Gearing Up for the Holiday!

Next week is the beginning of a very important holiday in China, The Chinese New Year.  So I thought I would give a little background and our experiences thus far leading up to next week.  In China this is also known as the “Spring Festival”.  The festival begins on the first day of the month in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day.  On Chinese New Year's Eve (January 22^nd) Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner.  If you want to learn more there is plenty of content on-line.  Rather than a history lesson I thought I would mention what we have personally witnessed thus far.  There are many decorations where we live and also all over the city. Windows and doors everywhere you go are decorated with red color lanterns that signify good fortune, happiness and longevity.  The decorations really make the city and shopping areas look very nice, I have attached a picture from a local shopping mall (similar to Somerset in Michigan but higher end retail) decorated with the red lanterns.  

Another tradition we are participating in (and it applicable to our situation here in China) is the “red envelopes”.  These envelopes are filled with a denomination of money and are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations to show appreciation to certain individuals.  We will be providing these to people who have helped us during our first month in China.  For example we will provide red envelopes to our housekeeper and to key staff members where we live. Per custom, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals, also should avoid 400 and 250 RMB as these are unlucky numbers (strangely enough odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. Thirty and fifty, for example, are odd numbers.  Many things to keep straight!).  

The one tradition which we have been forewarned about is the fireworks.  When I say fireworks I do not mean like the ones at Ore Lake or at traditional 4^th of July celebrations.  The Chinese are all about the BANG!  We saw evidence of this on New Year’s Eve however everyone has told us the noise is constant for the entire week.  The reason for the noise is that explosions were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits.  Next week I will post a short video off our balcony, the continuous noise is amazing and it is all over the city.  I should also mention that they use fireworks to celebrate marriage, promotion, good fortune, etc throughout the year.


They have decorated our lobby with a Wishing Tree.  This is an expression of the Chinese traditional culture and belief that you could make wishes for your family, loved ones or even wishes for a better life.  The kids wrote down their wishes and they were tied to the wishing tree.  We gave the kids the freedom to write whatever they wanted.  Brady did not have too many ideas so we suggested “making good friends at school”.  Cooper however insisted on writing his wish for “more Lego’s and magic tricks”.

Off topic but interesting to share is a cultural trait that we have noticed with the Chinese.  This is a much smaller area set aside as “personal space”.  As seen with the similarities in driving, there is no order when waiting in line at a register or to be helped in some manner.  For example, instead of waiting in an orderly line, people crowd counters and you will often find Chinese nationals shoulder to shoulder with you or immediately behind peering over your shoulder.  All you can really do is laugh to yourself when in this situation.  Back home you would think it is rude for someone to step in front of you, here it is common.
  
Lastly we have learned that our air shipment which was to arrive this Friday, just prior to the week long holiday, is likely to be delayed.   They are questioning the “four DVD players” that the movers labeled, officials wondering why I need four DVD players.  In actuality it is two home DVD players and two portable players.  Having explained this to Senior Custom Officials they are now satisfied that I am not looking to start my own black market…  Yet, it now has to go back through the process again.  Ugh!  We are all looking forward to the shipment arrival for some more comforts from home…