Happy Chinese New Year

"Gong Hey Fat Choy" - Happy Chinese New Year!
My parents came over for the weekend and celebrated Chinese new year with us. While Ben and I were at the temple, the kids made lanterns and learned about Chinese New Year.

 

We all got NEW shirts, because you get something "new" on new years. They also brought their own Chinese dishes and we had noodles, oranges and tea (the tea that's ok to drink ;)

 

 

 

 

Noodles represent "a long life", the oranges are in she shape of circles which represent "fullness" or a rich life , and the Chinese drink a lot of tea and have many traditional tea ceremonies - (you always drink with two hands) Ben and I had one when we got engaged.

 

 

These are the lanterns the kids made. They cut out the center and put tissue paper for the windows.

 

Later that night, we put flashlights in them and stuck them on poles. We walked around our house in the dark. The kids thought it was so cool!

 

 

One great tradition is the red envelopes. If you say Gong Hey Fat Choy, Lai See Dou Loy ("Red envelopes come my way"), then the elders give you a red envelope with money. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.

 

We finished off the night by eating out at a Chinese restaurant. One amazing thing we discovered was that our kids were really good while we went out to eat. Hmmm...we might have to do this more often if they're going to be this well behaved!

Thanks Poh Poh and Grandpa for a fun and educational weekend!