It's interesting to note that numerous birthdays are observed around the globe every month. A cursory examination of these can give us a "window on the world."

    Wikipedia lists eleven such observances in April--though two of them are in honor of the same person.

    The birth date of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (often called simply "Ali"), the cousin and son-in-law of the Muslim prophet Muhammad falls on April 20 this year. However, as a date on the Islamic calendar it will move. From 2018 it will be in March for the following three years, because the Muslim calendar is not tied to the solar one.

    According to some traditions, Ali was the only person born within the sanctuary at Mecca, and was the first young male to accept Islam. The second-largest denomination of Islam, the Shia, believe that Ali was the first successor to Muhammad. He ruled from 656 until his assassination in 661.

    Although Queen Elizabeth II of England was born on April 21 (in 1926), the "Queen's Official Birthday" is held on the third Monday in April in the "Overseas Territory" composed of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, named for the largest islands in each of three groups scattered across the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This year, then, it falls on April 17. History buffs may recognize the name of remote Saint Helena as the place where Napoleon was held in exile for the last five-and-a-half years of his life.

    Oddly, the Falkland Islands--also in the Pacific--are the only place where the "Queen's Official Birthday" is actually celebrated on her birthday, April 21. In all other parts of the Commonwealth, the Queen or a governor issues a proclamation as approved by the local parliament.

    The date is generally set in late May or early June in an attempt to guarantee good weather for the celebrations. In the U.K., Queen Elizabeth's Official Birthday, like that of her father, King George VI, was celebrated on the second Thursday of June until 1959, when it was moved to the second Saturday of June.

    We'll see the remaining April birthdays next time.

    Vocabulary: Which words above mean

    1. banishment, being sent away

    2. beyond the sea, not part of the homeland

    3. far away

    4. brief, not detailed

    5. people who are fond of something

    6. branch of a religion

    7. enclosed holy place

    8. make certain of

    9. city that is the spiritual center of Islam

    10. an association of nations and territories formerly part of the British Empire

    ANSWERS: 1. exile 2. overseas 3. remote 4. cursory 5. buffs 6. denomination 7. sanctuary 8. guarantee 9. Mecca 10. the Commonwealth