Текст на английском про день рождения

My name is Lena. I am twelve. My birthday is on the fifth of May.

I like my birthday very much. In the morning my mum and dad say 'Happy birthday!' and give me a present.

My friends come to my party. We play games, dance and sing songs.

There is a big chocolate cake on the table. There are twelve candles on it. I make a wish and blow out the candles.

My birthday is a happy day!

Last year I turned thirteen. I wanted a big party, but my parents had a better idea. They organised a surprise for me.

On the morning of my birthday Dad said, 'Get dressed quickly, we are going somewhere special.' We drove for two hours, and I didn't know where we were going. Then I saw a sign: 'Horse Riding Centre'. I was so happy, because I love horses more than anything!

I rode a white horse called Snowball through the forest. It was the most exciting experience of my life. When we came home, my two best friends were waiting for me with a cake and balloons.

They gave me a book about horses and a funny card. We ate cake and watched films until late.

My next birthday is in March. I am not going to have a big party this time, because small celebrations are often the best.

Have you ever wondered why we put candles on a birthday cake? One popular explanation goes back to ancient Greece, where people brought round cakes with candles to the temple of the goddess Artemis. Whether or not this story is true, blowing out candles and making a wish has become a tradition which is shared by millions of people.

In Russia birthday customs have their own special features. The birthday person is often pulled gently by the ears, once for every year of their life, so that they will grow taller. At school it is common for the birthday child to bring sweets for the whole class. Adults, on the other hand, usually invite guests to a big dinner, where long toasts are made in their honour.

Other countries have different customs. In Mexico children try to break a piñata, a colourful figure full of sweets, while in China many people eat long noodles, which are believed to bring a long life.

I have celebrated my birthday in many different ways, but my favourite one was when I invited my friends to a picnic in the park. Although it was a little cold, we played games, cooked sausages and laughed a lot.

If my parents agree, I will celebrate my sixteenth birthday at a climbing centre with my friends.

For most of human history, very few people knew the exact date of their birth, let alone celebrated it. In many parts of Europe, including Russia, it was far more common to mark one's name day, the feast of the saint after whom one had been named. The modern habit of celebrating birthdays with cakes, candles and parties spread widely only in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Today, however, birthdays have become almost compulsory. Social networks remind us of every friend's special day, shops offer birthday discounts, and children's parties sometimes resemble small professional events, complete with entertainers, themed decorations and elaborate cakes. One cannot help wondering whether something has been lost along the way.

Critics argue that the pressure to organise ever more impressive celebrations turns a personal occasion into a performance, aimed less at the birthday person than at the photographs that will later be posted online. Parents, in particular, may feel obliged to compete with one another, spending money they can ill afford.

And yet I would not want to abandon birthdays altogether. At their best, they are one of the few occasions when we openly tell people how much they mean to us. A handwritten card from a grandparent or a phone call from an old friend can carry more meaning than any expensive present.

Looking back, I realise that my most memorable birthday was not the one with the biggest party but the one I spent hiking with my family. Had we stayed at home with a crowd of guests, I would never have had that long conversation with my father at the top of the hill. Perhaps the real point of a birthday is not to be celebrated, but to feel connected.