Happy Birthday
|
MESSAGE: Why do we sing “Happy Birthday To You?”
It’s the most recognizable song in the English language, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and it started as a song for school kids.
In 1893, two Kentucky schoolteachers, Patty and Mildred Hill wrote “Good Morning To All.” The tune was published, but later someone changed the words to make it the famous birthday song.
(sing "Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning dear students, good morning to you." with the birthday song melody)
So you see it was very easy to change the words to the birthday version we all know.
How about birthday cake? It is believed that the first actual birthday cake was made in Germany in the Middle Ages. The Germans would celebrate children’s birthdays with cake, calling the celebration Kinderfest. Cakes originally were a coarse, bread-like product, and later became a much sweeter version, called Geburtstagorten.
(make fun of the word "Geburtstagorten" by repeating 2-3 times in an exaggerated manner.)
So what about the birthday presents we receive on our birthday? That is a little bit different to explain. One idea is that when the baby Jesus was born, he received presents from the three wise men and the shepherds who visited him in Bethlehem.
I like to think that on our birthdays the best present of all that day is you. That's right, each one of you little children are a wonderful present from God to our families. So on your next birthday when it comes time to eat cake and ice cream and sing the Happy Birthday song, take a minute and thank God.
And that's all I got to say about that!
It’s the most recognizable song in the English language, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, and it started as a song for school kids.
In 1893, two Kentucky schoolteachers, Patty and Mildred Hill wrote “Good Morning To All.” The tune was published, but later someone changed the words to make it the famous birthday song.
(sing "Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning dear students, good morning to you." with the birthday song melody)
So you see it was very easy to change the words to the birthday version we all know.
How about birthday cake? It is believed that the first actual birthday cake was made in Germany in the Middle Ages. The Germans would celebrate children’s birthdays with cake, calling the celebration Kinderfest. Cakes originally were a coarse, bread-like product, and later became a much sweeter version, called Geburtstagorten.
(make fun of the word "Geburtstagorten" by repeating 2-3 times in an exaggerated manner.)
So what about the birthday presents we receive on our birthday? That is a little bit different to explain. One idea is that when the baby Jesus was born, he received presents from the three wise men and the shepherds who visited him in Bethlehem.
I like to think that on our birthdays the best present of all that day is you. That's right, each one of you little children are a wonderful present from God to our families. So on your next birthday when it comes time to eat cake and ice cream and sing the Happy Birthday song, take a minute and thank God.
And that's all I got to say about that!