!<\/em> (CHEN-toh dee KWEH-stee JOR-nee) means \u201ca hundred of these days\u201d: you wish the person a hundred more birthdays, or a long life. It is traditional and a little old-fashioned, and it is often associated with older speakers.<\/p>\n<h2>The name day: \u201conomastico\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>The <em>onomastico<\/em> (oh-noh-MAS-tee-koh) is the feast day of the saint whose name a person bears. On the date the Church honours that saint, people with that name traditionally celebrate. Treccani gives the example <em>oggi \u00e8 il mio onomastico<\/em> (\u201ctoday is my name day\u201d) (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/vocabolario\/onomastico\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Treccani: onomastico<\/a>).<\/p>\n<ul><li>The greeting is <strong>Buon onomastico!<\/strong> (bwohn oh-noh-MAS-tee-koh) or simply <strong>Auguri!<\/strong><\/li><li>Some well-known dates: 19 March, San Giuseppe (Joseph); 24 June, San Giovanni (John); 4 October, San Francesco (Francis); 13 December, Santa Lucia (Lucy).<\/li><li>It is usually marked in a small way, for example with a pastry or a small gift. According to one Italian-culture article, it is more common in central and southern Italy, and not everyone celebrates it (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lagazzettaitaliana.com\/history-culture\/8790-buon-onomastico-the-italian-name-day\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">La Gazzetta Italiana<\/a>).<\/li><\/ul>\n<h2>Useful party vocabulary<\/h2>\n<div style=\"overflow-x:auto;margin:0 0 22px\"><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;min-width:520px\"><thead><tr><th style=\"text-align:left;padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:2px solid #c9c9c9;font-size:15px\">Italian<\/th><th style=\"text-align:left;padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:2px solid #c9c9c9;font-size:15px\">How to say it<\/th><th style=\"text-align:left;padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:2px solid #c9c9c9;font-size:15px\">English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>la festa di compleanno<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">lah FEH-stah dee kom-pleh-AHN-noh<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">birthday party<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>la torta<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">lah TOR-tah<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">cake<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>le candeline<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">leh kahn-deh-LEE-neh<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">birthday candles<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>il regalo<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">eel reh-GAH-loh<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">gift<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>il biglietto di auguri<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">eel bee-LYET-toh dee ow-GOO-ree<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">greeting card<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>gli invitati<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">lyee een-vee-TAH-tee<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">the guests<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>la festa a sorpresa<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">lah FEH-stah ah sor-PREH-zah<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">surprise party<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\"><strong>Buon onomastico!<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">bwohn oh-noh-MAS-tee-koh<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 10px;border-bottom:1px solid #e3e3e3;vertical-align:top;font-size:15px\">Happy name day!<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>What is the Italian birthday song?<\/h3>\n<p>It is <em>Tanti auguri a te<\/em>, sung to the \u201cHappy Birthday to You\u201d tune.<\/p>\n<h3>Is it bad luck to say happy birthday early in Italy?<\/h3>\n<p>Many Italians believe so, and some find it rude. It is a widespread belief rather than a rule, and not everyone follows it.<\/p>\n<h3>What is an onomastico?<\/h3>\n<p>A name day: the feast day of the saint you are named after. People may greet you with <em>Buon onomastico!<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Does the birthday person pay in Italy?<\/h3>\n<p>It is common for the birthday person to offer drinks or food, although customs vary.<\/p>\n<h2>Keep reading<\/h2>\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/happy-birthday-to-you-in-italian\/\">How to say happy birthday in Italian (with pronunciation)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/italian-birthday-wishes-and-messages\/\">Italian birthday wishes and messages, with translations<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/italian-birthday-conversation-phrases\/\">Talking about birthdays in Italian<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<p>Treccani, <em>Vocabolario<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/vocabolario\/onomastico\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">onomastico<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treccani.it\/vocabolario\/maggiorenne\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">maggiorenne<\/a>. Name-day dates and regional notes: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lagazzettaitaliana.com\/history-culture\/8790-buon-onomastico-the-italian-name-day\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">La Gazzetta Italiana<\/a>. Customs described as popular beliefs or habits (early wishes, who pays, earlobes) come from general language-learning and culture guides, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thinkinitalian.com\/happy-birthday-in-italian\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Think in Italian<\/a>, and vary from person to person.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Italians do on a birthday: the song Tanti auguri a te, cake and candles, the belief about early wishes, name days (onomastico) and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[191,197,189,195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrazione","category-italian","category-italian-birthday","category-wishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2487"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23370,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions\/23370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all4quotes.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}