Here's something on the lighter side for a Friday.

Our country has a 250th birthday coming up. We've already passed some 250-year mile markers -- the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party. The battles at Lexington and Concord are coming up.

Now... 100 years is a centennial and 200 years is a bicentennial. Tucked in between is the oddly-named sesquicentennial at 150 years. 300 years will be a tricentennial (or tercentenary, if you're British). So, what is 250 years?

As it turns out, there seems to be no widespread agreement on this. That's disappointing. I mean, it's not like we haven't had time to prepare. 

Some are calling it a Semiquincentennial, which I guess means half of five hundred years. Along those lines, others are preferring Quarter Millennial, which does have the advantage of having no odd Latin-y prefixes. But somehow this seems like throwing a Sweet 16 party for your granddaughter and calling it a Happy Half of 32 or Quarter of 64 Party. Weird. "Hey, America. Happy Half of Five Hundred Years!"

Another faction is going with Bisesquicentennial. I guess the reasoning is that if a sesquicentennial is a centennial plus fifty years, then a bicentennial plus fifty years must be a Bisesquicentennial. Hmm. Doing a little digging, I see that "sesqui" is Latin for one-and-a-half times of something. So, a sesquicentennial is one-and-a-half times one hundred years. That makes sense. But that means a bisesquicentennial would be twice a sesquicentennial or three hundred years -- a tricentennial (or tercentenary, if you're British). If only there were a Latin prefix that means two-and-a-half times of something.

And, lo, there is: "sester."

So, there you have it, folks. Get ready for our nation's Sestercentennial! Yay! Sestercentennial! I'm going to say it loud and proud and really, really often. I felt like I fumbled the ball when almost everyone began celebrating the new Century and Millennium a year early. If only I had got the word out sooner, it might have made a difference.

Sestercentennial! Add it to your spellcheck today!