恭喜發財
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
Happy new year of the tiger to all!
I hope you will all be blessed with good health, love, fun, family, friends and good fortune. :)
(picture from tigerdg deviantart)
Well for me, I have 2 reasons to celebrate on January 26. It is Australia's national holiday "Australia day" AND it is Chinese New Year on the lunar calendar. It hasn't been Chinese New Year on January 26 since 1933.
So Happy New Year and Australia Day to all!
1. 'So what are you doing this Australia Day ?', 2. Australia Day 1, 3. Under the Southern Cross, 4. CB013121, 5. Happy Australia Day!, 6. 200401, 7. dragon_dance, 8. Chinese New Year Parade, 9. Chinese New Year of Rat
I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this.
Yesterday was the last day of CNY festivities. Although the public holiday was for one week, the actual time period of CNY is 15 days, ending yesterday 21st February.
I feel a little ashamed to say I didn't even know about this or what it's called. I don't recall ever learning about it :( All I knew was that last night the fireworks started up all over again but given I had seen and heard them so many times already I didn't even get up to look at them (I was kind of sick of them now to be honest)! I did have a quick look out the window later though, and noticed that the moon was very high, full, big and bright. Coincidence? I think not! ;)
From Wikipedia:
yuánxiāojié) or (Yuanxiao Festival), also known as the Shang Yuan Festival (simplified Chinese: 上元节; traditional Chinese: 上元節; pinyin: shàngyuánjié) is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year in the Chinese calendar. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying rabbit-shaped lanterns. The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon. According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.
Over the last few days I've noticed something. The roads are still quiet. People are still on holidays and not everyone is back at work... yet. It is so strange to see it so quiet and see little shops closed.
It has been getting warmer. The snow is 99.9% gone. Where there once used to be big huge chunks of it on our apartment premises, there is now none :( or very little left. I know it's been getting warmer because (apart from the snow melting more):
1) I can feel it (there seems to be a significant difference between 0 and 5 degrees),
2) the hubby mentioned it to me and has been wearing less layers to work,
3) the ayi mentioned it to me
4) the landlord mentioned to me
5) now when I go to sleep the aircon/heater is not at 30 degrees but at 23 degrees (down from 26 previously). Actually I turned it off totally the night before last, but found that a little bit uncomfortable on my face (kept feeling like I was going to sneeze but didn't) so I left it on last night, but at a lower temperature.
There are lots of posts I could do but I am too lazy to upload my photos. :( Plus also the internet has been acting up lately!
Most years I try to catch the Chinese New Year excitement in downtown Sydney but last year I missed it (because, um, I was kinda getting ready to get married ;) ) Anyway one of my friends who travelled interstate to come to our wedding and was staying in a hotel near Chinatown happened to catch the parade and sent me photos of it afterwards. This year (it happened on the 10th Feb) it was just as spectacular and seeing these pictures kinda made me a bit homesick and a bit sad.
You can see the spectacle yourself through Helen's gorgeous photos. The attention to detail of the costumes are amazing! I particularly love the yumcha (dimsum) table girls. Check out the rest at her blog.
According to statistics only 3.5% of people living in Australia have Chinese heritage but dare I say it, in Sydney (if you just counted Sydney) I would guess it would be something like 20%!
On another note, this abovementioned friend and my sister both recently told me that the lion dance they saw at M's and my wedding was better than the ones they saw during this year's CNY entertainment in restaurants and places, which kinda made my day. It was something we both really wanted to have and we were glad we did, to see the looks on all our guests' faces :)
I read something recently but can't for the life of me remember where I read it. Well anyway the reasons that oranges, mandarins, and kumquats are passed around and given around Chinese New Year time is because Mandarin Orange 柑 - the name of the fruit is phonetically similar to gold -- jin ju (金橘子) in Mandarin or kam (金) in Cantonese. Another explanation is that the Mandarin word for mandarin oranges is ju (橘), which sounds like ji (吉) (ji xiang 吉 祥) meaning good luck.
