Chinese culture

Chinese New Year for this year is tomorrow, January 26th, 2009. For those who are not familiar, the Chinese New Year date changes every year because it is based on the lunar calendar. But is usually in January or February of the year. This year is the year of OX and is based on 12 different animals.

We took out our hand made Chinese lantern which we received a while ago and put it together today. It is an intricate piece of work and the paper is carved by hand. China is an expert at paper carving and some are really major art works with intricate details of landscape and scenery. There are other varieties where it is designed so you can put candles in it. But ours are not. Anyway, to share a few pics with you.

See the hand paper carving? In case you are wondering the Chinese character on the lantern means "luck or good fortune".

The Chinese people usually celebrate the Chinese new year for 2 weeks. If you travel to China during Chinese New Year, you will find most business on hiatus during this time. This is a time when families will gather together to eat (have a feast) and celebrate together. The children usually get "lucky money" in a red envelope with Chinese greeting and wear new clothes. There are usually fire works and people visit each other and wish each other a prosperous new year. This is also a time to remember ancestors and have lantern walk. In major cities in the US, china towns will usually have the dragon or lion dance and a parade.

If you are interested learning more about Chinese culture or its language or if you have adopted a baby from China, here is a website I would recommend. This is where I ordered Chinese text books and Chinese CDs and videos for my children.