Tuesday 21 October 2014

Estonian Birthday Greetings

A few weeks ago one of my relatives celebrated their birthday and I noticed some nice Estonian birthday greetings were posted on Facebook. Following on with this theme I decided to research a little bit more into this area to see what other light hearted birthday greetings I could find  Most native speaking Estonians would be familiar with these verses but if you are Estonian by descent and reconnecting with your roots, you might find these of interest.


Eesti
Rohkem kui järves vett,
rohkem kui seebil mulle, 
rohkem kui kärjes mett. 
Soovin õnne sulle!
Palju palju õnne sünnipäevaks!

English
More than water in the lake,  
More than bubbles on soap,
More than honey in the comb.
I wish you good luck!
Happy happy birthday!


Eesti
Päeva järel läheb päev,
jälle käes on sünnipäev -  
tordi päev, kingi päev,   
rosinates kringli päev! 

English
Day after day goes,
again, this is a birthday - 
Cake day, gift day,
raisin kringle day!


I quite like this one too but a few of the words are a bit tricky to translate into English. It basically means may your days be full of sunshine, pockets full of money, head sometimes drunken dizzy, heart never ever filled  until you reach one hundred years!

Olgu su päevad päikest täis,
taskud raha täis,
pea vahel täis,
süda mitte
kunagi täis,
kuni saad sada aastat täis!

Here's one more popular Estonian birthday verse. 

Eesti
           Kõik kreemid ja tordid ja vaarikamoosid,            
kõik ilusad soovid ja punased roosid,
täna Sulle need tahaksin tuua
ja klaasi shampaniat koos Sinuga juua.

English
All the creams and cakes and raspberry jams,
all the lovely wishes and red roses.
Today I would like to bring you these,
and a glass of champagne to drink with you!


No Estonian birthday is complete without the traditional kringle and a glass of champagne!