Many people in the UK and beyond are mourning Queen Elizabeth II, who, you’ve probably heard by now, reigned for a record 70 years.
She once said being a royal meant your life was full of tradition, and there was a lot to tradition to keep track of.
Like how the Queen’s birthday was celebrated more than once each year.
Mental Floss explained this a while back.
The UK has a longstanding tradition called Trooping the Colour.
It started as a military pageant, in which regiments displayed their flags to each other.
But in 1748, things changed.
King George II had been born in November, when it was too cold to have any kind of outdoor royal birthday party.
So he decided his official birthday celebration would take place as part of Trooping the Colour, and it’s stayed that way ever since.
Elizabeth’s actual birthday was on April 21.
But each June, she would take part in the large and colorful military parade which was also a nationwide belated birthday bash.
So the queen had two birthdays in the UK.
But she was also the head of state for many other countries, most of which had formerly been part of the British Empire and were part of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Not everyone celebrates this connection to empire, but many Commonwealth countries do have their own official holiday in honor of the sovereign’s birthday, and these holidays don’t match up with the one in the UK.
Canada has a holiday marking the birthday of Queen Victoria each May, so they also celebrate the current queen or king then.
In New Zealand, it’s the first Monday in June, while in Australia, it’s the second Monday in June.
Except that Western Australia chooses a date in the fall, and Queensland holds the holiday in October to coincide with football and rugby finals.
Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and St. Kitts and Nevis all have their own holidays.
The Falkland Islands keeps it simple: they just mark the actual birthday.
Super Tennis was released on Nintendo Switch Online today in Japan, and being one of my favorite SNES games, thought I’d check out the Japanese version to spot any differences from the US version. Immediately noticed some of the sprites and names were different and….oh…. pic.twitter.com/Buwa7Bwfhy
— Kyle McLain (@FarmboyinJapan) September 23, 2020
Today in 1991, the official US release date of the Super Nintendo console, though it had been available in Japan earlier.
And that wasn’t the only difference between the two countries. Americans who played the game Super Tennis might see an angry tennis player shout “RATS” from time to time, but in Japan, that same character might drop a 16 bit s-bomb.
Why Does the Queen Have Two Birthdays? (Mental Floss)
A Game With The Word “Shit” Was Just Re-Released On The Nintendo Switch In Japan (Kotaku)
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DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Piniero, via Flickr/Creative Commons
