Anniversaries
What is an Anniversary? An anniversary is a special day where you celebrate or commemorate a past event that happened on the same day of the year as the original event. Your birthday is an anniversary. Sometimes you may move or change the date for very practical reasons. Then there are death anniversaries, company anniversaries, wedding anniversaries and national anniversaries.
Most countries celebrate their National Day or Anniversary which is usually their independence day or when they adopt a new constitution. A monarch's reign is commemorated as a Jubilee. There are some special terms to call such anniversaries depending on the number of years in celebration. Half yearly is Bi-annual, 1 year is annual, 2 years is Biennial and a 100 years is Centennial and so on. Bicentennial is 200 years and Sex centennial is 600 years not sex every hundred years. English can be confusing. In Moses' time, they are alright as they lived long lives, the air and the food were untainted.
Being proud of being a Singaporean I have never left our shores during our National Day but still the most important anniversaries in your life would be that of your loved ones - your children, wife, family members and some very close friends or for that matter all friends. Yet top of the list must be your Wedding Anniversary. After all, life is short and if it were possible, everyday should be a celebration.
I started blogging around Septemebr 2008 but never really got started until a year later. So it can be said that September is my Blog's anniversary. Recently, I got up to nearly 400,000 hits and I haven't even started talking about sex. A pleasant result nonetheless although others may have a million hits. Brunei became the 66th country to have accessed my blog.
Wedding Anniversaries
Why is your Wedding Anniversary so important? Simply because hell knows no fury like a woman scorned. Haven't you heard that? Never mind if you haven't, just read up and find out what I have to say. Traditionally, these things could have originated from medieval Germany. Don't think they only make BMWs, Mercedes-Benz and Oktober Fest. So as anniversary is for us to remember what happened on the same day of that important event.
I don't think it is easy at all to stay married so they would present the wife with a silver wreath when it came to 25 years and it turn to gold when it reached 50 years. If you are Chinese and they give you a wreath you would go: "Choy, choy, choy!"
There are traditional and modern gifts these days to commemorate such events. Companies may give you a pen after 5 years (to write and work more?), a watch after 10 (to remind you to be on time and to watch your deadlines?) and maybe if you stayed too long, they just give you a handshake. A golden one would be nice. Last year, I read a report and saw pictures of factory workers being retrenched and as their wages are low, those who did not get retrenched cried while those who worked long and were given the pink slip came out like an American Idol having passed the audition - carrying the slip and punching the air except that this one is pink while the American Idol one is yellow.
In your first anniversary, the traditional gifts are paper/cotton while modern means clock. Again if you give a clock the superstitious Chinese will go "Choy, choy, choy!" The second year is cotton, paper/China, third would be leather/Crystal. Fourth will be Linen, Silk, Fruit, Flowers or Appliances. Those who haven't got anything , please ask your hubby to backdate and oh please do not buy your wife a washing machine or vacuum cleaner. She already is. She is the machine. How many of you guys actually did some work. Come on be honest. You are probably an American Idle or Singapore Idle. At this point worked hard and save as by the tenth year it is diamond jewelry. Blame the Germans? You are not done yet but I'll skip to spare you the misery and agony and go straight to 15th which would be Crystal and Watches. Give a Rolex and you won't get a "Choy, choy, choy!"
By the time you hit the 20th year, it is China and Platinum. Maybe you use a Platinum card and zap away for a trip to China. I let you in to 24th year because it says Opal and Musical Instruments. I mean if you got married by 35 (normal these days), add 24 years and you are 59 and you want to play musical instruments? At this point you want to take care of your organs (as in body parts) and not be playing the organ.
25th is Silver Jubilee - fantastique!!! By this time, nobody wants you anymore maybe they do if you have a bit of money. 30th is Pearl and Diamond. 40th is Ruby. Say you are now 75, not all but some of us may not see clearly the colour of Ruby worse if they really are Rubies. Just celebrate with a Thai dessert of Red Ruby?
