Anniversary
An anniversary (from the Latin anniversarius, from the words for year and to turn, meaning (re)turning yearly; known in English since c. 1230) is a day that commemorates and/or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints.
Anniversary names
 Birthdays (v.) are the most common type of anniversary, where the birth date of a person is commemorated annually. The actual celebration is sometimes moved for practical reasons, as in the case of an official birthday.
Wedding anniversaries are also often celebrated on the same day of the year as the wedding occurred.
Death anniversary
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). Even in ancient Rome, we know of the  Aquilae natalis ("birthday of the eagle", anniversary of the official founding of a legion).
Most countries around the world celebrate national anniversaries, for example the United States Bicentennial. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption of a new constitution or form of government. The important dates in a sitting monarch's reign may also be commemorated.
Anniversaries of nations are usually marked by the number of years elapsed described with Latin words or Roman numerals.
Latin-derived numerical names
The root elements of each word are literally multiplied together to create the anniversary name. For example, the word sesquicentennial (an anniversary of 150 years) is broken down as sesqui- (1½) x centennial (100 years). Sometimes new anniversary names are coined incorrectly by adding the root elements rather than multiplying them, with unfortunate results.
Annual - 1 year
Biennial - 2 years
Triennial - 3 years
Quadrennial - 4 years
Quinquennial - 5 years
Sexennial - 6 years
Septennial - 7 years
Octennial - 8 years
Novennial - 9 years
Decennial - 10 years
Undecennial - 11 years
Duodecennial - 12 years
Tredecennial - 13 years
Quattuordecennial - 14 years
Quindecennial - 15 years
Vigintennial or vicennial - 20 years
Semicentennial or quinquagenary - 50 years
Semisesquicentennial - 75 years
*Variations: Demisesquicentennial or hemisesquicentennial
Centennial - 100 years
Quasquicentennial - 125 years
Sesquicentennial - 150 years
Demisemiseptcentennial or quartoseptcentennial - 175 years
*Note: Terquasquicentennial[First used by Bell Laboratories in celebrating its 175th anniversary as a corporation.] is 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) x quasqui- (1¼) x centennial (100 years)
*Note: Septaquintaquinquecentennial[Suggested by lexicographer Robert L. Chapman to William Safire; first appeared in Safire's column, "On Language" (The New York Times Magazine, 12 February 1995).] 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) x quinque- (5) x centennial (100 years)
Bicentennial - 200 years
Semiquincentennial - 250 years
Tercentennial or tricentennial - 300 years
Semiseptcentennial - 350 years
Quadricentennial or quatercentenary- 400 years
Quincentennial - 500 years
Sexcentennial - 600 years
Septcentennial or septuacentennial - 700 years
Octocentennial - 800 years
Nonacentennial - 900 years
Millennial - 1000 years
Bimillennial - 2000 years
Anniversary 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.[Wedding Anniversary Gifts] 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 and/or durable the material associated with it. See wedding anniversary for a general list of the wedding anniversary symbols, however there are variations in some national traditions.
Furthermore, 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, birth 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.
References
See also
Wedding anniversary
Sources and External links
Creative Anniversary Calculator
Extensive (and often contradictory) lists of anniversary names from The Math Forum - Ask Dr. Math
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