Anniversary

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File:Stockholm Mae Westival group 1993.jpg

Swedish celebrities including Miss Sweden Johanna Lind, Camilla Henemark, Alexandra Charles and Christina Schollin celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mae West at Berns in Stockholm in 1993

File:Flickr - USCapitol - First Meeting Place of the House of Representatives in the Capitol Plaque.jpg

Memorial plaque presented by the National Capital Sesquicentennial Commission in Washington, D.C., in 1951

An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded.

Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption of a new constitution or form of government. There is no definite method for determining the date of establishment of an institution, and it is generally decided within the institution by convention. The important dates in a sitting monarch's reign may also be commemorated, an event often referred to as a "jubilee".

Names

• Birthdays are the most common type of anniversary, on which someone's birthdate is commemorated each year. The actual celebration is sometimes moved for practical reasons, as in the case of an official birthday or one falling on February 29.
• Wedding anniversaries are also often celebrated, on the same day of the year as the wedding occurred.
• Death anniversaries.

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 mater (college or other school). In ancient Rome, the [dies] Aquilae natalis was the "birthday of the eagle", the anniversary of the official founding of a legion.

Anniversaries of nations are usually marked by the number of years elapsed, expressed with Latin words or Roman numerals.

Numerical

Latin terms for anniversaries are mostly straightforward, particularly those relating to the first thirty years (1–30), or multiples of ten years (30, 40, 50, 60, 70 etc.), or multiples of centuries or millenniums (100, 200, 300, 1000, 2000, 3000, etc.). In these instances, the name of the anniversary is generally derived from the Latin word(s) for the respective number of years. When anniversaries relate to fractions of centuries (125, 150, 175, 225, 250, 275 years—i.e. 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2.25, 2.5, and 2.75 centuries), the situation is not as simple.

Roman fractions were based on a duodecimal system. From Template:Frac to Template:Frac they were expressed as multiples of twelfths (uncia "twelfth"; the source of the English words inch and ounce) and from Template:Frac to Template:Frac they were expressed as multiple twelfths less than the next whole unit—i.e. a whole unit less Template:Frac, Template:Frac or Template:Frac respectively. There were also special terms for quarter (quadrans), half (semis), and three-quarters (dodrans). Dodrans is a Latin contraction of de-quadrans which means "a whole unit less a quarter" (de means "from"; quadrans means "quarter"). Thus for the example of 175 years, the term is a quarter century less than the next whole (bi)century or 175 = (−25 + 200).<ref name="coa_2011">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In Latin, it seems that this rule did not apply precisely for Template:Frac. While secundus is Latin for "second", and bis for "twice", these terms are not used such as in sesqui-secundus. Instead sesqui (or ses) is used by itself.