Sapphire for 45th and Gold for 50th. By the 75th it is back to Gold and Diamond. You are kidding me? Some of us have already been giving these things. Many women would have bought these by the buckets by this time if I could freely hazard a guess and if you can live that long not to mention a marriage that lasts so long it is already an achievement. They even have different flowers for every year. I can possibly rattle off the names of some flowers like daffodils, Lilac, Lily, Sunflower, Tulip, Dahlia, Rose, Violets, Orchids, Chrysanthemum, etc. most guys probably know Roses. Be careful here, if you have never given your wife flowers, don't start. When you do that, you have probably done something wrong to start that.
The bigger the bouquet , the more wrongs you have done. So may be if you sent something like these, you are in trouble. Some couples do celebrate the big occasions like Silver Jubilee which is quite an achievement but that is not too difficult. It is the Golden One that is not so easy. With people getting married so late 75th year seems improbable. Even the Golden 50th Anniversary may be tough even if your love is still so strong your body may not be.
For those of you who are single or newly single, do not give up. You ought to have more experience now. Que Sera Sera whatever will be will be but never say never and never shut the door. Wait for it to happen. If it is too late when one door shuts a new door opens but don't slam it on your face or feet again. You would have learned something by now. Forgive yourself and give yourself a chance. Celebrate your birthdays, they too are anniversaries. If you do not like too much fanfare and noise then have a quiet one. Take the day off and do something different or just do nothing at all. For those of you who are still married, fight hard to stay married and let go of all your ego or whatever.
I pray and hope you will join me in prayers for the Japanese people that have just experienced the devastation of the recent earthquake and tsunami. They have been stoic in the face of adversity and we hope they will continue to be strong and recover swiftly. We should all pray for them. The lost and wounded.
The Japanese were trained since young on earthquakes and that the word tsunami was coined by them was no coincidence. Despite the disaster of such magnitude, you see some crying but there was an absence of mass hysteria. The people knew what to do and were calm and orderly. They kept in a queue and they accord children and women first policy. You do not see people shouting at officials who worked tirelessly. Most amazingly there was absolutely no looting. All over the world it could have been very different. If any nation on planet earth that can survive and recover from such devastation it has to be Japan. Every nation should learn from them. When the dust has settled, there will be an anniversary to commemorate the event so that we remember and become stronger.
If a nation as meticulous and advanced as Japan still had trouble with their nuclear facilities after being hit, I think is has never been clearer to the world that nuclear energy saves costs and is a good servant but can be such a bad master. No other nation should go on and think they can use nuclear energy as an option especially when you are less advanced and worse where corruption is rife. You will only destroy the world. I can't imagine being in the Fukushima 50.
If you are still reading up to now, join me for a minute's silence and to say a prayer for their healing and recovery. The entire world should be doing something to help or in prayers. We are all brothers and sisters in this diverse world. It is also a very grim reminder to all of us that life is like ice, it melts. If you have been too busy just working and nothing else, if you have been too worked up and too uptight about pursuing the mundane things in life, getting upset with the so many little things, I urge you to sit down, take a breather and think. Life is ever so fragile. Do not be complacent that by the time a tsunami comes near it is only a trickle of water that hits your face like a rain drop while you are having dinner by the sea.
The Prayer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhxIjRO6WjI
We can study nature for all we like but we can never know prepared as we are. We were already making so much noise when the flood hits us in recent times. Mild ones where nobody died. It is time to take stock and remember to spend time with the people you love. Tell them that you love them. Hug them. Find time to catch up with friends no matter how busy you are. All these are more important and priceless and more than anything else when an earthquake, a tsunami or whatever comes. You have forgiven everyone that has trespasses you. You have given love to all. You have helped others. There are no regrets. As importantly, are you living a life that is proper and adds value to others? Are you right in the eye of the Almighty?
If you have answered all these questions and have done these things, have no fear. You are ready.
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