Dongzhi, also called Winter Solstice, was the very first to be created. It 【小题1】 (usual) falls between December 21st and 23rd. This period marks the shortest day and the 【小题2】 (long) night of the year in the northern half of the earth. Dongzhi 【小题3】 an important part in Chinese culture. In early times, people believed that when the days were short, there was not enough Yang energy. So they 【小题4】 (try) to eat high Yang foods. After thousands of years, a special food culture on Dongzhi came into being. In northern parts of China, people make dumplings 【小题5】 their friends and family. There is an old saying goes that 【小题6】 (eat) dumplings on Dongzhi can protect ears from frostbite (冻伤) . Mutton is a popular food, too. In Chinese food culture, it is regarded as a healthy food to eat in winter. It can not only warm people up 【小题7】 prevents colds in the coming winter. While, people in the 【小题8】 of China have a tradition of eating tangyuan. It 【小题9】 for getting together and wealth of family. Wonton soup is another must—eat food for the festival. Fillings of wontons are much the same as dumplings’. But wonton dough (面团) is much 【小题10】(thin). The soup can keep people warm and comfortable in the cold winter.

In many countries， people have birthday cakes with candles on their birthday. The number of candles is the person's age. The birthday person must make 【小题1】 wish and blow out the candles. If he or she【小题2】 （blow） out all the candles in one go， the wish will come true. In the UK， people sometimes put a candy in a birthday cake. The child with the candy is【小题3】 （luck）.

【小题4】 China， many people eat long noodles on their birthday.【小题5】 （them）never cut up the noodles【小题6】 the long noodles are a symbol （象征 ）of long life. Some Chinese people also eat【小题7】（egg）on their birthday. They【小题8】 （be）a symbol of life and good luck.

All of the birthday foods may be【小题9】（differently）, but the ideas are the same. they bring good luck to 【小题10】 birthday person.