Many Chinese think "good life" is consist of 3 things: good fortune, good career, and longevity. We believe there are three gods in charge of each. Like all gods, their usual posts are in the sky and we mortals see them as stars. Once in a while, they need to do businesses on earth. They will assume human shapes for operational conveniences. The Fortune star is usually an old man surrounded by grand kids and other family members, the Career star dressed like a highly-ranked official.

Longevity star resides near the south pole. He appears as an old man who has lived a long, long time. He is usually accompanied by cranes and turtles -- animals that are known to live long. Typically, he holds a peach in one hand and a staff on the other. (Peaches are grown near the grand master goddess's garden. Legends said having one from there will give you a thousand years' life.)

Longevity is the more revered star among these three. After all, you can hardly be fortunate if die young. Career is kind of empty in that case too. Longevity is the only star that has a spouse -- Mrs. Longevity.

I blogged recently that Chinese count their years in the cycle of 60. These 60 years are further divided into 5 12-year periods. In a way, a Chinese century is 60 years and a Chinese decade 12. For this reason, it is a big deal for someone to have his or her 60th birthday. We call it the "big birthday" in a celebratory tone. When someone celebrates his or her 60th birthday, we believe the Longevity star has been nice to this person.

Happy 60th birthday, Linda. And a belated one to you too, Mike. Clearly, you guys are the favorites of Mr. and Mrs. Longevity.