Feature

Here are some tit-bits of birthday facts and quotes for our readers.

Facts:
· Marilyn Monroe sang 'Happy Birthday Mr. President' to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden on 19 May 1962. The full-length rhinestone-encrusted dress she wore that evening was auctioned for a staggering US $ 1,267,500 in October 1999!

· We can trace the tradition of birth stones back to the first century. It is believed that the stones used in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel , may have been a link to the evolution of birth stones. A special stone was dedicated to each of the twelve months.

· Birthday celebrations are said to be an ancient European tradition; which came about as an attempt to ward off evil spirits attracted to people on their birthdays. Hence the tradition of gift-giving and wishing-well.

· Anne Frank's diary, the most famous diary in the world, was given to her as a thirteenth-birthday present.

· Each year is exactly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and just over 45 seconds long. It was Julius Caesar who inserted Leap Year Day to fall on 29 February every fourth year to balance the length of each year to be exactly 365 days long. The chance of being born on a leap day is roughly one in 1461 and there are only about four million people in the world today who were born on a leap day!

· In Denmark flags are flown outside a window to indicate that someone who lives in that house is celebrating their birthday.

· A Golden Birthday occurs when your age matches the day of the month you were born on. You can celebrate your Golden Birthday only once and it must be before you reach the age of thirty-one!

· In Japan , on the night of 3rd or 4th February the ceremony called mame maki, meaning 'bean scattering' is performed at temples, shrines and people's homes. Scattering soy beans in and around buildings, people cry 'Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!' meaning 'Devils out, good fortune in!' Some people believe that if they eat the same number of beans as their age on this day, they will guarantee themselves a year of good health!

· In March 1997, Paul McCartney's birth certificate was auctioned for US $ 84,146, making it the world's most expensive birth certificate!

· Recording and celebrating birthdays is a fairly recent phenomenon. Even Marco Polo, in the thirteenth century, found it fascinating that the Chinese could remember their dates of birth.

· The tradition of birthday candles is said to have stemmed from their use in religious rites. It is believed that the candle sends the birthday wish, like a prayer, up to God. So the more birthdays you have, the more wishes you can look forward to!

· Once a month, ancient Greek worshippers of the moon goddess Artemis would offer round honey cakes to celebrate her birthday. This is considered to be the origination of the birthday cake.

· On 15 February 1997, Elizabeth Taylor's sixty-fifth birthday party in Hollywood raised US $ 1 million for AIDS causes. Guests included Michael Jackson, Dennis Hopper, Cher and Madonna.

· William Shakespeare died on his fifty-second birthday, 23 April 1616

· In China , it is considered unlucky to give someone a clock as a birthday gift- in Mandarin; the word for 'clock' is similar to the word for 'death'.

· In Russia , instead of a cake, many children receive a birthday pie, which has a greeting carved into the crust.

· The tradition of holding children's birthday parties first started in Germany , where they were known as kinderfeste.

· On 13 July 1996, to celebrate his fiftieth birthday, the Sultan of Brunei hosted the world's most lavish birthday party. The bill ran to US $ 27.2 million, of which US $ 16 million was spent on three pop concerts featuring Michael Jackson.

Quotes:
Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that people who have the most live the longest.' ~ Reverend Larry Lorenzoni

'Am I dying or is this my birthday?' --Lady Nancy Astor, when she woke briefly during her last illness and found all her family at her bedside

'A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.' ~ Robert Lee Frost

'You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.” '-- Bob Hope

'Youth has no age.' --Pablo Picasso
'Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.' --Jeanne Moreau

'It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.”' --Sam Levenson

'The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age.' --Lucille Ball