Ngauhyat: birthday 

Many Chinese characters can be broken into smaller parts. The word "birthday" (生日) can be simplified into ngauhyat (牛一).

My blog just turned one! (April 5th marked the anniversary of my first post.) Even though ngauhyat means "cow" and "one" when taken separately, I hope it still proves to be an auspicious occasion.


A popular Chinese tradition held at one-year-old parties is to surround the birthday child with different items. These things represent their possible futures. Here are some examples:
  -Calculator=business career
  -Coin=future fortune
  -Bowl of Rice Grains=never needing to worry about food
  -Pen=writer 

The last time I saw this ritual, the child selected a Wii remote.

I'm not sure if I ever participated in this myself, but if I did, I hope I chose the pen. At least, that's what I'm picking right now.

Comments (9)

On April 8, 2013 at 1:54 PM , Kasie Whitener said...

Happy Birthday, Jennifer! I'm sure you took the pen. Your writing skills are the stuff of legend ;-)

 
On April 8, 2013 at 1:56 PM , Jennifer Chow said...

Thanks, Kasie! (I think we just swapped blog reading. I just commented on your post...)

 
On April 8, 2013 at 2:40 PM , Unknown said...

Happy Birthday to your blog! Congratulations to you! What does selecting a Wii remote signify? A future in sports or technology?

 
On April 8, 2013 at 3:39 PM , Jennifer Chow said...

Thanks, Carol! I think the Wii remote forecasts a techie future, which looks like a booming profession.

 
On April 8, 2013 at 5:15 PM , Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to your blog and congratulations to you.

 
On April 8, 2013 at 8:37 PM , Jennifer Chow said...

Thanks, Sabra! I can't believe it's already been a year :)

 
On April 9, 2013 at 2:32 PM , Unknown said...

Happy Blogger Birthday and Happy Anniversary for your blog too. Really interesting about picking your future.

 
On April 9, 2013 at 8:45 PM , Romelle Broas said...

Happy blog birthday, Jennifer! You should surround yourself with your manuscripts and a book of agents/publishers? :o)

 
On April 9, 2013 at 10:53 PM , Jennifer Chow said...

Thanks, Mona & Romelle! It would be nice to surround myself with a book of prospective agents/publishers :)