Gender reveal traditions around the world
The gender reveal party itself is young: it was introduced in the United States in 2008. Most countries have much older ceremonies for pregnancy and birth instead, such as the Javanese tingkeban in the seventh month, the Korean doljanchi on the first birthday and the aqiqah on the seventh day after birth. This page lists them by country, with a source for every claim, and links to our reveal page for each language.
Honest note: most of these rites do not reveal the baby's sex. They welcome the baby or bless the pregnancy. We list them because they are what families in these countries actually celebrate, and because many of those families now hold a reveal online with relatives abroad.
United States: where the gender reveal party began
Jenna Karvunidis is credited with the first gender reveal party in 2008, when a cake with pink filling showed her baby was a girl. In 2020 the El Dorado Fire in California was started by a malfunctioning pyrotechnic device at a reveal, one reason many families now choose a fire-free reveal.
Source: Wikipedia
Our pages for this country
Indonesia (Java): tingkeban
Tingkeban, also called mitoni, is a Javanese prenatal ceremony held in the seventh month of pregnancy.
Source: Wikipedia
Our pages for this country
South Korea: doljanchi
Doljanchi is the Korean celebration of a baby's first birthday.
Source: Wikipedia
Our pages for this country
India: seemantham and a legal limit
The Hindu rite seemantham (a pregnancy ceremony) is described in some texts as held in the 7th or 8th month. Separately, India's PCPNDT Act of 1994 bans prenatal sex determination, so a doctor cannot disclose the baby's sex before birth. A reveal with medical results is therefore not possible in India; families abroad or a guessing game are the usual options.
Source: Wikipedia: PCPNDT Act 1994
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Arab and Muslim-majority countries: aqiqah
The aqiqah is an Islamic ceremony for a newborn, traditionally held on the seventh day after birth.
Source: Wikipedia
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China, Korea, Vietnam: postpartum confinement
Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese families traditionally follow postpartum confinement practices, a rest period for the mother after birth; studies of immigrant mothers found many adapt these customs abroad.
Source: Wikipedia
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More countries with their own page
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Questions
- Who invented the gender reveal party?
- Jenna Karvunidis is credited with the first one in 2008 in the United States, when a cake with pink filling showed she was expecting a girl.
- Do other countries have gender reveal traditions?
- Not the same party. Many cultures have older ceremonies for pregnancy and birth, such as the Javanese tingkeban (seventh month), the Korean doljanchi (first birthday) and the aqiqah (seventh day). Most do not reveal the baby's sex.
- Is it legal to reveal the baby's sex in India?
- Prenatal sex determination is banned by India's PCPNDT Act of 1994, so doctors there cannot tell parents the sex before birth.
- Can relatives in other countries join?
- Yes. Everyone joins from a phone or computer browser with one link, with no account and no download.
Hold a reveal with family in another country
Diaper Reveal is a free online gender reveal game. There is no account, no card and no download for the host or the guests, and no guest limit.
Start a free online revealFacts checked 8 November 2026 against the linked sources. Other languages: es · pt-BR · fr · de