Keung Hei Fat Choi

Keung Hei Fat Choi- Happy New Year!

I have now officially celebrated my first Chinese Holiday, the Chinese New Year. This holiday is the most important of the traditional Chinese Holidays and is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year". Not only did I get to celebrate the occasion, but I also have the entire week off of school (a definite bonus). The celebrations last a lot longer than Western celebrations. Traditionally the holiday is a full 15 days long starting with New Years Day (this past Sunday 2/10) and ending 15 days later with the lantern festival. Modern adaptations of the holiday don't allow for everything to be closed for 15 days but a lot has been shut down for the past couple of days. A trip into central on Sunday showed the eerily empty streets. 

Empty Streets in Central

This year, 2013, celebrates the year of the snake! My celebrations kick-started last Monday when I attended the College of Business' CNY party. Here I saw my first lion dance performance, learned to write characters with a real brush and ink, and tried the traditional big pot meal. The big pot meal was definitely traditionally Chinese. What it comes down to is a bubbling pot of meat parts. While I did try everything in the pot (including the large and small intestines) it wasn't all that appetizing and a trip to McDonalds was necessary. To be honest, i'm not sure how much better quality the McDonalds meat was but it definitely tasted better! At the party I was also given my first red-envelope and traditional Chinese jacket.

Lion Dance

Flowers, candy, and money gifts are all given over the holiday period. Flowers, in addition to being gifts, also decorate locals' homes. Leading up to the New Year there are hundreds of markets and fairs that sell the flowers. Thursday I visited the largest Lunar New Year fair in Victoria Garden. Not only did experience one of the largest Asian crowds I've ever been in, but I also saw some of the most amazing flowers. Hong Kong Phooey (a doll-sized replica) arrived Wednesday night and got to tag-along to the festivities!

Trinkets Sold at the Fair

People, People Everywhere

Friday night a large group of us headed to Prince Edward to taste-test the "cheapest Michelin Star restaurant in the world"- One Dim Sum. After a two hour wait we finally got a seat in the little shop and ate more dishes then you ever probably should. I think we had a total of about 30 different things for thirteen of us. One of the delicacies I got to enjoy was "gingered chicken paws" (aka chicken feet). It actually had very little taste and was basically all grizzle and bone. Haley was a little off-put by the claw she bit into. 

Sunday rolled around and the official start to the CNY began. In the evening the IU girls all put on our Chinese New Year Jackets and headed to the Cathay Pacific New Years Day Night Parade. I scoped out a great spot on Canton Road and we watched the majority of the performances. In all honesty, the parade was similar to every other one minus the Asian influence of lion dances and over the top neon lights/glitter. 

Asian in a Kilt

Asian Mickey

Finally the celebrations went out with a bang when we watched the fireworks display over the Harbour from TST. The show was pretty amazing and my new favorite skyline definitely added to the magic. The only cliche was the grand finale which ended to the American artist Katy Perry's "Firework". Actually humorous if you ask me and the royalties she made off of the show must have been huge! 

All in all I've loved celebrating the New Year here and the break from school has been a great opportunity to immerse myself more into Asian culture.