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Just a quickie post for this morning; I'll try to write about the last day of NYC tonight.
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Kong Hey Fatt Choy!
That's "wishing you lots of luck and prosperity" in Cantonese. We don't actually "Happy New Year." Being Chinese, we prefer wealth and prosperity, heh.
It's the year 4704. I think. And it's the year of the Fire Dog. To find out what zodiac sign you are, here is a link:
http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html
It will even give you a Chinese name.
I have celebrated Chinese New Year the traditional way in decades. I miss the lion dances and food. Those who aren't married, especially young kids, are given red packets with money. That's one of the best traditions ever ;-). Imagine going house-to-house in your neighborhood and wishing everyone prosperity and getting some red packets filled with money! That's wayyyyy better than Halloween candy, imho. You also get to see who the neighborhood scrooge is too because the packet invariably contains a few measly coins, LOL. But I remember feeling awfully wealthy after fifteen days of celebrating. Yup, you heard right--our New Year lasts fifteen days!
We also visit friends and spend time eating sweets and cakes. We give each other mandarin oranges, signifying "gold." We wear festive colors of red and yellow to bring good luck. We NEVER sweep the floor during New Year; that brings bad luck. The firecrackers are meant to scare away evil or mischievous spirits.
The heavenly lion-dancing are performed by the local kung-fu troupes and it can cost up to, at that time, M$100 for an elaborate show in your home. I'll have to dig up some old photos and scan them here for you. One year we had two rival troupes dancing at our house and they were trying to out-kung-fu each other with their acrobatics and "fights." I remember clapping and laughing as one of the lions bent down and scratched itself with its "hind legs" as he begged for some "angpow" (red packet with money) from my mother. We challenged them by telling the troupes that the biggest packet of money was tied on the top of a pole. The two competing lions immediately started getting seriously energetic about getting to that packet! I especially remember this baby lion that captivated the crowd because the dancer was obviously a cute little six year old kid. He was fabulous, doing splits and tumbling like a pro.
I'm going to give Armando Chang a Chinese New Year chapter in his story. He'll be missing his old life then and it would make delicious angst. But that's thousands of words away. I have to concentrate on Hell trying to get out of trouble right now.
What's your Chinese zodiac sign? And are you compatible with your loved one? ;-) And if you're Asian, do you have a special memory to share?
Monday, January 30, 2006
Uber Dog Year!
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3 comments:
Lots of luck prosperity to you, too, Gennita!
Milady, dragon is a good sign! Now you have to figure out what element you're!
SQ, your mom's funny! I also remember all the sweet cakes that my mom made. Did your pawpaw make the banana-leaf wrapped rice--"joong"--both the sweet and the "salty" kind? I loved both.
Mary Stella,
Thank you! Have some mandarin oranges ;-).
Me? I'm a brass-balled bitch! Seriously, I'm a Metal Dog. ;>
And ha! Armando isn't Hell's trainer! Okay, not to wittle the suspect list down to Jed. =)
When my mom was still working at the bank, her Chinese clients would give her tikoy (thick wheels of rice-based something, representing coins, I guess) that you slice up and fry in butter. They become nice and crunchy or -- if you dipped them in beaten egg before frying -- nice and gooey. I miss that.
Luck and Prosperity to You!
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