People are usually in one of two camps when it comes to birthdays: you either dread getting older and hate people talking about the event in any way, shape or form; or you drag out the celebrations for a week, planning different outfits and occasions to make the very most of your Big Day.
Well, we’re sorry to say that for those of you who hate birthdays, we have a bit of further bad news...
People are reacting to a new TikTok video that shows us that – quelle horreur – we’re actually a whole year older than we think we are. Sorry, we did warn you.
Back in March, TikTok video creator @emmaflicc_ shared the realisation when she posted a video about her upcoming 29th birthday.
“So, it’s my birthday next month and I started thinking, ‘Holy shit I’m 29 next month, it’s the last year of my twenties’,” she said.
“Then I realised, your first birthday is when you’ve completed that first year. Your first birthday is like a congratulations for all the work that you’ve just done.
“I’m turning 29 next month, which means I’ve actually completed the 29th year of my life.”
The TikTok creator continued: “So, on my birthday, I’m actually starting my 30th year of life. I’ve just lost a whole year because I haven’t clocked that this year was actually the last year of my twenties, and next year is actually the first year of my 30s!”
It clearly made others sit up and notice as 13.8k people have liked the video, with commenters responding: “When I learned this fact, I completely chose to ignore it.”
“Should have kept scrolling,” said another.
One user even trolled her husband with the news: “My husband turned 29 on Sunday... I just sent him this!”
Some commenters noted that other countries already know this and use the system to measure age, instead of how we do in the West.
In some places, like Korea, a person’s first birthday is counted from the day they were born, and going forward their birthday is celebrated on the Lunar New Year. The more you know...