#Japanese happy birthday song full#

Traditionally every birthday that is celebrated involves a bowl or plate of 'long-life noodles'. Is that different from the western tradition or what?ДЄ clock is not given as gift since the Mandarin word for clock (zhong1) sounds like 'song4zhong1' which means 'to arrange for the burial of a deceased parent or older relative.' And believe me, nobody wants that for their birthday present! After you get married you send gifts to your parents. Rather than a celebration of the person being viewed as special for the day, it is a sign of respect to celebrate an older person's birthday and thank them for what they have done. Traditionally, it is more common to celebrate the birthdays of older people like grandparents than those of the younger children. However, the younger generation seems inlined to party more with a birthday cake. Peaches are also a symbol for long life and many foods (such as dumplings) can be made in the shape of a peach on your birthday. Historically, long-life noodles red dyed eggs are served on birthdays- the noodles are very long and very obviously represent the birthday wish of long life. Other popular gifts for older people include health tonics, wines, crafts, paintings, cakes, clothing and flowers. Red is the happy color for Chinese and gifts of money in a red envelope is always a welcome idea. Many are now even celebrating the 'small' birthdays on a yearly basis, although typically these celebrations are smaller and involve only the immediate family and close friends. Young people in China are starting to celebrate more themes like 5, 12, 18 and 21 and seem to view it in the western way - as a celebration of being special.

#Japanese happy birthday song full#

The 60th birthday is considered the most important as it marks the completion of a phase of life and the successful navigation through the full circle of the zodiac - 5 times (5 X12 = 60) The first is important because a person has survived the first year of life. These are the 30 days old, 1st (called the second), 10th, 60th and every 10 years thereafter. Traditionally the Chinese normally celebrate only 'important' or big birthdays. There are fewer than 1,000 last names in China.