Kaaaaa BOOM!

Tonight I was inspired by a good friend of ours, after reading her blog, to wrap up my Chinese New Year commentary with the Midnight festivities.  In my previous blog I spoke of the traditions associated with the Chinese New Year and also the significance of fireworks in the celebration.  Natalie and I stayed up until midnight and woke Cooper up to witness the fireworks from our balcony (Brady is not a big fan of loud noises so he opted to sleep).  What we saw was a spectacular light show over the horizon of the city.  There are however some key differences in comparison to firework shows back home.  First this is a completely unorganized event whereas 7 million people follow Chinese Tradition to bring health and prosperity to their family.  They do not light off the fireworks in an empty field in a controlled environment.  Rather they take a box packed with explosives (say a box 2 ft x 3ft) and light it off in the middle of the city street.  There is no joy in lighting one at a time to enjoy the splendor of color, it is far more effective to light the whole box to ensure the evil spirit has been chased far far away.  What makes this even more interesting is the fact that this is a large city with many tall buildings, the echoes from the explosions magnify the sound ten-fold.  Here is the video and also a picture of the skyline at midnight.

I am glad I was able to experience this first hand here in China.  Each day this week you hear fireworks going off as the traditions continue and we find it is not all that annoying.  Rather it is a good reminder that we are experiencing a century old traditional that I never cared to understand prior to living in China.  It sounds odd to say this but nonetheless it is true and the reality is that there is so much more to understand about others than we often put forward the effort.

Lastly, interestingly Cooper is becoming the ladies man here in China with Brady as his wingman.  Brady attracts the attention by saying "Ni Hao" with this huge smile.  The young ladies think this is the cutest thing ever because he is a "westerner" and that he is speaking Chinese (he is darn cute, but it is becoming tiresome!).  Then Cooper quickly takes the lead and smiles, winks, and makes a heart sign with his hands.  He loves the giggles that are returned and when I try to correct his behavior he says, "Dad they are laughing and enjoying it".  The young ladies in the lobby seem to have something for the boys each day, whether a big smile or a dragon balloon (received today).  Cooper is reciprocating with colored pictures he makes during the day... 

We are thinking of planning some sightseeing trips here in Nanjing once Spring arrives (March), perhaps a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland in March, and then Thailand in April.  We have booked our flights home for the summer so we are looking forward to seeing friends and family!  Daily life at home for Natalie is certainly challenging and work for me as well, so we are looking forward to the adventures ahead!