The tradition of birthday parties started a long time ago. People thought that there (1) ___was___ a special danger from evil spirits, so friends and family came together to bring good thoughts and wishes and even presents. At one time, only kings had birthday parties but as time went (2) __by____, children, and then adults began to have their (3) _own_____ birthday celebrations. There are some traditions (4)___such___ as sending birthday cards, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, and singing the “Happy Birthday” song, that you can easily find (5) __almost____anywhere, any time. In China, everyone celebrates their birthday on New Year’s Day: they become one year (6) ___older___on that day. On a child’s second birthday, family members (7) __put____ a variety of objects on the floor around the child. According to Chinese tradition, the first object that the child picks up tells you what profession the child will choose (8) ___later___ in life. In many English speaking countries, a twenty-first birthday cake often has a key on top, or the cake (9) ___itself___is sometimes in the shape of a key. The key means that the young person is now old enough to leave and enter the family home at (10) ___any___time they want to.