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Anniversary

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	Topics Anniversary Topic Home An anniversary (from the LatinLatin Overview Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome.... anniversarius, from the words for year and to turn, meaning (re)turning yearly; known in English since cCirca Circa literally means "about". It is widely used in genealogy and historical writing, when the dates of events are approx... . 1230) is a day that commemorates and/or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event. The word was first used for CatholicCatholicism As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic - from the Greek adjective , meaning "general" or "universal" - is described in ... feasts to commemorate saintSaint A saint is a term used to refer to someone who is a holy person.... s. Anniversary names BirthdayBirthday A birthday is the date on which a person is born, marking the day a life outside the womb begins.... s (v.) are the most common type of anniversary, where the birth date of a person is commemorated annually. The actual celebration is sometimes moved for practical reasons, as in the case of an official birthday. Wedding anniversariesWedding anniversary Married persons who regard the date of their marriage as important may mark the anniversary of their wedding in some special way.... are also often celebrated on the same day of the year as the wedding occurred. Death anniversaryDeath anniversary A death anniversary is a custom observed in several Asian cultures including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, as we... The Latin phrase dies natalis (literally birth day) has become a common term, adopted in many languages, especially in intellectual and institutional circles, for the anniversary of the founding ("legal or statutory birth") of an institution, such as an alma materAlma mater Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother".... (college or other school). Even in ancient Rome, we know of the [dies] Aquilae natalis ("birthday of the eagle", anniversary of the official founding of a legion). Most countries around the world celebrate national anniversaries, for example the United States BicentennialUnited States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declarat... . These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption of a new constitutionConstitution A constitution is a system, often codified as a written document, which establishes the rules and principles by which an org... or form of government. The important dates in a sitting monarch's reign may also be commemorated. Anniversaries of nations are usually marked by the number of years elapsed described with Latin words or Roman numerals. Latin-derived numerical names The root elements of each word are literally multiplied together to create the anniversary name. For example, the word sesquicentennial (an anniversary of 150 years) is broken down as sesqui- (1½) x centennial (100 years). Sometimes new anniversary names are coined incorrectly by adding the root elements rather than multiplying them, with unfortunate results. Annual - 1 year Biennial - 2 years Triennial - 3 years Quadrennial - 4 years Quinquennial - 5 years Sexennial - 6 years Septennial - 7 years Octennial - 8 years Novennial - 9 years Decennial - 10 years Undecennial - 11 years Duodecennial - 12 years Tredecennial - 13 years Quattuordecennial - 14 years Quindecennial - 15 years Vigintennial or vicennial - 20 years Semicentennial or quinquagenary - 50 years Semisesquicentennial - 75 years Variations: Demisesquicentennial or hemisesquicentennial CentennialCentennial A centennial or a centenary is a 100-year anniversary.... - 100 years Quasquicentennial - 125 years Sesquicentennial - 150 years Demisemiseptcentennial or quartoseptcentennial - 175 years Note: Terquasquicentennial is a coined word for an anniversary of 175 years, but the elements of the word literally refer to an anniversary of 375 years, as follows: ter- (3) x quasqui- (1¼) x centennial (100 years) Note: Septaquintaquinquecentennial is a coined word for an anniversary of 175 years, but the elements of the word literally refer to an anniversary of 35,000 years, as follows: septaquinta- (70) x quinque- (5) x centennial (100 years) Bicentennial - 200 years Semiquincentennial - 250 years Tercentennial or tricentennial - 300 years Semiseptcentennial - 350 years Quadricentennial or quatercentenary- 400 years Quincentennial - 500 years Sexcentennial - 600 years Septcentennial or septuacentennial - 700 years Octocentennial - 800 years Nonacentennial - 900 years Millennial - 1000 years Bimillennial - 2000 years Anniversary symbols Many anniversaries have special names. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home by Emily PostEmily Post Overview Emily Post was a United States author who promoted proper etiquette.... , published in 1922, contained suggestions for wedding anniversary gifts for 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50 and 75 years. Wedding anniversary gift suggestions for other years were added in later editions and publications; they now comprise what is referred to as the "traditional" list. Generally speaking, the longer the period, the more precious and/or durable the material associated with it. See wedding anniversaryWedding anniversary Married persons who regard the date of their marriage as important may mark the anniversary of their wedding in some special way.... for a general list of the wedding anniversary symbols, however there are variations in some national traditions. Furthermore, there exist numerous partially overlapping, partially contradictory lists of anniversary gifts (such as wedding stones), separate from the 'traditional' names. The concepts of a person's birthday stone, birth stone and zodiac stone, by contrast, are fixed for life according to the day of the week, month or astrological sign corresponding to the recipient's birthdayBirthday Summary A birthday is the date on which a person is born, marking the day a life outside the womb begins.... . See also Wedding anniversaryWedding anniversary Married persons who regard the date of their marriage as important may mark the anniversary of their wedding in some special way.... Sources and External links from The Math Forum - Ask Dr. Math