Fiona is my neighbor. She turned twelve recently and her parents held a birthday party for her. I was one of those invited.

The party began at about three in the afternoon. There were about twenty of us children gathered in Fiona's house. We were all dressed in our best clothes. Everyone, especially Fiona, wore a happy smile.

We gave our presents to Fiona and she happily opened them. It must really be exciting to receive all those presents.

After that Fiona's mother served us soft drinks and delicious tidbits. We then played some games like "Musical Chairs" and "Treasure Hunt". The winners were given prizes.

At about four-thirty Fiona's mother brought out the birthday cake. It was beautifully decorated with pink and white icing. Twelve colorful candles sat in the middle of the cake. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Fiona after which she blew out the candles and cut the cake. We clapped out hands eagerly.

We helped ourselves to slices of the delicious cake. Then we continued our games.

Finally at about six in the evening the party came to an end. We were all tired but happy. The parents of the other children came to collect them. I helped Fiona and her mother clean up the mess we made. After that I walked home which was only two doors away.

Christmas is a vitally important annual festival for the Christians. It takes place on the 25th of December to celebrate the birthday anniversary of Jesus Christ. From a purely religious holiday, Christmas has become a global cultural festival.

When Christmas was spread to different countries, its customs were modified to create a distinct identity. However, they still share some common traditions such as cleaning, decorating houses, and churches with flowers and a Christmas tree. The dinner on Christmas Day is also very important. It represents joy, gratitude, and unity. Traditionally, the Christmas celebration lasts 12 days with a lot of activities. Nevertheless, the official occasion only starts from Christmas Eve.

The modern-day Christmas is celebrated in many different ways. Themed-parties, decoration races are always hot topics during the season. Moreover, Christmas is one of the biggest discount occasions of the year because of the strong growth in demand for shopping.

Besides the Christmas tree, Santa Claus is also a popular symbol of Christmas. Santa (sometimes called as Saint Nicholas) is described as a humorous old man with a white beard. He wears red clothes attached with white fur and buckles a black leather belt. Additionally, he drives a flying reindeer sleigh, brings a big bag with full of gifts to present good children on the Christmas Eve. This image of Santa Claus is much influenced by the poem ‘A visit from St. Nicholas’ in USA and Canada and further reinforced through books and films for children.

In Vietnam, Christmas is getting more attention. Not only Christians come to church on this day, but many non-believers also visit and enjoy the atmosphere. Lovers give each other gifts and kisses. Friends hang out with each other and join concerts across the country