From
http://www.nwchineseculturalassociation.org/cny.htm
and here
http://purple2001tulips.blogspot.com/2008/02/chinese-new-year-is-coming.html
Anyway, for those that don't know my distant relatives live in the same building as us just a couple of floors below, and we also share the same ayi. Every night bar one since I got back from Taiwan I've been eating dinner in their house. And every night my great aunt says to me, "Take some mandarins...". I did this reluctantly just to be polite. As mentioned before I don't have a big interest in food so I just took them out of politeness.
I had nowhere to put them or hold them so she started putting them in my jacket pocket. It was quite funny to see my pockets stuffed with them but I must've forgotten about them because the next night when I went down there for dinner again and she said again, "Take some mandarins..." I grabbed a bunch (these mandarins are tiny - about the size of a ping pong ball, btw) and I was about to put them into my pocket when I realised my pockets were already full!
Not knowing what to do (and feeling a little foolish and embarrassed!) I quickly said, "Oh I still have lots at home I haven't eaten yet..." and quickly changed the topic. Well the 'at home' part wasn't exactly the truth, but the 'haven't eaten part' was true!
So of course as soon as I got home I quickly took them out of my pocket and put them in the fruit bowl on the dining table. Then, of course I had to try one. I am not sure how common these mandarins are in China but in Australia they don't really exist. They are tiny! So I went to the kitchen and started peeling it and popped the entire thing in my mouth. Oh. My. God. It was so sweet and delicious. It was so amazingly sweet and juicy (and I normally don't like citrus fruits at all...) It was heavenly. I quickly then ate another two. And more. And soon they were all gone. Yep, all of them.
The third night when I went down for dinner I didn't wait for her to ask me.. I asked her if I could take some (more)! Ha!
PS When I was younger and people asked if I spoke Mandarin I would be a smartarse and answer, "No, but I speak Orange" and they'd look and me funny and some people would wonder if Orange actually was a language! Oh dear... :)
Oh dear.. I did see her on tv but not long enough for me to judge if lip synching was involved or not! I did not watch the program as I generally find these Chinese 'variety shows' kinda boring ;)
BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Hollywood actress Zhang Ziyi was accused of lip-synching during the annual Spring Festival evening gala broadcast live on Wednesday night.
Zhang, 29, an internationally recognized Chinese actress, lit up the stage with a pink outfit that drew envious gasps from ordinary girls.
She sang "Fairy Scattering Flowers," which was specially composed for her by leading musician Ji Zhongping. Zhang was alone on stage during the performance.
Comments at Sina.com, a major Chinese news portal, were not too kind. Posters said that her performance was just ordinary and she had no real singing skill; it was just her fame that got her audience attention. The complaints about the program started to appear almost as soon as the show signed off at about 1:00 a.m.
An article in the Modern Express, a newspaper based in Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu Province, said that lip-synching was common during the annual CCTV gala due to "hardware problems".
"Lip-synching at the gala is a tradition," it said, adding Zhang came in for public criticism because "she was an amateur singer who was not well-prepared and even forgot words". The article attributed her poor performance to "a lack of experience".
But Zhang thought she did well. "Fairy Scattering Flowers symbolizes happiness and auspiciousness. 2008 is especially important for Beijing and China and each of us. I wish spring would come earlier so that the snow in disaster areas would melt soon," she told reporters.
Zhang made her name with the martial arts blockbuster "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and with "Memoirs of a Geisha", among others. She was once director Zhang Yimou's favored actress. They collaborated on "The Road Home", "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers".
Every year, CCTV holds a special on Lunar New Year's Eve, featuring dances, songs and short comedies. This year, the gala had another theme: unity and the courage of the people to cope with the snow disaster.
A survey on Sina.com showed that among the performances at this year's gala, "Blue and White Porcelain" by Taiwan singer Jay Chou ranked top among the viewers, with the second and third places taken by girl pop group S.H.E. and Fei Yu-ching, both from Taiwan.
