# Happy Belated Birthday **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053 "2019-09-30T17:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053/1 "2019-09-30T17:23:54Z")
Too mundane and pointless to qualify as even a mini-rant. For years, people have been missing the date to wish one of their friends “Happy Birthday.” When they did this, it was the custom to send said friend a greeting card of the “Belated Birthday Wishes” class. Facebook has probably done some damage to the greeting card industry generally, and maybe even more damage to the Belated Birthday Wishes sector in particular. People routinely offer Belated Birthday Wishes to their friends and acquaintances in the items that appear in my newsfeed. But here’s the thing. The idea is that it is the WISHES that are Belated, but people are increasingly likely to phrase it as “Happy Belated Birthday,” as though the Jolly Good Fellow being greeted had somehow managed to have his (or her, it could be a her, my use of the term “Fellow” notwithstanding) birthday fall a one or more days later in the year than a chronologically-oriented schedule would dictate. So let’s put a stop to this, and do what we can to encourage people to abandon the phrase “Happy Belated Birthday” in favor of “Belated Happy Birthday.” Why no, this wasn’t inspired at all by my failure to announce my triumphant elation about my twentieth anniversary as a Doper (two days ago, jftr). Whatever would give you THAT notion? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053/2 "2019-09-30T17:36:53Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So let’s put a stop to this, and do what we can to encourage people to abandon the phrase “Happy Belated Birthday” in favor of “Belated Happy Birthday.” I already say ‘Belated Happy Birthday’. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053/3 "2019-09-30T17:43:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I already say ‘Belated Happy Birthday’. Great! Try to make it spread (a little ridicule when you encounter the surrealist version can work wonders). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053/4 "2019-09-30T18:02:14Z")
“Belated Birthday Condolences” is what I tell my aged friends. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053/5 "2019-10-01T13:28:54Z")
I see it a lot, too. I always say “belated happy whatever” or “sorry I missed your birthday.” I wish you the luck of the Irish in getting people to change. /sarcasm ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-belated-birthday/841053/6 "2019-10-02T18:05:21Z")
“Happy Belated Birthday” could be appropriate if you are giving a card/gift to someone who has purposely thrown their birthday party several days/weeks/months after the date on their birth certificate. But in general you are quite right, of course. Happy Belated Anniversary! 🙂