The word “longevity” comes from the word “long”. It means that people are living a long life. So in the traditional Autumn Period, there were considered longevity as the most important goal.
__1__ Early in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were celebrations for the elderly.
__2__ So the Chinese people started to hold the birthday ceremony at the age of 40. Later celebrations would also be held for people’s 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays. The 60th birthday ceremony was the most common. As the length of people’s lives is increasing in modern society, more celebrations have been held in the later decades (十年). In addition, people now have the habit of celebrating the birthday before the end of the decades. __3__ Why so? As the pronunciation of “nine” in Chinese is the same as the pronunciation of the word “long”. Nine is also the largest single-digit number. __4__ The highlight of the celebration is birthday feast (宴会), which is different from other feasts. ___5___ Besides being a form of celebrating old age, the birthday ceremony is also a way to wish for the health of the elderly people and hope that they can overcome difficulties they may meet in later life.
A. It stands for best wishes for longevity.
B. Six is another lucky number in people's eyes.
C. Only a few people could live long in ancient times.
D. At birthday feasts, eating “longevity noodles” is the most important part.
E. There were many activities and customs about the celebration of longevity.
F. In ancient times, people didn’t celebrate birthdays because of poor living conditions.