Sunday, January 25th - Chinese New Year Market at Victoria Park
My friend Leith and I decided to check out the Market at Victoria Park (Hong Kong side) and pick up some flowers as it is suppose to bring us wealth in 2009. The crowds were amazing which the HK police have crowd control down pat. There were 5 long isles of booths selling very unique items, many inflatable. Each isle was one way to keep the foot traffic flowing, GREAT IDEA.The Orange tree is suppose to bring abundant happiness. The pink blossom tree/branches significies reliability and perserverance.
I purchased a purple orchid, hope it survives the next 5 months.
After the market we heading for Vietnamese dinner and crepes for dessert, yummy!
Monday January 26th - Chinese New Year
We attended the Night Parade (got our "prime spot" at 6:30, parade was over by 10:15, long and cold) Friends in photo, Beca, Shaun, Leith, Christine and Belinda.
Tuesday, January 27th - Fireworks
My friends had a potluck and we watched the fireworks from a Penthouse apartment with a perfect view of Victoria Harbour and the fireworks.
Thought I'd share some interesting facts regarding the Chinese New Year and their traditions.
Chinese New Year draws in when the chill north wind blows hard, and winter is at its peak. Chinese New Year is draped in age old traditions and beliefs and present us the rich heritage of the world's one of the most ancient civilizations.
The New Year or the Spring festival is the most celebrated occasion as it is not just about holidaying but a time to reflect on the essence of ancient customs.People in China believe that as they enter a new year, they should drop the last year into the silence limbo of the past. Common Chinese New Year Activity includes cleaning the houses from top to bottom, purchasing new clothes, paying off debts, painting their doors and window panes, and even getting new haircuts. Traditional Chinese New Year Facts bring forth the essence of new life and new hopes. There is no fixed date for Chinese New Year as it is celebrated in accordance with the lunar calendar.
The Lunar calendar is based on the time the moon takes to go around the Earth. The origin of the Chinese New Year Calendar is deeply rooted in age old traditions, dating from 2600BC when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the cyclical dating that is governed by the track record of the new moon. As a result, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. A complete cycle, according to the Chinese calendar, takes sixty years and consists of five cycles of twelve years each. One of the most important characteristics of Chinese New Year Calendar is that it names each of the twelve years after an animal. Tradition says that Lord Buddha had called for all the animals to come to him before he departed from the earth. But only twelve animals came to offer him farewell and as a token Lord Buddha named a year after each of the twelve animals in the order they arrived. According to the popular Chinese myth the animal ruling the year in which a person is born tremendously influences his or her behavior and traits.
The Spring Festival ceremoniously commences with the practice of offering a sacrifice to the Kitchen God. Kitchen God is a deity sent from Heaven to each house to take charge of family's affairs and make a report on what the family has done in the past year to Heaven annually on the date of the twenty-third. So with the preparations of feeding the Kitchen God, the celebrations of Chinese New Year gets kicked off. Traditionally, the celebrations for the Chinese New Year last up to fifteen days. During these days, the Chinese wish each other by saying "Kung Hei Fat Choy" which means having a great fortune, or "Kung Hall Sun Hei", which implies happy New Year. Married couples give red envelopes with lucky money to their kids or relatives of their younger generations instead of giving presents. The Chinese value their family as they consider it as a means to keep the family blood running. So, Chinese New Year is a pretext of family reunion, where folks of the family gather for feast and acknowledge the spirits of their forefathers. Traditionally dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, symbolizing prosperity and good wishes. Chinese New Year Dish includes prawns for liveliness and pleasure, dried oysters for all things good in life, raw fish salad to usher in good luck and prosperity, dumplings boiled in water signifying a long-lost good wish for a family and Fai-hai (Angel Hair), edible hair-like seaweed to bring prosperity for the family.Chinese love excitement and merriment and New Year give them an opportunity to do so. Chinese New Year is characterized by street celebrations which include the performance of lion dance and dragon dance with exploding sound of fire crackers. The loud noise made by the fire crackers signifies the getting rid of sadness or bad events of last year and ushering in a good and prosperous coming year.
Prior to New Year's Day, Chinese families decorate their living rooms with vases of pretty blossoms, platters of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. On walls and doors are poetic couplets, happy wishes written on red paper. These messages sound better than the typical fortune cookie messages. For instance, "May you enjoy continuous good health" and "May the Star of Happiness, the Star of Wealth and the Star of Longevity shine on you" are especially positive couplets
Every traditional Chinese household should also have live blooming plants to symbolize rebirth and new growth. Flowers are believed to be symbolic of wealth and high positions in one's career. Lucky is the home with a plant that blooms on New Year's Day, for that foretells a year of prosperity. In more elaborate settings, plum blossoms just starting to bloom are arranged with bamboo and pine sprigs, the grouping symbolizing friends & endash; the plum blossom also signifies reliability and perseverance; the bamboo is known for its compatibility, its utility and its flexible stems for furniture and other articles;the evergreen pine evokes longevity and steadiness. Other highly prized flowers are the pussy willow,azalea, peony and water lily or narcissus.
The Chinese firmly believe that without flowers, there would be no formation of any fruits. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to have flowers and floral decorations.
They are the emblems of reawakening of nature, they are also intimately connected with superstition and with the wish for happiness during the ensuing year.
Oranges & Tangerines - etiquette dictates that you must bring a bag of oranges and tangerines and enclose a lai see when visiting family or friends anytime during the two-week long Chinese New Year celebration. Tangerines with leaves intact assure that one's relationship with the other remains secure. For newlyweds, this represents the branching of the couple into a family with many children. Oranges and tangerines are symbols for abundant happiness
The candy tray arranged in either a circle or octagon is called "The Tray of Togetherness" and has a dazzling array of candy to start the New Year sweetly. After taking several pieces of candy from the tray, adults places a red envelope (lai see) on the center compartment of the tray. Each item represents some kind of good fortune.
* Candied melon - growth and good health
* Red melon seed - dyed red to symbolize joy,happiness, truth and sincerity
* Lychee nut - strong family relationships
* Cumquat - prosperity (gold)
* Coconut - togetherness
* Peanuts - long life
* Longnan - many good sons
* Lotus seed - many children
