Senior Citizens Month

Details

Senior Citizens is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults.^[1] Old age is not a definite biological stage: the chronological age denoted as "old age" varies culturally and historically.^[2] Some disciplines and domains focus on the aging and the aged, such as the organic processes of aging (senescence),^[3] medical studies of the aging process (gerontology),^[4] diseases that afflict older adults (geriatrics),^[5] technology to support the aging society (gerontechnology), and leisure and sport activities adapted to older people (such as senior sport).

Older people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more susceptible to illness and injury than younger adults. They face social problems related to retirement, loneliness, and ageism.^[6][7]

In 2011, the United Nations proposed a human-rights convention to protect old people.^[8]

The history of old age in the History of Europe has been characterized by several prominent features across the last 3000 years:^{[9][10][11][12]}

• Consistent age threshold: The chronological threshold for old age has remained consistent throughout European history, typically ranging from 60 to 70 years. This definition has persisted from antiquity to modern times, despite overwhelming social and economic changes.
• Legal and cultural recognition: Old age was always recognized in legal and cultural contexts. The laws often included precise age-based exclusions or provisions for the elderly. Cultural representations, such as the division of the life cycle into age-defined stages, were common and often adapted from earlier Greek, Roman, and Egyptian traditions.
• Varied experiences: Old age was a highly diverse experience, encompassing individuals from different classes and socioeconomic backgrounds, political status, levels of fitness, and degrees of power.
• Changing status: The status of the elderly has varied across different periods. For instance, during the early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries), old age gained a more favorable status, particularly for older men, based on the moral worth associated with this life stage and Christian attitudes.