Who's birthdate is celebrated by the most people?
February 21, 2015 8:40 PM Subscribe
What person's given birthdate is the most commonly known and celebrated or honored throughout the world?
besides Jesus on Dec. 25......
My Google search fails, & tells me Sept. 29 is the most common birth date, or similar. I figure the date I want must be a national holiday for many countries. I considered Mohammed, but the Prophet's Birthday is celebrated on different dates from year to year. Likewise The Queen's birthday is celebrated on different dates throughout the British empire. And I could not determine if someone like Mao or Buddha has a single celebrated birthdate. Any ideas??
My Google search fails, & tells me Sept. 29 is the most common birth date, or similar. I figure the date I want must be a national holiday for many countries. I considered Mohammed, but the Prophet's Birthday is celebrated on different dates from year to year. Likewise The Queen's birthday is celebrated on different dates throughout the British empire. And I could not determine if someone like Mao or Buddha has a single celebrated birthdate. Any ideas??
Best answer: October 2nd is Gandhi Jayanti in India. That's got to be a pretty large fraction of 1.2 billion.
posted by sevenless at 9:28 PM on February 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by sevenless at 9:28 PM on February 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
Presidents(') Day is Washington's birthday, though it's not actually celebrated on his birthday.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:29 PM on February 21, 2015
posted by BungaDunga at 9:29 PM on February 21, 2015
And there's MLK Day as well.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 9:33 PM on February 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 9:33 PM on February 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Based on population size alone, I'd guess the answer is someone who's well-known in China is probably going to be the answer here. Google suggests Mao Zedong's birthday is officially recognized on Dec 26th. If not this, maybe some other Chinese figure, or someone known in India, or maybe in the Catholic world?
posted by Alterscape at 10:01 PM on February 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Alterscape at 10:01 PM on February 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
The emperor's birthday is a holiday, I believe, in Japan.
posted by kickingtheground at 10:42 PM on February 21, 2015
posted by kickingtheground at 10:42 PM on February 21, 2015
Washington and Lincoln's birthdays used to be separate holidays.
posted by brujita at 11:11 PM on February 21, 2015
posted by brujita at 11:11 PM on February 21, 2015
Roughly 17 million people celebrate the birthday of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on April 27.
posted by neushoorn at 11:48 PM on February 21, 2015
posted by neushoorn at 11:48 PM on February 21, 2015
I'm going with the Buddha.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 12:08 AM on February 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 12:08 AM on February 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Buddha's birthday is celebrated in many places in Asia, including me.
It's my favorite holiday in Korea. So ruling.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:57 AM on February 22, 2015
It's my favorite holiday in Korea. So ruling.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:57 AM on February 22, 2015
Best answer: Muhammad's birthday is celebrated on a particular date (12th Rabi-al-Awwal) of a widely used and understood calendar. It only appears to move around if one refers to a solar calendar such as the Gregorian.
posted by tavegyl at 1:58 AM on February 22, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by tavegyl at 1:58 AM on February 22, 2015 [8 favorites]
Yep I just came in to say the same thing as tavegyl, Prophet Mohammed's birthday, Mawlid, celebrated around the world. There are over a billion Muslims.
posted by fraula at 4:07 AM on February 22, 2015
posted by fraula at 4:07 AM on February 22, 2015
Best answer: Confucius' birthday is celebrated in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, in some parts of Japan and South Korea, and is also a major event in the calendars of Taoist temples in places with significant Chinese populations like Singapore and Malaysia.
posted by hellopanda at 7:20 AM on February 22, 2015
posted by hellopanda at 7:20 AM on February 22, 2015
Over a billion people in more than 180 countries celebrate Julian Koenig's birthday on April 22nd each year, or as it's more popularly known: Earth Day
posted by dismitree at 7:36 AM on February 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by dismitree at 7:36 AM on February 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Probably no real competition with Buddha and Jesus, but Bob Marley's birthday (February 6th) is widely celebrated in Jamaica and New Zealand (it's the same day as Waitangi Day, the national holiday, and many prefer to honour Bob) and I'm sure many other countries.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 2:32 PM on February 22, 2015
posted by Gin and Broadband at 2:32 PM on February 22, 2015
The Queen of England's birthday is celebrated, not on the birth date, but on a more convenient day. Not nearly as widely celebrated as others listed, just adding because of the dates, which you may find of interest.
posted by theora55 at 10:36 AM on February 23, 2015
posted by theora55 at 10:36 AM on February 23, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
St. Valentine and St. Patrick also came to mind, but it turns out feast days are death days, if known, not birthdays.
Also, don't forget that Jesus' birthday is also celebrated on different dates by different people/countries.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:59 PM on February 21, 2015 [1 favorite]