Anniversary	Latin-derived term	Other terms	Comments
6 months	Template:AnchorSemiannual		'Biannual' means twice in a year, or a malapropism meaning once every two years ('biennial').
	Biannual
1 year	Template:AnchorAnnual	Paper
2 years	Template:AnchorBiennial	Cotton	'Biennial' means once every two years, or a malapropism meaning twice in a year ('biannual').
3 years	Template:AnchorTriennial	Leather
4 years	Template:AnchorQuadrennial	Linen
5 years	Template:AnchorQuinquennial	Wood
6 years	Template:AnchorSexennial, Sextennial	Iron	Sexennial and sextennial are two different forms of the same word.
7 years	Template:AnchorSeptennial	Wool
8 years	Template:AnchorOctennial	Bronze
9 years	Template:AnchorNovennial	Copper
10 years	Template:AnchorDecennial	Tin Aluminum
	Template:AnchorDenary
11 years	Template:AnchorUndecennial	Steel
12 years	Template:AnchorDuodecennial	Silk
12Template:Frac years		Parsley	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
13 years	Template:AnchorTredecennial	Lace
14 years	Template:AnchorQuattuordecennial	Ivory
15 years	Template:AnchorQuindecennial	Crystal
16 years	Template:AnchorSexdecennial	Sapphire	Sapphire is separately used for other anniversaries
17 years	Template:AnchorSeptdecennial	Orchid
18 years	Template:AnchorOctdecennial	Quartz
19 years	Template:AnchorNovdecennial	Jade
20 years	Template:AnchorVigintennial	China/Porcelain/emerald
	Template:AnchorVicennial
	Template:AnchorVicenary
	Template:AnchorBidecennial
25 years	Template:AnchorQuadranscentennial	Silver
30 years	Template:AnchorTricennial	Pearl
	Template:AnchorTricenary
35 years	Template:AnchorQuintricennial	Coral
40 years	Template:AnchorQuadragennial	Ruby
	Template:AnchorQuadragenary
45 years	Template:AnchorQuinquadragennial	Sapphire
50 years	Template:AnchorSemicentennial	Golden	Previously, "jubilee" by itself was used to indicate celebrations at 50 year intervals
	Template:AnchorQuinquagenary
55 years	Template:AnchorQuinquinquagennial	Emerald
	Template:AnchorQuinquinquagenary
60 years	Template:AnchorSexagennial	Diamond	Diamond is separately used for the 75th anniversary, its use for 60th years being popularized by Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria
	Template:AnchorSexagenary
65 years	Template:AnchorQuinsexagennial	Sapphire	Sapphire is separately used for other anniversaries
70 years	Template:AnchorSeptuagennial	Platinum
	Template:Anchor Septuagenary
75 years	Template:AnchorSemisesquicentennial	Diamond	Diamond is separately used for the 60th anniversary. Semisesquicentennial can be broken down to understand its meaning: "semi" - half of + "sesqui" - in the ratio of 3:2 + "centennial" - 100 years. Broken out mathematically, 1/2 * 3/2 * 100 = 75.
	Demisesquicentennial
80 years	Template:AnchorOctogintennial	Oak
	Template:AnchorOctogenary
90 years	Template:AnchorNonagintennial	Granite
	Template:AnchorNonagenary
100 years	Template:AnchorCentennial	Obsidian
	Template:AnchorCentenary
125 years	Template:AnchorQuasquicentennial		Term is broken down as quasqui- (and a quarter) centennial (100 years). Quasqui is a contraction from quadrans "a quarter" plus the clitic conjunction -que "and". The term was coined by Funk and Wagnalls editor Robert L. Chapman in 1961.<ref name="chapman_2011">Template:Cite journal</ref>
150 years	Sesquicentennial		Term broken down as sesqui- (one and a half) centennial (100 years)
175 years	Dodransbicentennial		Dodrans is a Latin contraction of de-quadrans which means "a whole unit less a quarter" (de means "from"; quadrans means "quarter"). 175 years is a quarter century less than the next whole (bi)century (175 = 200 − 25).<ref name="coa_2011" />
	Dodrabicentennial		Alternative Latin form of Dodransbicentennial
	Dequasbicentennial		Alternative Latin form of Dodransbicentennial
	Dosquicentennial		Dosquicentennial has been used in modern times and this is perhaps a modern contraction of "de-quadrans".<ref name="coa_2011" />
	Demisemiseptcentennial		ProbablyTemplate:Attribution needed a modern coined term: demisemiseptcentennial; literally one-half (demi-) × one-half (semi-) × seven (sept-) × 100 years (centennial)—also demisemiseptcentenary.<ref name="UnderTheCupola">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>"Pickle Barrel: 175th-birthday bash planned for Dillsburg." The Patriot-News (Mechanicsburg, Penn.), Wednesday, 18 June 2008.</ref>
	Quartoseptcentennial		ProbablyTemplate:Attribution needed a modern coined term: quartoseptcentennial; literally one-quarter (quarto-) × seven (sept-) × 100 years (centennial)—also quartoseptcentenary.<ref name="UnderTheCupola" />
	Terquasquicentennial		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) × quasqui- (1Template:Frac) × centennial (100 years)
	Septaquintaquinquecentennial		Suggested by lexicographer Robert L. Chapman to William Safire; first appeared in Safire's column, "On Language" (The New York Times Magazine, February 12, 1995). It 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) × quinque- (5) × centennial (100 years)
200 years	Template:AnchorBicentennial
	Bicentenary
225 years	Template:AnchorQuasquibicentennial
250 years	Sestercentennial		To express Template:Frac in Latin it would be expressed as "half-three". The term relates to being halfway [from the second] to the third integer. In Latin this is "Sestertius", which is a contraction of semis (halfway) tertius (third)—hence Sestercentennial.<ref name="coa_2011" />
	Semiquincentennial		Semi- (half) × quin- (5) × centennial (100 years) = 250 years. Used by Brown University in 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> Also used by the United States Semiquincentennial.
	Bicenquinquagenary		Used by Princeton University in 1996, Reading, Pennsylvania in 1998, and Washington and Lee University in 1999.<ref name="mccleery_1997">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is a coined word for an anniversary of 250 years: bi- (2) × cen(t)- (100) + quinquagenary (50 years).
	Quarter-millennial		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
275 years	Bicenterquasquigenary
300 years	Tercentennial
	Template:AnchorTercentenary
	Tricentennial
	Tricentenary
350 years	Sesquarcentennial		Sesquarcentennial is a modern coined term; sesquarcentennial for 350 years is deduced here from the "Sestertius" definition for 250 years above. For 350 years it relates to being halfway from the third to the fourth integer; thus a contraction of semis (halfway) and quartus (fourth); hence Sesquarcentennial. Semiseptcennial is probablyTemplate:Attribution needed a modern coined term: semi- (half) × sept (7) × cen(t)- (100) × centennial (350 years).
	Semiseptcentennial
375 years	Terquasquicentennial
400 years	Template:AnchorQuadricentennial
	Quadricentenary
	Quatercentenary
450 years	Template:AnchorSesquincentennial
500 years	Template:AnchorQuincentenary
	Quincentennial
600 years	Sexacentennial
	Template:AnchorSexcentenary
700 years	Template:AnchorSeptcentennial		ProbablyTemplate:Attribution needed a coined term; earliest known use in March 1988.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Chiang Mai Septcentennial Stadium (Chiang Mai, Thailand) was completed in 1991.<ref>Architects 49: Selected and Current Work. (The Master Architect Series; 5.) Image Publishing Group, 2006. Template:ISBN</ref>
	Septuacentennial
800 years	Octocentennial
	Template:AnchorOctocentenary
900 years	Template:AnchorNonacentennial
1000 years	Template:AnchorMillennial
1500 years	Template:AnchorSesquimillennial		Term broken down as sesqui- (one and a half) millennial (1000 years)
2000 years	Template:AnchorBimillennial
3000 years	Template:AnchorTrimillennial
4000 years	Template:AnchorQuadrimillennial
5000 years	Template:AnchorQuinmillennial
6000 years	Template:AnchorSexmillennial
7000 years	Template:AnchorSeptmillennial
8000 years	Template:AnchorOctomillennial
9000 years	Template:AnchorNovamillennial
10,000 years	Template:AnchorDecamillennial
100,000 years	Template:AnchorCentamillennial

Symbols

Many anniversaries have special names. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home by Emily Post, published in 1922, contained suggestions for wedding anniversary gifts for 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, and 75 years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 or durable the material associated with it.

There are variations according to some national traditions. 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 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 birthday.

See also

• List of historical anniversaries
• Quinquennial Neronia

External links

• Template:Wiktionary-inline
• Template:Commons category-inline