The big 2-2!

Okay okay, so it isn't actually a milestone as the world knows it per se, but hey I've lived another year, been through a lot, learned many things (hopefully some sticks!;D) and most importantly, it's that day of the year again that reminds you that you are loved! (Okay, so in this case, it's a day that reminds me that I am loved but you know how to apply it to your own lovely self=D)

Anyway, with all the well-wishers and happiness-infused greetings, I decided to scour some birthday trivia to carve a niche for this celebratory post in the blog. For instance, did you know that the most common birthday in the USA is October 5, whereas the least common birthday is May 22. Fascinating! In early human cultures, birthdays were not celebrated since there were no calendars to enable accurate recording of one's age. With it's emergence, Egyptian, Chinese, and Roman societies began to recognize the birthdays of royalty and other important figures. Some historians suggest that this is the reason why, even today, the birthday boy will often wear a crown whilst a birthday girl might wear a tiara to celebrate!

There exists the concept of East Asian age reckoning where a newborn starts life as 1 year old, and subsequent New Years' add a year to their non-Gregorian age. In Japan, for example, the word sai (歳 or 才) is used as a counter word for both the traditional and modern age system. The traditional system of age reckoning i.e. kazoedoshi (数え年), was made obsolete by law come 1902 when Japan officially adopted the western system i.e. man nenrei (満年齢). In 1950, however, another law was established to encourage people to use the western system since the kazoedoshi was still so widely used. Today kazoedoshi is used mainly by the elderly and otherwise, it's use is limited to traditional ceremonies, divinations, and obituaries.

And the Birthday Paradox?! Well, in probability theory, the birthday paradox states that given a group of 23 (or more) randomly chosen people, the probability is > 50% that at least two of them will have the same birthday, and this is a paradox, not in the sense of leading to a logical contradiction, because mathematical calculations contradict naive intuition: it can't be > 50%, surely much lower a probability! Calculating this probability = birthday problem. The mathematics behind it has been used to devise a well-known cryptographic attack known as the birthday attack! Wow~

“Happy Birthday To You” a.k.a. “The Birthday Song” a.k.a "most popular song ever" as declared by the Guinness book of World Records, was written by sisters Mildred & Patti Hill. The tune came from a song they composed in the 1890s, but Patti changed the lyrics and copyrighted the song in 1935. The copyright survives to this day and still generates royalties any time the song is performed on radio or TV. Imagine the riches;)

Did you know that back in the Middle Ages, the English used to put a variety of symbolic items like gold coins, rings, and thimbles inside their birthday cakes? Find the coin, and you'd be wealthy. Find the thimble, and you'd never marry. (No thimbles in my cake please!;D) Did you know that back in 1989 on this day, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination of Tibet? Did you know that in some schools, a half-birthday or unbirthday is sometimes celebrated for those whose birthdays do not fall on a school day (especially vacation periods). That all racehorses traditionally celebrate their birthday on 1 August in the Southern Hemisphere, and on 1 January in the Northern Hemisphere?

And we know about birth stones (opal & pink tourmaline ) and zodiac stones (peridot) but did you know that the day you were born gets a special little trinket too (Born on Friday so I get a topaz...)? And what about birth flowers?! October gets Marigold/Calendula (used to show sacred affection! It's creation was recounted in the myth of Clytie and Apollo) and the Cosmos (symbolizes peace, modesty, creation and wholeness. And Cosmos are meant to be very fragrant. Apparently the chocolate cosmos even smells like their divine namesake that we know and love!)

So there you have it. Today, as is everyday (since someone's sure to be celebrating a birthday as we know it=D) is a constellation of many wonderful things that make it special! ~Happy birthday~ to all the other 5 Oct-ies out there! May you be blessed!=D