I’m willing to bet that most people would jump at the opportunity to be an Emperor of an entire country. Me? I’d take just having a whole country celebrate my birthday. The Emperor of Japan gets both.

We barely give anybody that honor in the United States. Instead of celebrating Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays individually, they got downsized to President’s Day. I couldn’t even tell you when Obama’s birthday is. We celebrate Martin Luther King Day, but it’s only around his birthday and not on the actual day. In Japan, the holiday changes dates based on when the Emperor’s actual birthday is. That’s power.

This year, Japan will celebrate Emperor Akihito’s birthday on December 23. On this day, the Imperial Palace, which is generally closed to the public, opens its gates to well-wishers. The Emperor and other members of the Imperial family will come out on a balcony to acknowledge all the birthday wishes. This is only one of two days in the entire year that the general public is allowed inside the Imperial Palace.

Not everyone can make the trip to the Imperial Palace, but Japanese people will be celebrating world wide. Share in their celebration by customizing one of our many holiday email templates for Emperor Akihito’s December birthday. It’s the little things that remind us of home. Wouldn’t you like to give that to your subscribers, even if just for one day?