---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do you commemorate a year? A paper…"
description: "\"How do you commemorate a year? A paper anniversary, but we are the words written down, not the paper.\" — David Levithan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg"
---

#  How do you commemorate a year? A paper anniversary, but we…

![“How do you commemorate a year? A paper anniversary, but we are the words written down, not the paper.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg)

> “How do you commemorate a year? A paper anniversary, but we are the words written down, not the paper.”

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Commemorating a year is about the memories and stories we create, not the physical symbols.

**In simple terms:** Yearly memories matter more than paper.

Key Takeaway

Celebrate shared experiences, not objects.

Themes

memory time celebration

Mood

nostalgic thoughtful

Type

reflective inspirational

When to use this quote

- anniversaries
- family gatherings
- friend reunions
- personal milestones

Key Concepts

nostalgia storytelling human connection

Questions to Reflect On

- What story defines your year?
- How can you preserve memories without objects?

A Different Perspective

Physical tokens can fade, while stories endure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anniversary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anniversary/) [Commemorate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commemorate/)

## Related quotes

> [My intention still is to write a play to commemorate, possibly rather skeptically, the 50th anniversary of the Russian revolution. I started it at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/my-intention-still-is-to-write-a-play-to-commemorate-possibly-rather/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Last week, the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the victims and heroes of September 11th. As we commemorate the anniversary of 9-11,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mccaul/last-week-the-house-of-representatives-passed-a-resolution-honoring/)

[Michael McCaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mccaul/)

> [Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/some-may-more-quietly-commemorate-the-suffering-struggle-and/)

[Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/)

> [The memory of Audrey is in my innermost mind. And I don't need a foundation to commemorate her. That's perhaps a bonus, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wolders/the-memory-of-audrey-is-in-my-innermost-mind-and-i-don-t-need-a/)

[Robert Wolders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wolders/)

> [“You become a hypocrite when you can't freely be at peace with others, but you can carry green palm leaves to church to commemorate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-become-a-hypocrite-when-you-can-t-freely-be-at-peace-with-others/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [Today we commemorate our diggers, it's a day to thank them for their service &amp; remember those who died defending our freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-we-commemorate-our-diggers-it-s-a-day-to-thank-them-for-their/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Before Santa and presents and shopping and all the attendant Christmas (stuff) got involved, this holiday was enshrined to commemorate a guy who got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rivers-pitt/before-santa-and-presents-and-shopping-and-all-the-attendant/)

William Rivers Pitt

> [Life is a lot more interesting if you are interested in the people and the places around you. So, illuminate your little patch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/life-is-a-lot-more-interesting-if-you-are-interested-in-the-people/)

[Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/)

> [“Time is ungovernable, but grief presents us with a choice: what do we do with the savage energies of bereavement? What do we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonella-gambotto-burke/time-is-ungovernable-but-grief-presents-us-with-a-choice-what-do-we/)

[Antonella Gambotto-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonella-gambotto-burke/)

> [He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/he-whose-birth-we-commemorate-this-season-is-more-than-the-symbol-of/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [“We Italian Americans, on the other hand, commemorate our past only to remind ourselves how far we have travelled from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-luzzi/we-italian-americans-on-the-other-hand-commemorate-our-past-only-to/)

Joseph Luzzi

> [“This is a day of celebration! Today, we are divorcing the past and marrying the present. Dance, and you will find God in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/this-is-a-day-of-celebration-today-we-are-divorcing-the-past-and/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [If to be born was only required to be alive I would thankfully commemorate the God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voeun-tivea/if-to-be-born-was-only-required-to-be-alive-i-would-thankfully/)

[Voeun Tivea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voeun-tivea/)

> [I tried to go to Kosovo to establish a statue to commemorate those who died during the wars, and to discuss moving on, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivica-dacic/i-tried-to-go-to-kosovo-to-establish-a-statue-to-commemorate-those/)

[Ivica Dacic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivica-dacic/)

> [“Life is uncertain, commemorate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/life-is-uncertain-commemorate/)

[Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/)

## More by David Levithan

> [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

[Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

## More Anniversary quotes

> [I know that sometimes I am hard to deal with. Still, you manage to stay by my side. Thank you for just being there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-that-sometimes-i-am-hard-to-deal-with-still-you-manage-to-stay/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [As a rule, I am very skeptical of tying books to anniversaries. I don't think readers care. I also feel that it just about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-rule-i-am-very-skeptical-of-tying-books-to-anniversaries-i-don-t/)

[Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/)

> [Part of me believes that Beyonce and Jay-Z were naive when they chose to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary in Cuba. However, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-schlapp/part-of-me-believes-that-beyonce-and-jay-z-were-naive-when-they-chose/)

[Mercedes Schlapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-schlapp/)

> [In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-the-spring-of-1984-i-went-to-the-northwest-of-france-to-normandy/)

[Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/)

> [I want to wish an anniversary day to a couple who is beautiful in entire land. May your anniversary enhance your love and understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-wish-an-anniversary-day-to-a-couple-who-is-beautiful-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Today marks the first anniversary of me remembering when your anniversary is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-marks-the-first-anniversary-of-me-remembering-when-your/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-greater-reason-for-children-to-honour-parents-than-for/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [You had turned my life to a poem and its rhythm makes my dears and nears to rejoice ever and ever Happy Anniversary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-had-turned-my-life-to-a-poem-and-its-rhythm-makes-my-dears-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Heaven give you many, many merry days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/heaven-give-you-many-many-merry-days/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Last week, the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring the victims and heroes of September 11th. As we commemorate the anniversary of 9-11,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mccaul/last-week-the-house-of-representatives-passed-a-resolution-honoring/)

[Michael McCaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mccaul/)

> [A husband is a guy who tells you when you've got on too much lipstick and helps you with your girdle when your hips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/a-husband-is-a-guy-who-tells-you-when-you-ve-got-on-too-much-lipstick/)

[Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/)

> [“Approaching each other, him from the gym, me from the library- this was when I walked down the aisle and he was waiting, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/approaching-each-other-him-from-the-gym-me-from-the-library-this-was/)

[Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/)

> [Happy anniversary Mom and Dad. Even through those occasional times when we didn't get along, I could still that tell your love for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jin/happy-anniversary-mom-and-dad-even-through-those-occasional-times/)

[Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jin/)

> [One of the good things that come of a true marriage is, that there is one face on which changes come without your seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/one-of-the-good-things-that-come-of-a-true-marriage-is-that-there-is/)

[George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/)

> [Because since there's no more you. There's no more anniversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/because-since-there-s-no-more-you-there-s-no-more-anniversary/)

[Ne-yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/)

[Browse all 455 Anniversary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anniversary/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "How do you commemorate a year? A paper anniversary, but we are the words written down, not the paper.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Levithan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-anniversary-but-we-are-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anniversary"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-anniversary-but-we-are-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3da/david-levithan-67_anniversary_how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-an_224124.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“How do you commemorate a year? A paper anniversary, but we are the words written down, not the paper.” — David Levithan",
                "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": "David Levithan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "How do you commemorate a year?...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-anniversary-but-we-are-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/how-do-you-commemorate-a-year-a-paper-anniversary-but-we-are-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
