Birth Date
A birthday is a day when a person celebrates the anniversary of his or her birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party, or rite of passage. The celebration of a birthday usually is thought to mark how old a person is, traditionally stopping when death occurs and only stating that if still alive, they would have been (number of years) old. Some contemporary writers ignore this aspect, however, and keep counting the years since the date of birth of famous people, such as, proclaiming that it is Shakespeare's "four hundredth birthday" (although he died at the age of fifty-two) instead of noting that it is the four hundredth anniversary of his birth.
Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders (e.g., Buddha's Birthday), Christmas – which is celebrated widely by Christians and non-Christians alike – is the most prominent example. In contrast, certain religious groups, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, choose not to celebrate birthdays.
Read more about Birth Date: Legal Conventions, Cultural Conventions, Birthday Traditions, Frequency, Time Zones and Birthdays, Leap Day
Famous quotes containing the words birth and/or date:
“So immense are the claims on a mother, physical claims on her bodily and brain vigor, and moral claims on her heart and thoughts, that she cannot ... meet them all and find any large margin beyond for other cares and work. She serves the community in the very best and highest way it is possible to do, by giving birth to healthy children, whose physical strength has not been defrauded, and to whose moral and mental nature she can give the whole of her thoughts.”
—Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904)
“A preschool child does not emerge from your toddler on a given date or birthday. He becomes a child when he ceases to be a wayward, confusing, unpredictable and often balky person-in-the- making, and becomes a comparatively cooperative, eager-and-easy-to-please real human being—at least 60 per cent of the time.”
—Penelope Leach (20th century)