Seriously, thank you for all your thoughtful responses! He is contracted there for three years and I will visit him in December and hopefully be moved over there by next summer...very nervous/exciting...although it's true I hear the dialect is considered very different from the majority of other regions.
I, being in the beginning stages of learning this amazing language on my own, have quickly discovered how specific certain meanings can become, and how slightly different the uses are for a diverse range of phrases...I'm constantly fascinated by it all
I kinda feel that 記念日 may often times be left out because of the formal/informal structure...even perhaps because it might be more "oldschool"
(sashimister!) Like I said, I'm very new at this...trying to absorb as much of the living language as I can! I do various types of art as a hobby and wanted to incorporate the phrase in a piece I'm making to send over to him
I'll keep all suggestions in mind, as I'm sure there are multiple ways to express this phrase...again, thank you so much!!
