💬 Every birthday in our family starts at midnight with cake, no matter what

In our family, every birthday starts at exactly 12. Cake, candles, everyone in the hall in their night clothes. It doesn't matter if it's a Tuesday. It doesn't matter if someone has an exam or a 6 am flight. My father started it when I was small. He worked late and midnight was the only time he could be there. Now he's 66 and he's the one falling asleep on the sofa at 11:45 waiting for it. In Riyadh I kept it going even when it was just me and 3 flatmates. Cake from the bakery downstairs. They thought I was mad the first year. By the second year they were setting alarms for each other's birthdays. 1 of them is from Kerala and he does it with his own family now. He sent me a photo last year. I felt weirdly proud of that, like I'd exported something from home. The kids love it, obviously. Staying up past midnight is the best part of any birthday for them. My wife's family thought it was strange at first. They do birthdays at lunch, like normal people. Now my mother in law calls at 11:58 every time so she can be first. She's never late. Not once. The only time we missed was 2020, when my son had fever. We did it at 6 am instead. Didn't feel the same. What's your family's strange tradition? The one that seems normal until you explain it to someone outside. I want to hear the odd ones. The ones your in-laws laughed at. My son's birthday is next week. He's already asked for a chocolate cake and permission to stay up till 1. He's getting the cake, that part is easy. We'll negotiate the rest later.

There is a version of this in my family except it has to be exactly at midnight, not a minute after, my uncle checks his watch and holds the knife back if someone is late lighting the candle. Looks ridiculous from the outside I am sure. My cousins from Bangalore find it hilarious every time they visit during someone's birthday week.

We do the midnight cake thing too and it has caused at least two arguments about whether waking a sleeping grandparent for it is worth it.