Why Aussies sing hip hip hooray at end of Happy Birthday

It’s not easy living in Australia when you’re an expat.

There’s just so much to learn – like our unique phrases, our Aussie slang and our casual way of life aka walking around in shorts and thongs during winter.

But it appears one of the biggest culture shocks Americans have when moving Down Under is how we sing Happy Birthday.

And it’s not because of our accents, but because we end it with “hip hip hooray” – and they just don’t get it.

A US woman who has multiple TikTok videos about “culture shocks she had moving to Australia” and also why Australia is better than America, recently shared one about the time her Aussie mates sung her Happy Birthday.

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The woman, who goes by the name of Lara Fourie, began the clip with a photo from her birthday celebrations, before re-enacting the moment she goes to blow out her candles.

It then shows her suddenly stopping as she’s interrupted by several “hip hip hoorays”.

“Starts singing ‘hip hip hurray!’” she captions the video, adding “what are y’all singing rn?”

The video ends with a very confused look on her face.

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And she’s not the only one baffled by our ritual.

Another US citizen living Down Under, Adam Foskey, shared his shock over our repeated “hip hip hooray” phrase.

In a TikTok video, Adam explained people in the US don’t yell hip hip hooray after singing the song, but said it was something he can “get behind coz it adds to the whole birthday vibe”.

So, it’s confirmed – Americans don’t say “hip, hip, hooray” – and it’s an admission TikTok can’t get over.

“You don’t say hip hip hooray? What? How awkward is it after you finish singing Happy Birthday?” one person asked, while another stunned Aussie wrote: “Wait, they don’t say hip hip hooray in America?”

“Wait seriously with the birthday thing?” another gawped.

While one pushed: “So what happens when you finish singing Happy Birthday? It just … ends?”

Others offered tips for Adam, explaining you have to cheer hip hip hooray three times “or superstition says it’s bad luck”.

Although Aussies made the phrase popular, it isn’t exclusive to just us. The Brits do it too.

In fact, the call was recorded in England in the beginning of the 19th century in connection with making a toast, and some people propose that it also has a much darker history too.

But we will leave that for you to explore.

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