When did we start celebrating half-birthdays?

40 Lenten Reflections #20

Today, a student ran over to me and said, "It's my half-birthday!" “Wow! Happy half-birthday!” I said.

Then I thought, half-birthdays sound exhausting? I can barely keep up with our kids’ regular birthdays, and I was clearly a major player in the birthing process.

SO...When did the half-birthday celebrations begin?

Was it the same manic moment when every child had to get a trophy?

Or maybe when competitive games in school were replaced with cooperative games?

I've got it! Half-birthdays must have begun when a tear-filled six-year-old had a tremendous tantrum, yelling, "Everyone else had a birthday party at school, but I have a stupid summer birthday!"

Now, which parent among us wouldn't cave to that reasoning?

My mom.

In the 1960s and 70s, our 10th birthday was the magic year when my sisters and I could have one birthday party with our friends. Of course other birthdays were memorable as well - family birthdays, we called them. Both of our grandmothers would come to celebrate with us, and Mom would make any birthday cake we wanted out of a little cake book with different designs. My favorite was the pink elephant. Mom sure did a lot of fancy cutting to put that floppy-eared guy together.

But half-birthdays? Nope, not a thing. I have a summer birthday in May, so in today's world, I should be celebrating my age again sometime around Thanksgiving every year. Once is enough for me…

When I was younger, May would roll around, and we would drive to a small town in Arizona where my mom grew up. This was usually Memorial Day weekend, right around my birthday. My big treat was walking to Herbella's Mercantile Store, where I would get silly putty and new Jacks to play with. I imagine if I had a half-birthday celebration, it would be Jacks in May and Silly Putty in November.

What I Learned:

To understand the perception of time and the half-birthday syndrome, I read that depending on our age, we view the same amount of time differently. Think about a one-year-old's life: those 12 months make up their entire experience of life and only 1% of a 100-year-old's life. Essentially, time goes by slowly like a vintage Volkswagen bus (like waiting for your 6th birthday) and then accelerates like a Porsche (think 50th birthday).

Hitting the midpoint in anything, whether it's the 12-hour drive home to see family, finishing the first half of a Twix bar, or the moment you realize the bookmark is sitting smack in the middle of life's novel, there are always emotions attached.

Today, as my Lenten Blogging hits the midpoint, I am so grateful to all of my readers...all 14 of you! I appreciate you sharing this space with me.

Here's to Another Good Day and a blessed Lent (20 days in…)

Thanks for joining me,

Lucretia