Happy CNY

Happy CNY - Chinese New Year - was on 23 and 24 January, well, actually it should last 15 days but nowadays the celebration is kept to 2 days. Happy, yes, of course, when I am able be part of the celebration, we are all happy. I will celebrate as many festivals as I can, as I am able. Truly we must celebrate and rejoice the days ahead of us, enjoying every moment and every day when we have the physical strength. (smile..smile..smile.. all the way from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year and now Chinese New Year.... )

(King Solomon had this to say - "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life GOD has given them under the sun." Eccl 8:14
This is why he said what he said - "Consider what GOD has done: Who can straighten what He has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad consider this: GOD has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future." Eccl.7:13-14)

Back to CNY - there was the reunion dinner for the family but this year I shall not be talking too much about food. The first and second days were spent on visitations - visiting the homes of the older generation - parents, aunts and uncles etc and that should include relatives from both sides of the family i.e. my family and P's family. P has only one brother, so his family (which consists of only his wife and one daughter, unlike many Chinese families, the family gatherings can be rather large where there are many siblings) joined us for the reunion dinner and the typical Cantonese breakfast of "jai choy" on the morning of the first day. No photos on food because I totally forgot.

mandarin & ang pow 

For the visitation, we bring 2 mandarin oranges and "ang pow" - red packet containing some money will be given to young children and even older ones as long as they are unmarried.  At P's aunt's home, our youngest son R, had an enjoyable time talking to his granduncle who is also a photography enthusiast.  Granduncle was delighted to bring out his box of Leica cameras - old ones . Peering through each of these priceless cameras was an experience R would not forget. And of course granduncle invited R to come over anytime should he want to try out his equipment.

dragon at entrance of club

Being the dragon year (there are 12 different animals for each lunar cycle of 12 years), there are many displays of dragon shapes in food, decor etc for one to hang in homes, offices and clubs. In one of the golf clubs, there was a huge dragon at the entrance which I thought was quite impressive. But the light bulbs used as the eyes, over exposed in the photo I took. At the back of the high wall are photos of our country's president and his wife. It is the practice here - to display their photos in public places like golf/social clubs, community centers and government offices. The president was recently elected.

dragon carrier

For the home, we received a gift hamper which consisted of a wire-crafted dragon as a carrier for mandarin oranges. It is really quite a remarkable piece of intricate work. I think it must originate from craftsmen of China. It's pretty. I'll display for a while even after the festive season. On my own I would not know where to find such decorative items. I see in many homes, lovely bright red lanterns hung at car porch, doorway entrances with red banners etc we have not done that to our home yet.

narcissus

decorum

This year we purchased some lovely flowers which are specially cultivated for CNY season. These bulb flowers are not available throughout the year. At the nursery, they should be bought when they are still at the bulb stage i.e. not yet flowering. In a couple days and with some watering, the pretty flowers will bloom. They seem to magically shoot up overnight. I should have done  "before and after" photos. They so delightful to view and even emit lovely fragrance.