Friday, June 18, 2010

It's My Birthday!

Yes, it's my birthday. Here's some fun trivia about birthdays for all of you this Friday. Have a piece of cake and a glass (or two..or three) of your favourite beverage!
  • The melody for the Happy Birthday song was first penned by two sisters, Mildred and Patty Hill. Yes, it took 2 people to write that song.

  • It is thought that birthday celebrations originated in the Roman Empire. And they were largely due to the prominent religion at the time, Mithraism, which was later supplanted by Christianity.

  • Although you might celebrate your birthday every year, your actual birthday (being the same day of the week you were born) only occurs once every 7 years.

  • Children who are on the leap day of February 29th often celebrate their birthdays on March 1st.

  • Germans take birthdays very seriously, sometimes receiving a half-day of vacation. The most common gifts among friends include flowers and wine.

  • In England, when you reach 80, 90 or 100 years of age, you receive a telegram from the Queen.

  • In India, black and white gift wrapping is considered unlucky.

  • The French and Italian celebrate Name Days more so than birthdays.

  • In the Islamic world, green is a good color to use for wrapping.

  • A Golden Birthday happens only once in a person's lifetime. It happens when the person's age and the date of the day they were born is the same.

  • More people celebrate their birthdays in August than in any other month. The two other months in which birthday rates are high is July and September.

  • Close to two billion Birthday Cards are sent each year in the U.S. alone, accounting for nearly 58 percent of all cards sent.

  • The world's largest birthday cake was created in 1989 it weighed 128,238 pounds, 8 oz. and used 16,209 pounds of icing.

  • The most common birth date is October 5 and the least common is May 22 in U.S.A.

  • The day of the week in which the most babies are born is Tuesday while Sunday is the lowest day.

  • Anne Frank's world famous diary was given to her when she was thirteen years old.

  • The children’s day in India is celebrated on 14th November- the birthday of Jawahar Lal Nehru in memory of his love for children.

  • The Sultan of Brunei hosted the world's most expensive birthday party to celebrate his 50th Birthday on 13 July, 1996. The cost was a whopping US $27.2 million. Three concerts featuring Michael Jackson costs US $16 million of the total amounts.

  • Paul McCartney's (who is also celebrating his birthday today) birth certificate was auctioned in March 1997, for US $84,146. It is believed to be the world's most expensive birth certificate.

  • William Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday: 23 April 1616.

20 comments:

  1. Elspeth - *Ahem* *sings* Happy Birthday to you! May your wishes come true! May your novel sell millions......and your games do well, too!

    Thanks for these interesting pieces of birthday "cake." And I think Sir Paul is the lucky one to share a birthday with you : ).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Margot: Thanks! From your keyboard to the writing gods' ears! Today is also the birthdate of the Grand Duchess Anastasia - she of the great 'did she survive or not' mystery.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...Oh, Elspeth, that's interesting, too! I've always wondered what the truth is about that story...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy, happy birthday
    I know I look a fright
    Happy, happy birthday
    Your day is a delight

    Happy, happy birthday
    You see, I've had a few
    Happy, happy birthday
    Toasting "Here's to you!"

    HBD2U ... and many more!

    LOVE your new blog look, too :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy, happy birthday!!!!

    Enjoy! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karen; Thanks for the song!

    Carol; I plan on having a few later this evening. Thanks for saying you like the new blog look- I'm going to be fiddling with it over this weekend - it's still not quite there!

    Kristi; Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Geez, if I knew about the Golden Birthday (mine was 27), I would've made a bigger deal. Do-over?

    Wishing you a year of happiness, prosperity (aka lots and lots of royalties), and, of course, CAKE!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Elisa; One of the best friends I have yet to meet in person - thank you for your wishes. Lots and lots of royalties would be nice. From many, many different sources!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well, I'm glad you learned so much on your birthday. Do you feel a year older?

    CD

    ReplyDelete
  10. Clarissa; Does anyone ever feel older? My body, however, tells me I'm not a teenager anymore. That's fine though. I wouldn't WANT to be a teenager again!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm late to the party but I hope you've had a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY and a wonderful year to follow.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Birthday Elspeth! Enjoy the day and all the moments :)

    Love the new look!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy Birthday! I just made a Just Because cake- I hope yours is just as tasty!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hope you had a great Birthday. Thanks for all the birthday trivia.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Happy Belated Birthday (don't know how I missed this yesterday but there ya go!)
    Imagine that I am taking out my accordion - I am playing Oh My Darling Clementine because I can't play Happy Birthday yet. I am looking at you with true affection in my eyes. I am glad you were born, dear Elspeth!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm a day late, but better late than never, right? Happy birthday! Looking forward to following (don't know why I haven't before, because I have visited your blog on previous occasions and always enjoyed it).

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dear Elspeth!

    Warm belated wishes from Finland on your birthday! (Been disconnected while writing my **s off.)

    "Wishing you always...
    Walls for the wind,
    A roof for the rain
    And tea beside the fire.
    Laughter to cheer you,
    Those you love near you,
    And all that your heart may desire."

    *ehugs*

    ReplyDelete
  18. Happy Birthday two days late! I suppose I'm too late for cake?

    ReplyDelete
  19. These are all fascinating trivia items--my favorite's the one about August. I wonder why that is. Anyway, glad I discovered your blog. It's great. Happy belated birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Happy Birthday Elspeth, sorry I'm late.

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment as I love to hear from you!