Each year on Aug. 21, National Senior Citizens Day celebrates the achievements of the older generation.

On Aug. 19, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5847, declaring Aug. 21 as a day dedicated to showing appreciation toward senior citizens for their accomplishments, dedication, and contributions.

"For all they have achieved throughout life, and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older—places in which older people can participate to the fullest and can find the encouragement, acceptance, assistance, and services they need to continue to lead lives of independence and dignity." Regan stated in the proclamation.

Although the origins of the day are known, the age of senior status can vary. While Social Security eligibility allows senior citizens to begin collecting benefits at the age of 62, Medicare considers a senior to be someone aged 65 or older.

On Sunday, take a moment to honor the older population by checking out these inspiring quotes that celebrate aging, compiled from Goodreads and BrainyQuote.

  • "Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength." ― Betty Friedan
  • "You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing." ― George Bernard Shaw
  • "Most people don't grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging." ― Maya Angelou
  • "The ordinary experiences of aging alter and clarify your view of past, present, and future." ― Edith Pearlman
  • "There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age." ― Sophia Loren
  • "Aging has a wonderful beauty, and we should have respect for that." ― Eartha Kitt
  • "One of the strange things about adulthood is that you are your current self, but you are also all the selves you used to be, the ones you grew out of but can't ever quite get rid of." ― John Green
  • "Age is just a number. Life and aging are the greatest gifts that we could possibly ever have." ― Cicely Tyson
  • ​​"The secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude." ― Gabriel García Márquez
  • "Aging gracefully means being flexible, being open, allowing change, enjoying change, and loving yourself." ― Wendy Whelan
An elderly man walks in the old city centre of Siena, Italy June 30, 2017.
An elderly man walks in the old city centre of Siena, Italy June 30, 2017. Reuters / Stefano Rellandini
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Aging