How do you like my new RATatouille template? I quite like it :) I edited the original Disney image to look like the Shanghai skyline myself so please don't steal the image without my permission ;)
I've briefly mentioned the Chinese New Year "Gong xi" song twice here and here but I decided to search for more information about this song.
I found it mentioned on this blog http://mumsgather.blogspot.com/2008/01/gong-xi-gong-xi-gong-xi-ni-pinyin-song.html
They are teaching the classic Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni Chinese New Year song at my daughter's kindy. However, during those times when they were singing it, I noticed that my girl was not singing along. (Because she doesn't understand Mandarin and she is new at the school, the others had learned it before).
So what does a Mandarin Character Illiterate Computer Geek Mom do to help her daughter? Well, she searches the internet of course. Lol! And this is what I found. A YouTube Video of the Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni song. Its like singing karaoke with cute little animations. Chinese Character Song Lyrics as well as an English translation of the lyrics is included. You can go here for the Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni Pinyin Song Lyrics.
The kids love it. They listen to it over and over and over again and laugh at the animations. Well, you don't have to be a Chinese Character illiterate like me to enjoy this Chinese New Year classic song with your kids. Just press play and enjoy! Warning: It may sound a little irritating after playing it over and over and over again about 10 times or more. Lol!
Now that it is almost 1am the fireworks are slowly dying down (I hope? 'cause I want to get to sleep! ;) )
They've been going since around 7pm so that's 6 hours of non-stop fireworks and fire crackers!! They are so cheap to buy and anyone can buy them and set them off.
If you didn't know already (thanks to Wikipedia):
* The earliest unequivocal documentation of fireworks dates back to 12th century China, where they were first used to frighten away evil spirits with their loud sound ("bian pao") and also to pray for happiness and prosperity.
* The largest manufacturer and exporter of fireworks in the world is China
* Firecrackers, along with fireworks are now thought to have originated in China.
* Firecrackers are especially used in the celebration of Chinese New Year by Chinese communities around the world.
* Early (pre-1920s) Chinese firecrackers (AKA Mandarin firecrackers) were typically 1/2-inch to 2-inches long, and approximately 1/4-inch in diameter, and were charged with black powder. Mandarin crackers produced a less loud, duller thud when they exploded, compared to modern flash light crackers (which utilize a different explosive composition known as flash powder).
I can't believe how long I wished to live in a place (in Sydney) with a harbour view so that I could watch the fireworks from my balcony and I know I'm not in Sydney but I did that tonight! I watched the fireworks from my balcony. Actually, this was not the first time.. There have been a few occasions already since we moved here that we saw fireworks - off the top of my head - the mid-August autumn moon festival, Special Olympics, Christmas and New Year. I got a bit of video footage and took some photos but couldn't stay out long. I was a wee bit excited and realised I should have put on some shoes, a scarf and gloves and probably a thicker coat.. so while I was taking photos in -1 degree weather I was hoping I wouldn't get hypothermia.. LOL... It was incredibly hard to take photos because it is really really foggy and my camera can't seem to focus quick enough in this cold weather, plus my frozen hand couldn't hold the camera well either but oh well... I think I got some nice shots such as the ones below:
Tonight I had dinner with some of my extended family/relatives and it was a big feast cooked by our ayi. I also got a 'hong bao' (red packet) with money inside. I got a couple in Taiwan too while I was there, I feel very lucky! :D
So... Happy New Year of the Rat to everyone! I hope this year brings you much luck and prosperity :) If you want to read the story of the rat you can find it in one of my older entries here.
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone... it has been quiet here. Most people have gone 'home' and there are fewer people around and fewer cars out on the road. I heard a few firecrackers going off last night but nothing so far today. It seems very weird it's so quiet ... It must be getting warmer because some of the snow that I saw yesterday on rooftops and sidewalks (am I turning American? footpaths for the rest of you) have melted. There is still some snow though. The weather report says "2 degrees but feels like -2." Having been to Taiwan, Hong Kong and now back to Shanghai, I've seen lots of red/gold/rat decorations around which is pretty cool. Even my flight back on China Eastern (from Hong Kong) was decked out in festive decorations! There were red paper pom pom things on the walls, and paper cut stickers, and mouse/rat cartoon cardboard cut outs stuck all over the plane.
