<P> In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, immediately after "Happy Birthday" has been sung, it is traditional for one of the guests to enthusiastically lead with "Hip hip ..." and then for all of the other guests to join in and say "...hooray!" This is normally repeated three times . In Canada, especially at young children's birthdays, immediately after "Happy Birthday" has been sung, the singers segue into "How old are you now? How old are you now? How old are you now - ow, how old are you now?" and then count up: "Are you one? Are you two? Are you ..." until they reach the right age, at which the celebrant says "yes", and everybody else, who presumably know the right number, all cheer . </P> <P> Both the music and lyrics are in public domain in both the European Union and United States . The copyright expired in the European Union on January 1, 2017 . In the United States, a federal court ruled in 2016 that Warner / Chappell's copyright claim was invalid and there was no other claim to copyright . </P> <P> The origins of "Happy Birthday to You" date back to at least the late 19th century, when two sisters, Patty and Mildred J. Hill, introduced the song "Good Morning to All" to Patty's kindergarten class in Kentucky . Years later, in 1893, they published the tune in their songbook Song Stories for the Kindergarten . Kembrew McLeod stated that the Hill sisters likely copied the tune and lyrical idea from other popular and similar nineteenth - century songs that predated theirs, including Horace Waters' "Happy Greetings to All", "Good Night to You All" also from 1858, "A Happy New Year to All" from 1875, and "A Happy Greeting to All", published 1885 . However, American law professor Robert Brauneis disputes this, noting that these earlier songs had quite different melodies . </P> <P> It is likely that teachers and students spontaneously adapted the published version of "Good Morning to All" to celebrate birthdays in the classroom, changing the lyrics to "Happy Birthday" in the process . The complete text of "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print as the final four lines of Edith Goodyear Alger's poem "Roy's Birthday", published in her book A Primer of Work and Play, copyrighted by D.C. Heath in 1901, with no reference to the words being sung . The first book including "Happy Birthday" lyrics set to the tune of "Good Morning to All" that bears a date of publication is from 1911 in The Elementary Worker and His Work, but earlier references exist to a song called "Happy Birthday to You" including an article from 1901 in the Inland Educator and Indiana School Journal . Children's Praise and Worship, edited by Andrew Byers, Bessie L. Byrum and Anna E. Koglin, published the song in 1918 . In 1924, Robert Coleman included "Good Morning to All" in a songbook with the birthday lyrics as a second verse . Coleman also published "Happy Birthday" in The American Hymnal in 1933 . </P>

Happy birthday to you how old are you