Expert: John J - 12/31/2009

Question
Hi
My mom is turning 90 in February.  We are having a Chinese banquet with family and friends at a restaurant.  Are there any foods that we definitely need to have? Do we need to give anything to the guests that attend?  Red envelopes or??

Thank you!

Answer
Hi CJ.

Congrats on your mom's 90th birthday! Please make sure long and thin noodles are served(often cooked with boiling water. i believe the Chinese restaurants know how). "long and thin" sounds like "long life" in Chinese. Chinese people have noodles on birthday in the hope that they'll enjoy a long life.

I don't think gifts should be given away to guests, though in some occasions, the grandchildren will come forward and kowtow to the grandparents to show their respects and good wishes, in return, the grandparents will give the grandchildren red envelopes with some pocket money in them. I don't think this applys to your situation.

In China, tortoises and cranes are symbols of long life too, so sometimes handcrafts or paintings of those two animals are given to the old as birthday gifts.

Hope that answers your question. please feel free to follow up if you have further questions.

Happy New Year!

Best regards,
John