Stacy Milbouer learned something new at a Korean restaurant in New Hampshire last week.
When we told [Cathy] Cho that we might be back Jan. 1 to party, one of the other waitresses joked about getting another year older. We thought Jan. 1 was her birthday, but she explained that in the Korean culture people are regarded as one year old when they are born, and they age one year on New Year’s Day rather than on the anniversary of their birth or birthdays, as we call them. [Link]My niece Stella celebrates her birthday today. I never suspected she was Korean.
Makes an interesting situation when a child is born on New Year's Eve.
On the day of their birth they are one year old, but the next day they become two years old.
It is fun that everyone born in the same year are all the same age -- no matter when their birthday falls in the year.
This reminds me of the strange definition of "yearling" in the world of horse-breeding.