As Paige Dunn stood in front of her painted banner on the night of her 21st birthday, she heard her friends count down for the big reveal. She turned around, revealing a sign with a large two and a one replaced by a boutique champagne flute complete with a pink bow. She knew months of planning was all worth it for this momentous occasion.
Dunn, a junior majoring in human development and family studies, was following a college tradition in which students celebrate their 21st birthday as a rite of passage into adulthood. This pinnacle birthday allows young college students to enjoy nightlife with the ability to consume alcohol legally.
Southern colleges have made 21st birthday parties even more special, with the common tradition of “sign nights” made popular by Greek life in the South.
A sign night is a 21st birthday party celebration where the friends of the birthday person surprise them with a customized “21” sign that should be worn around their neck throughout the night. The sign usually expresses the interests of the celebrating person, incorporating their favorite alcoholic beverage and humorous memories.
Sofia Hernandez, a junior majoring in history, said that her sign night was “Gossip Girl” themed, and her friend decorated her sign with her celebrity crushes: Paul Walker, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd. The sign had a green espresso martini in place of the number one, and it included some of her other favorite things: the “Gossip Girl” theme and the Guatemalan flag.
The sign is not the only surprise. The friends of the celebrating person typically create a shot book that contains humorous photos of the celebrator, surprising them with photos they may never have known existed. A shot book usually has 21 pages, significant for the essential birthday year, and pages often contain rhyming puns encouraging the celebrator to take a shot of alcohol.
“My favorite part was probably going through the shot book and seeing how many people actually made a page for me,” said Denise Cole, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering.
In the height of the party, the celebrator also does a “sign flip,” where everyone in attendance watches the reveal of the sign. This is also the first time that the celebrator is able to see how their friends decided to decorate their sign.
“It felt kind of awkward. I guess I’m not used to standing up by myself,” Dunn said. “I kind of just stood there for a second after. I was like, ‘Who wants to take a picture?’ Nobody wanted to go first, but once it started, it was better.”
A large part of the night is spent taking pictures with the birthday person in front of their decorated backdrops. Hernandez said her banner had decorative red lips and “XOXO” to follow her “Gossip Girl” theme.
After taking pictures, the initial party ends with passing out 21st birthday party stickers. These are to be worn throughout the night when the group goes bar hopping, sticking them along poles in the street and inside of the bathrooms of the destinations.
“I did have two different ones. It was one picture of me when I was a true toddler,” Dunn said. “On the other one, it was me when I was maybe eight, and I was asleep in the car with sunglasses on.”
The night continues as the birthday person has the sign around their neck, with random people wishing them happy birthday and giving them free drinks throughout the night.
“I was so nervous that something was gonna go wrong or nobody was going to come. But, honestly, I shouldn’t have been that worried,” Dunn said. “I think everyone should have a sign night because it just makes you appreciate the people that are around you.”
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