>If your birthday was 1 jan 1900 then on 1 jan 1901 you would have entered
your 2nd year.
>But on 1 Jan 1901 you would celebrate your first birthday and be considered
one year old until your second birthday on 1 Jan 1902.
>This is a cultural thing, and it will be incorrect for 1/2 the world, even
if switched to the other.
>No, ... it's not a cultural thing. What you seem to be describing is an
artefact of some old gravestones which mention that a person died in the nth
year of their life. That means they'd had n-1 birthdays.
Perhaps a different type of analogy would help to clarify the two different
types of dating being debated here--both of which seem to be used in at
least all cultures that follow our calendar. Let's say I took a job as a
software engineer (snickers allowed <g>).
--- On Day 1, I could say it was my "first day on the job,"
even though I had not finished a full day of work.
--- If I'm still there 3 months later, I could say I was in my
"first year on the job," even though I had not finished
a full year.
--- If I'm still there 12 months and 1 day later, I could say
- I had been there for 1 year,
or
- I was in my second year on the job.
Both statements would be correct
Age works the same way. Two days ago I had another birthday. I turned 29
(snickers are still allowed ;-). Today I'm "29" years and 2 days, which
I'll call "29" until my next birthday, rather than keeping track of days and
months. But I'm already into my "30th" year.
Elizabeth (the other one)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
Hendersonville, Tennessee
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