To celebrate the birthday is important in one’s life in China. When one is young, usually he will eat noodles before his birthday,     1     the long noodles indicate the longevity in China. After middle age, his birthday will be     2    (great) than before. On the wedding day, it is also a custom to serve various nuts as good     3    (wish) to the couple.

To most Chinese people, returning home after long     4    (absent) or departure from home is     5    (equal) important and there are dining customs     6    (connect) with this. The return home is greeted with noodles and off home while a farewell     7    (offer) with dumplings. This is especially popular in Northeast China. In Central China, when a baby is born, the happy father will send red boiled eggs to announce     8     news. Eggs with a black pointed end and dots in a number such as six or eight, indicate a boy’s birth; those without a black pointed end and dots in a number like five or seven say the baby is a girl.

In addition     9     these, fish has always been used     10    (suggest) the accumulation of prosperity and wealth with meals on New Year’s Eve.

Winter Solstice Festival

As early as 2,500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn Period, China decided the point of Winter Solstice by observing the    1     (move) of the sun. The time will be each December 21 or 22 according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Northern hemisphere on this day experiences the    2    (short)daytime and longest nighttime. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, positive things, will become stronger and stronger after this day,    3     it should be celebrated.

The Winter Solstice became a festival during the Han Dynasty and thrived in the Tang and Song dynasties. The Han people    4    (regard) Winter Solstice as a “Winter Festival", so officials would organize celebrating     5    (active). On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day to offer sacrifices(祭品) to Heaven and ancestors. The Qing Dynasty even had the record that “Winter Solstice is as formal as the Spring Festival", representing the great importance     6    (attach) to this day.

In some parts of Northern China people eat dumplings,    7    will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in parts of South China, the whole family will get together to have     8     special meal made of red-bean and rice to drive away bad things. The Winter Solstice dumplings could    9     (use) as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts for friends and relative. People of the same family name gather together to honor their ancestors    10    age order. After the ceremony, there is always a big dinner.

On January 25, 2020, over a billion people in China and millions around the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival. The ancient tradition,     1     date is determined by the lunar calendar and falls somewhere between January 21 and February 20 each year, is the    2     (long) and most important of all Chinese festivals.

The preparations will     3     (official) begin with Little Year on January 17 , 2019. It is observed with a day of memorial and prayer ceremonies. Other Little Year activities include cleaning the house     4    （sweep) away bad luck and hanging spring couplets —-red decorations hung in pairs —on doorways for wealth. Since red     5       ( believe) to keep misfortune and evil spirits away, it can be noticed in everything from clothing to     6    (lantern) used to decorate houses.

Often     7       ( consider) the most important meal of the year, the reunion dinner is   both delicious and rooted in Chinese tradition.     8    whole chicken symbolizes family togetherness, while long uncut noodles show longevity (长寿）. Wealth is represented by dumplings and spring rolls. Children receive red envelopes filled     9     money and inspiring messages from elders and are often allowed to stay up late to watch the     10    (amaze) fireworks shows.

The two-week long celebrations will end on February 8 — the day of the full moon — with the Lantern Festival.