Happy Birthday To You: Survey Finds December 16 The Worst Day Of The Year To Celebrate Your Birthday

Happy birthday, December 16 babies! If your birthday happens to fall on today’s date, December 16, not only do you share a birthday with the likes of Beethoven (born in 1770), Jane Austen (born 1775), and ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons (born 1949), but you also officially have the worst birthday of the year, according to a recent survey.

Happy Birthday to my home girl Jane Austen!! Thank you for the best book ever!!???? pic.twitter.com/QFqqrxztEA

— Regin Horan (@reginhoran) December 16, 2015

The birthday survey was launched by Interflora — a British flower company — via a “Rate Your Birthday” app that had users answer a series of questions regarding their birthdays, including the average number of presents received, and the likelihood that any friends would actually attend your birthday party, reports the Telegraph. After compiling the statistical data from 2,000 people, Interflora concluded that December 16 was the worst day of the year to celebrate your birthday, owing to factors such as proximity to the holidays, cold weather, and the likelihood that it would be forgotten in the midst of the holiday celebrations.

The app also says that those celebrating birthdays in November, the rest of December, as well as January, tend to get the short end of the birthday stick as well, which those born in January the most likely to have their birthdays forgotten.

Sixteen percent of people born in December said they were unhappy with their birthday dates, and 31 percent of December babies said their birthday often gets overlooked because of the holidays. Another 27 percent of those celebrating birthdays in December complained that their presents were often wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper rather than birthday paper.

The study also found that those celebrating birthdays in December are the least likely to become top earners, with only four percent of them making more than £45,000 (approximately $67,000 USD) per year.

The point of the survey, says Interflora’s Brand Manager, Bethany Day, was to highlight those whose birthdays often go forgotten, or overlooked, according to Belfast Live.

“At Interflora, we’re committed to helping people celebrate life’s most important occasions and we wanted to highlight the plight of those whose birthdays are often overshadowed by the season’s festivities. We’ve created our rate your birthday app as a fun way of highlighting those ‘forgotten’ birthdays and to help people make the most of their special day, no matter where in the year it falls.”

In contrast to the worst possible birthday of the year, is July 28, which Interflora’s birthday survey found was the best day of the year to celebrate your special day. If you happen to be one of those lucky enough to call July 28 your birthday, not only do you share your day with the likes of Terry Fox (born 1958), Jackie Kennedy Onassis (born 1929), and Soulja Boy (born 1990), but you’re also more likely to be happier with your birth date. This is due, in part, claims the study, to the likelihood of great weather, as well as the fact that people tend to be happier in summer than they are in the dismal winter.

My soul keeps singing the blues. Roll over Beethoven (and tell Tchaikovsky the news.) Happy Birthday #Beethoven! pic.twitter.com/tO6ptHb3Ev

— aL (@lyrasalex) December 16, 2015

Birthdays celebrated in June, the rest of July, and August, tend to be happier birthdays as well, with your birthday more likely to be remembered. Those born in August also seem to receive more expensive birthday gifts, compared to other months. The birthday survey also found that those with birthdays in August tend to be higher earners compared to those with birthdays in any other month.

When asked about sending physical birthday cards compared to wishing people “happy birthday” online, 42 percent of survey respondents say they only wish others a “happy birthday” on Facebook, while another 31 percent claimed the only reason why they remember the birthdays of their friends and family is because of the social media site.

So, while it may be the worst day to celebrate your birthday, we wish all of you December 16 babies a very happy birthday! We didn’t forget you this year.

[Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images]