Was reading some blog and they mentioned that annoying Chinese New Year song too! haha
http://shuflies.blogspot.com/
Ron and I were walking down Shida Road today when we heard the most annoying pop song ever. The lyrics were basically "gōng xǐ, gōng xǐ, gōng xǐ, gōng xǐ nǐ [you]!" over and over and over again.
What did I do? Random stuff in no particular order...
* With Chinese New Year coming up (tomorrow actually) I got some red packets. Woohoo! I felt bad about taking them but I couldn't not take them so...
* I went to Guanghua market on Bade Lu and near the Technology University and Nova across the road from Taipei Main station to get me a graphics tablet. My dad took me and we traipsed around in the rain to compare prices. Unlike China they have set prices (price tags) and you can't really bargain much at all which makes it easier to compare prices. I didn't know which size I wanted/needed nor which type. In the end I went for a cheaper, smaller one as I figure I'm not gonna be drawing masterpieces or anything so I didn't really need the high end Intuous model (which cost double the price!). I got the Bamboo Fun model (from Wacom) which has a 'Fun' name (LOL) and from reviews I read online it seems to be pretty good. Yes, this research-aholic actually bought something without researching it beforehand! It cost 3420 NT, which we 'bargained' down from 3490 (other stores were selling it for 3600 and 3700). (and no, it would not be cheaper in China and comparing prices is a nightmare here). I was actually after the Hello Kitty model but they didn't sell it. The Graphire line is being phased out and replaced with the Bamboo/Bamboo Fun line.
* I went to the new Hello Kitty Cafe only to be told there was a minimum 1.5 hour wait (it was that popular) and that next time I should pre-book beforehand!
90 Da'An Road
(very close to Sogo Zhongxiao Fuxing / Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station).
* Got my Swatch (Menthol Tone - HKD$480) only to realise it was cheaper in Taiwan (2050 NT). ARGH!
* Met up with a friend in Hong Kong (at Times Square, Causeway Bay) for one hour. She is from Taiwan originally, met her in Sydney and now living in Hong Kong.
* Nearly missed my flight in HK after telling myself I wouldn't let that happen again. Of course my plane had to be literally right at the very end of the long terminal in the very huge airport (again!) I don't know how this happened. I checked the board and it didn't say anything. It did not say "Boarding". A few minutes later I looked at it again and it said "Final Call". WTF? Needless to say I ran like crazy but I was surprisingly not even the last person to go on board. You don't want to know what it is like to travel with Mainland Chinese people (roll eyes). They think catching a plane is like catching a bus or a train!
* Can't get the Chinese New Year song out of my head. I am sure there is only one song? They play the same song in stores in China and in Taiwan. There is an English version too. OMG. It is so annoying yet so funny, I can't get that crazy song and wacky lyrics out of my head. "Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni..."
* I went to Core Pacific Living Mall - A 19 storeys and open 24 hours a day mall in Taipei
* I left my video camera at my grandparent's place! :(
* When I came home last night I thought "Wow, our place looks so big and so clean and tidy!" (the joys of having an ayi who cleaned our place and washed and dried and put back on all our bedding and stuff was pretty nice, as was having a chauffeur-driven taxi take me home from the airport at around midnight!)
* I'm feeling quite sad and missing my family :(
* I'm feeling quite hungry and cold so must go out now to buy food and another heater!!
OK I'm a bit early (a month early) with this post but thought I'd put it up anyway.
It is coming up to Chinese New Year (January 1 in the Chinese Farmer's calendar or February 6 in our Gregorian calendar) soon and i have noticed that although Christmas decorations are still up there have been an increasing number of CNY stuff going up on display. Carrefour for example. Everything is red, gold/yellow and rat.
It is still currently the year of the Golden Pig (which comes only once every 60 years). My father is a Golden Pig :)
Coming up is the year of the Earth Rat.
