--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have heard it said that as we keep our…" description: "\"I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we are alive, so the ghosts of dead people, who are not easy in their graves, keep the day they..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg" --- # I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we… ![“I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we are alive, so the ghosts of dead people, who are not easy in their graves, keep the day they died upon.” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg) > “I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we are alive, so the ghosts of dead people, who are not easy in their graves, keep the day they died upon.” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living celebrate birthdays, the dead linger on their death dates, haunting the living. **In simple terms:** The dead remember their death day. Key Takeaway Honor both life and memory. Themes mortality memory celebration Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - memorial services - personal reflection Key Concepts existential remembrance tradition Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel the dead influence your life? - How do you commemorate those passed? A Different Perspective Some may find this view morbid. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Alive Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-ghosts-4426197/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Birthdays Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthdays-alive-4426196/) [Dead people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-people/) [Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts-dead-460578/) [Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graves/) [Graves Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graves-day-4426195/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Scary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scary/) ## Related quotes > [if there's a spirit world why don't the ghosts of dead artists get together and inhibit bad playwrights from tormenting first-nighters?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/if-there-s-a-spirit-world-why-don-t-the-ghosts-of-dead-artists-get/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [The melancholy ghosts of dead renown, Whispering faint echoes of the world's applause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/the-melancholy-ghosts-of-dead-renown-whispering-faint-echoes-of-the/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“There are places even the ghosts of the dead fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiver/there-are-places-even-the-ghosts-of-the-dead-fear/) [Richard Schiver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiver/) > [“I think I might like to meet some ghosts. The dead aren't scary. It's the living who do the terrifying things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suki-fleet/i-think-i-might-like-to-meet-some-ghosts-the-dead-aren-t-scary-it-s/) [Suki Fleet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suki-fleet/) > [“Just imagine how it must feel to know that your family won't be going to heaven with you- I mean, truly believing that. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/just-imagine-how-it-must-feel-to-know-that-your-family-won-t-be-going/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [When they talk of ghosts of the dead who wander in the night with things still undone in life, they approximate my subjective experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-they-talk-of-ghosts-of-the-dead-who-wander-in-the-night-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“... So this was how it was to be, now: I would do my best to live in the quick world, but the ghosts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-this-was-how-it-was-to-be-now-i-would-do-my-best-to-live-in-the/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-recollected-one-story-there-was-in-the-village-how-that-on-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [O, if the deeds of human creatures could be traced to their source, how beautiful would even death appear; for how much charity, mercy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/o-if-the-deeds-of-human-creatures-could-be-traced-to-their-source-how/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The memories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of this world, nor of its thoughts and hopes. Their gentle influence may teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-memories-which-peaceful-country-scenes-call-up-are-not-of-this/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In a utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/in-a-utilitarian-age-of-all-other-times-it-is-a-matter-of-grave/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Well, I don't know, Lina. But let's just say I've met a lot of dead people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/well-i-don-t-know-lina-but-let-s-just-say-i-ve-met-a-lot-of-dead/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [“I heard you in the other room asking your mother, 'Mama, am I a Palestinian?' When she answered 'Yes' a heavy silence fell on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ghassan-kanafani/i-heard-you-in-the-other-room-asking-your-mother-mama-am-i-a/) [Ghassan Kanafani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ghassan-kanafani/) > [“I need to ask, are you afraid of spiders?" Nicholas blinked, suddenly caught off guard, "Yes, I'm afraid of spiders." "Were you always?" "What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-irwin/i-need-to-ask-are-you-afraid-of-spiders-nicholas-blinked-suddenly/) [Stephen M. Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-irwin/) > [“Although it may appear as though there have been many miracles in the world, a true miracle has never come to pass. A true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woo-myung/although-it-may-appear-as-though-there-have-been-many-miracles-in-the/) [Woo Myung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woo-myung/) ## More by Charles Dickens > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we are alive, so the ghosts of dead people, who are not easy in their graves, keep the day they died upon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dickens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our-birthdays-when-we-are-alive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our-birthdays-when-we-are-alive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fb/charles-dickens-34_alive_i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our_2947658.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have heard it said that as we keep our birthdays when we are alive, so the ghosts of dead people, who are…” — Charles Dickens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Dickens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have heard it said that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our-birthdays-when-we-are-alive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-heard-it-said-that-as-we-keep-our-birthdays-when-we-are-alive/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```