Birthday celebrations are important festivals for everyone around the world. There are different kinds of activities to celebrate birthdays. Some traditions are pretty similar from one country to another: candles, flowers and cakes. And there are always birthday wishes. But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays. Let’s take a look at different traditions for birthday celebrations:

Argentina（阿根廷）: In Argentina, as in many Latin American countries, one of the most important birthday parties is a girl’s fifteenth. When girls turn fifteen, they have a huge party and dance first with their fathers, and then the boys at the party.

China: The birthday child gets gifts from the parents. Friends and all his or her family are invited to dinner, and noodles are served to wish the birthday child a long life.

Denmark（丹麦）: A flag is flown outside a window（窗户）to show that someone who lives in that house is celebrating the birthday. Gifts are placed around the child’s bed when he is sleeping so he can see them immediately（立刻）when he wakes up.

Holland（荷兰）: The birthday child gets an especially large gift. The family put flowers or balloons（气球）on the birthday child’s chair to make it beautiful.

India: Usually Indian children wear white to school. However, the birthday child wears colored clothes to school and gives out chocolates to everyone in the class. His / Her best friend helps do this.

Japan: The birthday child wears new clothes to mark（标记）the special time. Certain birthdays are more important than others and these are celebrated with a visit to the shrine（神殿）. These are the third and seventh birthday for girls and the fifth for boys.

John is a schoolboy. Everyone likes him very much because he is funny. He can play many instruments (乐器). When he is with his friends, he often plays for them. Today is June 1st. It’s John’s birthday. He has a big and interesting party at home. Many friends come to his party. John’s mother cooks a lot of food for them.

Everyone gives a beautiful gift to him. May gives him an English dictionary because he also likes English. Bob gives John a guitar because he likes playing the guitar very much. At the party, John plays the guitar and he also plays the piano. They sing many songs and play some interesting games. They have a good time today.