Birthday food: "A kind of noodle— it's very long and represents that you will have long life. They give it to you for breakfast on your birthday. You boil it and put it with egg and some soup. The eggs are dyed red for good luck, and are symbols of long life."

Birthday profile: Jing Zhong
Birthday: January 14
"In China, one-year-old is a very important age. Families always invite a lot of relatives and friends for that birthday. They really decorate the house with red papers. In China, red always means something happy and that will bring good luck to that family or that person.

Some Chinese families tell the baby's fortune on his or her birthday–or rather, let the baby tell its own fortune. They sit the baby among some objects, like coins, a doll, or a book, and watch to see what the baby grabs. A baby that grabs a coin might become rich; a baby that grabs a book might become a teacher.

Game instructions: Blindfold the birthday boy or girl and lay out a variety of objects around him or her. Have fun telling his or her fortune by the objects he or she picks. Some suggestions:

• pen–will become a writer or journalist
• book–will become a teacher/scholar
• thread–clothing designer/tailor
• videocassette—film producer kitchen
• utensil—chef
• computer disk— programmer

Chinese people celebrate a baby's first month and first year–after a baby passes those important milestones, people feel the baby is in less danger and will live a long and happy life. Many people don't celebrate their birthday of the day they were actually born, but wait until the Chinese New Year, a day when Chinese people feel everyone turns one year older.