Birthday
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.
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Famous quotes containing the word birthday:
“Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. You know, each time you Westerners celebrate your birthday you build another fence around your minds.”
—Robert Riskin (1897–1955)
“Since mothers are more likely to take children to their activities—the playground, ballet or karate class, birthday parties—they get a chance to see other children in action.... Fathers usually don’t spend as much time with other people’s kids; because of this, they have a narrower view of what constitutes “normal” behavior, and therefore what should or shouldn’t require parental discipline.”
—Ron Taffel (20th century)
“Although I’m trying very hard
To sound unlike a birthday card,
That’s all this is: so you may find it
Full of all that lies behind it
Admiration; friendship too;
And hope that in the future you
Reap ever richer revenue.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)