One of my colleagues invited me to her 11 year old daughter's birthday party tonight (the birthday girl is in the red - her name is Ivy) . Since I'm a foreigner visiting in China, I guess it was really special that I make an appearance.
It was much the same as a party in the west, filled with cake, balloons, and friends. One difference is that her father was working so it was just the mother and the inlaws there to run the show. The father in law made everyone a big Chinese feast.
If you look closely, you will see that they presented me with some bai jiu (Chinese strong liquor). It was actually one of the more expensive well known brands Mao Tai as well. It still felt like drinking gas though.
After dinner, the kids all gathered in the living room together and ate snacks and watched the cartoon "Rapunzel" together. We then ate cake and they sang happy birthday to Ivy in both Chinese and English (to the same tune). Instead of the one person blowing out the candles, all of the kids took part.
One big difference from birthdays back home was that the birthday girl gave out gifts to her friends for coming:
Each guest received one of these and every person had a different instrument. An interesting tradition! Gotta give back to the people around you I guess.
This reminds me of what I've heard about the Japanese hole-in-one tradition. Imagine this - you're golfing with your buddies and you get a hole in one. Great!! Right?
Not if you're in Japan.
If this happens, you're required to throw a big party for your friends (or the group you're with). This tradition has gotten so out of hand that parties can cost up to $10,000 and people take out insurance plans just for golfing!
