In the West, cakes are a must for birthday parties. In China, while the cake is optional, noodles are a must.

Because noodles are long, they symbolize long life. The Chinese believe that if the birthday person eats noodles on this special day, he will enjoy a long life ahead. This is why birthday noodles are often not cut. They are stretched from a single piece of dough into long strings of skinny noodles. When you eat the noodles, you should try not to cut them with your chopsticks either. Only when you can't stuff any more noodles into your mouth, can you bite them off.

In big cities in China today, many people will celebrate birthdays with both birthday cake and noodles. While cakes are enjoyed by friends and family members attending someone's birthday, noodles can be eaten by those who are absent from the actual party. On my side of the family, we will eat noodles on a cousin or an aunt's birthday even if he or she lives in a different country. We hope by our eating noodles, they will live a long and healthy life.

(selected from 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2012)