Lion dance being performed in the neighborhood
Chinese Paper Cutting Demonstration - it is very similar to folding paper and cutting designs into it like we do to make snowflakes!GONG XI FA CAI!!! Meaning "Wishing you great prosperity". Chinese New Year is a VERY big deal in Asia. I would compare it to our celebration of Christmas in the U.S. Chinese New Year dates vary each year depending on the lunar calendar, falling somewhere between January 21 and February 19 each year. The Chinese people celebrate for 15 days! Most Chinese families are busy with cleaning and decorating their homes and shopping for special foods such as waxed ducks, Chinese sausages, mandarin oranges and traditional cakes and biscuits. A raw fish salad called "Yu Sheng" is tossed high into the air with chopsticks to symbolize prosperity and abundance. On Chinese New Year's Eve the very important main event is the family reunion dinner. The family usually wears new clothes of red and gold. A taxi driver told me that the tradition is to go visiting each and every family member during that two week period. He said they eat, play mahjong, the men gamble (in his family anyway), they sing karaoke, and the children and unmarried people receive "hang bao" packets which are packets of money as a symbol of good luck. Most homes and businesses are decorated in red and gold with Chinese lanterns hanging and "Gong Xi Fa Cai" written in banners and scrolls. There is a "Gong Xi Fa Cai" song that is played everywhere you go; I even heard it several times in the market. One of the shopkeepers even gave me a gift bag with mandarin oranges in it, a symbol of good luck for me in the coming year! The stores are jam packed with shoppers and the groceries are flying off the shelves. I would compare it to last minute Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve! During this time, unlucky words are not spoken and brooms are not used to avoid sweeping away the good luck. This year we had a block party and had a lion dance performance. It is very common to see and hear numerous lion dance performances throughout Chinese New Year. The performers dress in colorful costumes and dance to the beat of drums to celebrate and bring prosperity to homes and businesses.
