‘Men are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.’
– Pope John XXIII
MANY happy returns of the day to all of you who are celebrating your birthdays today. May you have all the love your heart can hold, all the happiness and blessings that life can bring and a wonderful day ahead.
Today, two special members of my family are also celebrating their birthdays — my niece Ah Hong who turns 28 and my grandson Raidon who turns 4.
Today is also the birthday of famous Hong Kong actor and director, Jackie Chan, who is 70, famous Australian actor, Russell Crowe, who is 60, and Bassist Ben McKee, 39, of pop band, Imagine Dragons.
Ah Hong is holidaying with her boyfriend in Thailand. So we can only wish her “Happy Birthday” on the phone. If she was here, we would have gone to a restaurant to celebrate with her.
Raidon had an early birthday celebration at his playschool on Friday. His mother sent me happy pictures of him posing with his teachers and his classmates. In one of the pictures, he was seen cutting a birthday cake while in another, he presented gifts to his friends.
Nowadays, it is trendy for the birthday boys and girls to bring cakes and simple presents to school and share them with their friends and teachers. Personally, I think it is good for the more fortunate children — those whose parents are working and thus can afford to buy simple birthday cakes and gifts — to share their birthday joy with their friends and teachers in school.
Sharing is important because it teaches children about learning to share. It helps the little ones not only to make new friends but also to learn about compromise, fairness and cooperation.
For example, today, their friends eat their birthday cakes. Tomorrow, they get to enjoy their friends’ birthday cakes.
According to the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP), children who are younger than 3 cannot understand the idea of sharing. Child development specialists say that sharing skills usually do not appear until the children are around 3.5 to 4 years old.
Sharing also shows young children it is fun to do so.
How times have changed with affluence. When my siblings and I were small, we seldom celebrated our birthdays. It was probably my parents were too poor to do so.
Long ago, I think there were also very few bakeries which sold birthday cakes; all they sold were buns and loaves of bread.
Now, you can walk into a bakery and choose the birthday cake you want from the shelves.
Nowadays, birthdays are big celebrations in my family. My nephew, Ah Kiong recently invited some of us to a hotpot restaurant to celebrate his twin sons’ birthdays and my birthday.
You see, the three of us were born on the same day in March but of course, decades apart.
His sons received ‘angpows’ (red envelopes with cash) from the guests and toys as well as birthday cakes from him and his wife.
Meanwhile, I received bottles of perfume from Ah Kiong and his wife and ‘angpows’ from my son and daughter-in-law.
That night, all those present ate and drank to their heart’s content. There was also a lot of laughter and fun.
I did not forget Kiong, who celebrated his birthday a day earlier than the twins and I; I gave him a small ‘angpow’ in appreciation of what he did for me and for uniting the Liong family through the birthday party.
Today, I have a lunch date with my grandson, Raidon and his parents. My son and daughter-in-law want me to celebrate their little boy’s birthday with them.
Usually, our birthday celebrations are held in the evenings but since I have to work tonight, they have decided to bring forward the celebration.
Since my grandson is still so small, I will just give him a small ‘angpow’. When he is older, I will give him a bigger ‘angpow’.
I am sure my daughter-in-law would have woken up early today to prepare the typical Chinese birthday fare— red coloured hard boiled eggs and ‘Mee Sua Noodle Soup’ — for Raidon.
The ‘Mee Sua Noodle Soup’ signifies long life while red coloured hard boiled eggs are considered auspicious especially on one’s birthday.
I don’t know where my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and I will be going for the birthday brunch but we will definitely enjoy ourselves. I will take lots of pictures of my grandson and when he is older, I will show him how lucky he is to have loving parents who remember his birthday.
To conclude, my friends, let me once again wish all of you who are celebrating your birthdays today “Happy Birthday!” May all your dreams come true!
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
