NOTE: There are TWO extra headings which you do not need to use. Headings: A) Beating the birthday child
B) Coming of age*
C) Gifts for guests
D) Not copying another culture
E) Spoiling cake by slapping
F) Symbol of long life
* coming of age - time when the person legally becomes an adult
Q21. Chinese typically only celebrate certain birthdays: the first, 10th, 60th, 70th
and 80th. The 60th birthday is important to the Chinese because it is seen as
completing a full zodiac. Birthdays are typically family affairs. Food includes a
bowl of long life noodles - long noodles that the person slurps into their mouth. A
long slurp equals a long life.
Q22. A very important tradition in Mexican culture is the
Quinceanera
, which is
traditionally celebrated on a young woman's fifteenth birthday. The celebration is
meant to mark the young girl's movement into womanhood and is complete with a
formal gown and dancing.
Q23. Instead of a birthday cake, many Russian children receive a birthday pie with
a birthday greeting carved into the crust. In school, teachers often give a gift to the
student having a birthday. Children usually will play a game. What they do is hang
prizes from rope and each guest gets to cut down a prize to take home.
Q24.In Egypt, family and friends are invited to a party (hafla) that includes
singing and dancing. Flowers and fruit are the main party decorations and are "seen
as symbols of life and growth."Egyptians usually have a birthday cake, but do not
send one another birthday cards the way people do in the United States.
Q25. One unusual Irish tradition is "bumping" the birthday child. An adult turns
the child upside down and very gently bumps his head on the floor. The number of
bumps equals the age of the child. For those who come of age, usually 21 in
Ireland, the "key of the house" is given. This signifies that the person is an adult
and can come and go as he pleases.
