Easter Sunday, which falls on April 4th this year, dates back nearly 2,000 years. It is     1     by hundreds of millions of people around the world. For my family, it is     2     as the greatest holiday of the year.

Every Easter my brothers and I would wake up early and, like Christmas morning, run downstairs to see what     3     were waiting for us. We were always excited when the Easter Bunny（兔子）, who is like   Father Christmas, came and     4     us a basket of candy. It's wonderful. It is like there is a miracle every Easter morning.

Our mother, however, would not let us eat the chocolates like we wanted. The chocolate bunnies, and candy eggs would have to wait.     5    , we would have to get dressed in our new clothes.

Then my family would go to church. After church we would go to an elder family members’ house for a feast（盛会）. My mother’s family came to the US from Eastern Europe, so we would often eat many traditional     6    . My favorite was ham and a special potato salad. We usually had 20 or more family members at the dinner. After dinner my cousins, brothers and I would go outside. We were sleeping the night before, and then it's the time for our parents     7     plastic eggs throughout the back yard. We would always have a     8     to see who could find the most eggs. The     9     would get a prize. It was our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Sometimes, in summer, we would     10     an egg we missed on Easter.

Following the Lantern Festival, the Huazhao Festival, a traditional flower festival, is the next cheerful celebration on China’s traditional festival calendar. With a h    1     of over 2,000 years, it is held in celebration of the flower goddess’ birthday in the     2     (二) month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

According to ancient beliefs, the flower goddess     3     (控制) human reproduction (繁衍). At that time, Chinese family sizes were much b    4     than today. People believed that the more members a family had, the happier it would be. So it later became a     5     (习俗) to celebrate the birthday of the flower goddess.

Since the festival is in early spring, it is     6     (确切) the time to have a spring trip. People can not only enjoy the beauty of flowers, but also plant flowers and vegetables. In ancient China, people cut colorful cloth into pieces and     7     (系) them to the flowers, which was called “shanghong”. During the ancient time, it was believed that things planted on that day would grow up better. Around the festival, people also dug and ate wild vegetables in order to k    8     healthy and stop illnesses.

The Huazhao Festival, which has remained     9     (沉默) for centuries, is now celebrated by more and more people in many parts of China. This year’s festival will last     10     (直到) May 6. Some people wear hanfu, a traditional Chinese style of clothing, on this day to celebrate the festival.