MATERIAL

每年生日时，要吃“长寿面”，一般是一碗面条上加两个不打散的鸡蛋，长长的面条表示长寿，圆圆的鸡蛋表示圆满幸福。

Every year on your birthday, you eat a bowl of noodles roughly translated to “longevity noodles”. This is a bowl of noodle soup with two poached eggs on top. The long noodles symbolize living a long life and the round eggs are a play on words in Chinese. Roundness is also taken to mean full, so the eggs symbolize a full and happy life.

ANALYSIS

My informant grew up in California and has lived her all of her life. However, her grandma, who grew up in China, lives with her family and has imposed some Chinese traditions. One tradition my informant vividly remembers and celebrates to this day is eating noodles on her birthday. The noodles, long like spaghetti, represent living a long, healthy life and the round eggs, in the Chinese language, symbolize living a full and happy life. It is basically a wish of well being for the future and the new age.