The two chatted happily while sipping wine, eating vegetables and cakes.

"Thank you for giving me my birthday this time." Niu Tiangou took the wine glass and touched it with Dr. Xue Lian again, and smiled innocently, "Otherwise, I really don't know how to celebrate birthdays." ”

"Don't you have a birthday?"

"Nope." Niu Tiangou shook his head, thought for a while, and said, "Oh, listen to my mother, my family gave me a birthday when I was 10 years old, but I was still young at that time, how I lived, I don't remember anything now." ”

"You must have had a birthday before you were 10 years old."

Dr. Xue Lian affirmed: "Because in many cities and rural areas in China, there is a traditional custom of celebrating children's birthdays. After the birth of a child, most of them have their eyes closed, and they do not open until the third day, which is called 'three mornings', and according to custom, relatives and friends will bring red eggs, brown sugar and children's clothes to congratulate them. This is the child's first birthday.

"One month after the birth of the child, it is called the 'full moon', on this day, parents have to find a hairdresser to cut the child's hair, commonly known as 'shaving the fetal head', and the family will also put a 'full moon wine', feast relatives and friends who come to congratulate, and distribute red eggs, red peanuts and other gifts to the guests. Because in the past, the medical conditions were very poor, and many newborn babies died less than a month after birth, and it was not easy for babies to live to the 'full moon' and pass the most dangerous period after birth, so people generally attached great importance to the full moon of babies. This is the child's second birthday.

"Of course, there are also places where these two birthdays are only once, that is, after the 'three mornings', there is no longer a 'full moon', or only 'three mornings', and the 'full moon' is directly celebrated.

"After the first year of the child's birth, the family will also make the child's 'first birthday' and buy a banquet to entertain relatives and friends. Of course, there are also places where the 100th day of the birth of a child is celebrated. This is the child's third birthday.

"Then it's when the child is 10 years old and the child celebrates his birthday." Dr. Xue Lian put down her knife and fork and said, "In other words, before you celebrate your 10th birthday, you have had at least two birthdays: 'Full Moon' and 'First Birthday'. ”

"Yes...... Possibly. Niu Tiangou smiled, "Why don't you celebrate your child's birthday after the age of 10?" ”

"It probably has something to do with the premature death and death of people and other customs."

Doctor Xue Lian also smiled: "Because in ancient times, children were easy to die before the age of 10, and the elderly were easy to die after the age of 60, so China's birthday customs pay more attention to the children and the elderly, as for the period between 10 and 60 years old is the period of the most vigorous vitality of people, and it is not easy to die and die, so the birthdays of adults during this period are not so particular." ”

"That is, after a person has passed his 10th birthday, he has to wait until he is 60 years old to celebrate his birthday?" Niu Tiangou asked.

"That's generally the case." Doctor Xue Lian nodded, "The birthday of the elderly is also called birthday, and only when you are 60 years old can you make a birthday for yourself, 60 years old is called Xia Shou, 80 years old is called middle life, and 100 years old is called Shangshou." The ancients said that life is rare in 70 years, which shows that most of the ancient people could only do the next life.

"With the improvement of modern medical conditions and the improvement of people's living standards, not only people's life expectancy is getting longer and longer, but also birthdays are getting wider and wider, once every 10 years, you can have a 30, 40, 50-year-old birthday, and if you have conditions, you can even have a 20-year-old birthday, but 40 years old or below is called 'life', 50 years old or above is called 'do longevity'."

"And what is the annual birthday called?" Niu Tiangou asked again.

"It's called 'Scattered Birthday.'"

Dr. Xue Lian picked up a small piece of cake and said: "Nowadays, the pace of social life is getting faster and faster, and people's pressure is getting bigger and bigger, so people always like to find some 'beginning' to 'relax' themselves, and this 'birthday break' is one of the best excuses." Gathering with relatives and friends, drinking, singing, chatting, and playing cards is also a kind of relaxation for the body and mind. ”

"It doesn't seem like it's the custom of our people to eat cake with a knife and fork, right?" Niu Tiangou asked with a smile while clumsily using his knife and fork.

