Six months after Lorraine C Ladish turned 59, she began receiving emails from fashion stores, supermarkets, and opticians offering her a discount. Her half-birthday was approaching, the emails explained. She used one offer to purchase a magenta leather jacket and shared her celebration on TikTok. Ladish, a digital content creator who says she makes "a living out of sharing my age online," was drawn to marking the midpoint between birthdays as a chance to "squeeze every second, every month, out of my late 50s."
Ladish is not alone. Half-birthdays are experiencing a surge in popularity. On TikTok, users showcase half-cake designs, half-birthday banners, half-birthday cards (sometimes whole cards brutally sheared in half), and half-candles. One French brand even released a comma-shaped candle for those celebrating decimal half-birthdays.
Commercial and Cultural Embrace
Restaurant chains like TGI Fridays, Ember Inns, and All Bar One now send half-birthday congratulations, offering discounts or free cocktails. In the US, Betty Crocker provides half-birthday menu ideas, including skewered halves of hotdog buns, triangular sandwiches, and color-blocked desserts. The battenberg cake is promoted as the ultimate off-the-shelf half-birthday cake, or people can bake a circular cake, halve it, and stack the pieces into a semicircular layer cake.
Some individuals celebrate half-birthdays because their actual birthdays coincide with major holidays. Graphic designer Cheyanne Carroll, based in Florida, does not celebrate her own birthday but created a half-birthday card for her husband, who was born on New Year's Eve. The card, featuring only the top half of the greeting, has become one of her top three sellers, shipped worldwide. "It was just a funny thing I thought I would do for my husband. Now I see that lots of people celebrate," she says. Over time, their half-birthday celebrations have become more low-key.
Half-Birthdays for Children
Children with birthdays falling between winter festivities or during school holidays are also prime candidates for half-celebrations. Author Erin Dealey wrote The Half Birthday Book for such children, describing scenes with "HALF streamers decorating HALF of the room" and "small balloons HALF-filled with air." Dealey, born in March, does not celebrate her own half-birthday but sent a copy of her book to TV host Jimmy Kimmel, who has spoken about his half-birthday celebrations and once surprised Snoop Dogg with half-birthday wishes. Dealey never heard back.
It is tempting to view half-birthdays as a product of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, when many celebrations were missed and people sought any excuse for gatherings. However, the trend predates the pandemic. In the 2010s, children often reminded parents of their half-birthdays and even quarter-birthdays, turning the practice into a fun math exercise. Celebrating thirds would result in more than six birthdays a year.
Social Media and Personal Traditions
Instagram is filled with posts from parents who initially resisted half-birthday celebrations but eventually succumbed with cakes or "half-birthday baskets." The ultimate half-celebration marks a baby's first six months, a period that can feel like an eternity. On the UK-based website Gransnet, users recall celebrating half-birthdays in the 1950s with small gifts like chocolate bars or half a cake shared with siblings. Literary precedents include Adrian Mole, who was 13 and three-quarters, and Humpty Dumpty from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, who advocated for "unbirthdays" — 364 celebrations per year.
Candice Meyer, a content creator from St Louis, Missouri, established a family tradition with clear rules: no presents, just a dessert with a candle and singing. "I wanted a way to slow things down and give them a moment that felt just theirs, without all the logistics that come with a full birthday," she explains. "Honestly, it feels like keeping the joy and letting go of everything else." Half-birthdays can also serve as a serious self-care tool, providing an opportunity for a wellness retreat. Meyer adds, "I do love the idea of it as a reset moment for anyone. A little midpoint pause to reflect and celebrate where you are."
Practical and Legal Significance
In some contexts, half-birthdays carry legal weight. In Idaho, individuals can obtain a learner's permit to drive at 14 and a half; in California, the age is 15 and a half. At 16 and a half, one can begin an application to the Australian army. Celebrating with cake seems fitting.
However, calculating the correct date can be tricky due to varying month lengths. For example, someone born on August 31 might have a half-birthday on March 1. Online half-birthday calculators can help ensure accuracy.
Jessica Jimenez, who runs a printables business in Florida offering half-birthday downloads, likes to decorate her kitchen with banners and confetti on half-birthdays. Her mission is to "make it not an ordinary day." She appreciates that half-birthdays fly under the radar: "It doesn't pop up on your Facebook feed. It's not in everybody's calendar. It's like, this is just for us and it's fun."
A Way to Slow Down Time
Celebrating halves might be a way to slow down time—or at least feel as if you are. Ladish stopped celebrating half-birthdays after turning 60 but plans to revive them as she approaches her 70s. "You do not leave a decade the way you enter it," she reflects. "I was not the same person at 50 as at 59. I'd lost friends. I'd had a close call with colon cancer. I went through my kids' teenage years. Maybe when I'm 68, I will be like: 'OK, let's celebrate half-birthdays, because I will never be in my 60s again.'"
Ultimately, a half-birthday is a celebration of being alive. While we may not need a special occasion to celebrate life, if it helps, why not embrace it?