THE EARTH RAT 2008
The Earth adds solidity to the Rat's personality. An Earth Rat is conventional and a good achiever who likes to establish roots early in order to make a secure future for himself and his family. These Rats have the typical Rat ingenuity and mental capacity, but a strong sense of reality often alludes them preventing them from going after anything that could be impromptu. Earth Rats are honorable and love to be stabilized. Slowly and steadily acquiring wealth gives them a sense of inner peace. Although they are capable of being stingy with their finances, they do possess warm feelings for their family and friends.
There are several legends about how the animals were chosen for the Chinese zodiac. This is one of them. The Jade Emperor is the name of the Emperor of Heaven.
Long ago, in China, the Jade Emperor decided there should be a way of measuring time. On his birthday he told the animals that there was to be a swimming race. The first twelve animals across the fast flowing river would be the winners and they would each have a year of the zodiac named after them.
All the animals lined up along the river bank. The rat and the cat, who were good friends, were worried because they were poor swimmers. Being clever they asked the strong ox if he would carry them across the river.
'Of course' said the kind ox. 'Just climb on my back and I will take you across.'
The rat and the cat quickly jumped up and were very excited when the ox soon took the lead in the race. They had almost reached the other bank when the rat pushed the cat into the river leaving him to struggle in the water. Then just before the ox was about to win the race the rat leapt on his head and on to the bank to finish first.
'Well done,' said the Jade Emperor to the proud rat. 'The first year of the zodiac will be named after you.'
The poor ox had been tricked into second place and the second year of the zodiac was named after him.
Shortly after the exhausted tiger clawed his way to the river bank to claim third place. Swimming across the river had been an enormous struggle for him against the strong currents. The Emperor was so delighted with his efforts that he named the third year after him.
Next to arrive was the rabbit, who hadn't swum across at all. He hopped across on some stepping stones and then found a floating log which carried him to the shore.
'I shall be very happy to call the fourth year after you,' the surprised Jade Emperor explained.
Just then a kind dragon swooped down to take fifth place.
'Why didn’t you win the race, as you can fly as well as swim?' the Jade Emperor asked.
'I was held up because some people and animals needed water to drink. I needed to make some rain,' the dragon explained. 'Then when I was nearly here I saw a poor little rabbit on a log in the water and I blew a puff of wind so that the log would float to the river bank.'
'Well that was very kind of you and now you are here you will have the fifth year of the zodiac named after you.'
The next thing the Jade Emperor heard was the sound of the horse’s hooves. Just as he was thinking the horse would be the next animal to arrive, a sneaky snake wriggled out from around one of the horse’s hooves. The horse was so surprised that he jumped backwards giving the snake a chance to take the sixth place in the race. The poor horse had to be satisfied with seventh place.
Not long afterwards a raft arrived carrying the goat, the monkey and the rooster. They explained to the Emperor how they had shared the raft that the rooster had found. The goat and monkey had cleared weeds and pushed the raft to the shore. The Emperor was very pleased that the animals had worked together. He said the goat would be the eighth zodiac animal, the monkey the ninth and the rooster the tenth.
The next animal to finish was the dog.
'Why are you so late when you are one of the best swimmers?' asked the Jade Emperor.
'The water in the river was so clean that I had to have a bath on the way,' explained the dog.
His reward was to have the eleventh year named after him.
Now there was one place left in the zodiac and the Emperor wondered when the last winner would come. He had nearly given up when he heard a grunt from the boar.
'You took a long time to cross the river,' said the Emperor to the boar.
'I was hungry and stopped to eat,' explained the boar. 'After the meal I felt so tired that I fell asleep.'
'You have still done well,' said the Jade Emperor. 'The last year of the zodiac will be named after you.'
As for the cat who had been pushed into the water by the rat, he finally crawled out of the water but was too late to have a year named after him. He felt very cross with the rat and since then cats have never been friends with rats.
From that day to this the Chinese Zodiac has followed this cycle of years named after these twelve animals.