"Our people like to drink wine and eat longevity noodles on their birthdays, and it is a custom of Westerners to eat cakes." Dr. Xue Lian picked a small piece of cake with a fork and put it in her mouth, and said while eating, "Eating cake for birthdays has only appeared in recent years. With the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western cultures, more and more young people are inclined to such a way of celebrating birthdays in the West. ”

"It's easy to understand the meaning of eating longevity noodles, but what does it mean to eat cake?" Niu Tiangou frowned puzzled, "Why do I think that 'cake' has the meaning of 'egg' and bad 'cake' in it, it feels weird." ”

Dr. Xue Lian laughed: "Of course, the customs of Westerners cannot be understood with the thinking of Easterners. It is said that this custom first began in ancient Greece.

"The ancient Greeks believed in worshipping the goddess of the moon, and at the annual celebration of the goddess of the moon's birthday, they always offered a full moon shaped honey cake on the altar, and many small candles were lit on the honey cake, forming a sacred atmosphere, to show their reverence for the goddess of the moon, because they believed that the lit candle had the same mysterious power as the lit sacrificial fire, which could make the wishes of the worshippers come true.

Later, when the ancient Greeks celebrated the birthday of their children, they began to celebrate the birthday of the goddess of the moon by setting up cakes on the table and lighting small candles on the cakes. They believe that birthdays are days when the soul is susceptible to demonic invasion, and lit candles drive away demons and bring good luck to children.

Later, they gradually increased the activity of blowing out the candles, believing that if the children made a wish in their hearts at this time, and then blew out the candles at once, this wish could be fulfilled at one time.

"Oh...... I see. Niu Tiangou smiled, "So, this custom slowly spread?" ”

"Well, that's right."

Then, Niu Da raised his glass to her, then took a sip of wine, and asked: "So, now that people celebrate their birthdays, what is the meaning and saying in addition to eating and drinking?" ”

"Hmm......" Dr. Xue Lian thought about it with her wine glass, and then said, "I think that now the family celebrates the child's birthday, one is to express gratitude to the mother for giving life, and the other is to celebrate the continuation and prosperity of life."

"'Conceive in October, give birth in one day'. When a new life comes into this world, the mother of the child endures great pain, and even goes through the baptism of life and death, every parent will remember it unforgettablely, and people hope to remember the pain of the mother when she is in labor and childbirth by giving the child's birthday, and experience the hardships of parenting.

"The birth of a child is a continuation of the life of the parents, a sign of the successor of the family, and the incense is continuous, which is certainly worth celebrating.

"The younger generations celebrate the birthday of the elderly, one is to express gratitude and respect for the contribution of the elderly to the family, and the other is to wish the elderly a long and healthy life."

In the end, Dr. Xue Lian smiled slightly: "Of course, whether it is a birthday or a birthday, there is still a meaning in the hearts of many people to eliminate disasters and diseases, and pray for peace. ”

"Then your sister-in-law celebrates your brother's birthday, that's what it means, right?" Niu Tiangou took a sip of the wine in his glass and asked with a smile.

Doctor Xue Lian also smiled and asked rhetorically, "Isn't that what it means to celebrate your birthday now?" ”

……

This birthday dinner took more than two hours to finish.

Dr. Xue Lian, who hadn't drunk much but had a blush on her face, got up and put the rest of the cake in the original box, and then put it in the refrigerator along with the leftovers. Niu Tiangou also took the remaining empty plates and cups to the kitchen and scrubbed them clean.

After everything was cleaned up, Dr. Xue Lian picked up her small bag and said, "I'm leaving, you should rest early." Then, he took out the real estate certificate from the small bag: "This, you should keep it." ”

Niu Tiangou took the real estate certificate, looked at Dr. Xue Lian's delicate face, his eyes were in a trance, and he muttered: "Too...... It's too late, ...... tomorrow Tomorrow morning...... Let's go again. ”

……

The next morning, a ray of sunlight filtered through the curtains.

Niu Tiangou woke up, and after hearing a noise in the kitchen, he saw Dr. Xue Lian poking his head in, quietly approaching the bedside, and said softly: "I've prepared breakfast, you can get up and eat in a while, I should go to work." After saying that, he quietly retreated.

Niu Tiangou felt a little tired, said "I know", turned around, and fell asleep with his head covered.