Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, January 23, 2012

Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.  In China, it is known as the “Spring Festival”.  The festival begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival which is on the 15^th day.  Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar.  

As with all cultures, Chinese New Year traditions incorporate elements that are symbolic of deeper meaning.  People will buy presents, decorations, material, food and clothing.  It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck.  Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper cut-outs and couplets with popular themes of “good fortune” or “happiness”, “wealth” and “longevity”.  Red is the predominant color used in New Year celebrations.  Red is the emblem of joy, and this color also symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity.

Red Chinese New Year Lanterns

The biggest event of any Chinese New Year’s Eve is the dinner feast with families.  The dinner traditionally includes chicken and fish.  Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune.  This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner that we have.  In northern China, it is customary to make dumplings after dinner to eat around midnight.  Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles that of Chinese tael.  By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a glutinous New Year cake and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days of the New Year.    Red packets with money for the immediate family are sometimes distributed during the dinner. After dinner, some families go to local temples hours before the New Year begins to pray for a prosperous New Year by lighting the first incense of the year; however in modern practice, many households hold parties and even hold a countdown to the New Year.  Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes.  The Chinese New Year is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone. 

Lucky Chinese Money Bags

This will be the Year of the Dragon.

Chinese New Year Dragon Decoration

January Referrals

January referrals came out today! They sent out referrals for families with LID's through August 15th! We are getting so excited! There is a chance we could hear in February, but more likely in March. After all this time it is just hard to believe that we are so close.

Over the next few months we have so much to do! We have to find a pediatrician, organize her room, make a list of items we need for her, a list items we need for travel and to put together all of Coco's information so she is taken care of while we are gone. Coco is going to have a very dear friend stay with her so she has all the comforts of her home around her. Hopefully she patiently waits for us to come home and is good for our friend.

Happy New Year!

Today starts a new year that we are eagerly looking forward to! Hopefully in a few short months we are going to become parents. Something we have waited so long to do. We are getting very excited and anxious at the same time. We keep talking about what we need to bring with us to China and all the things we have been waiting to do with our little one. We were saying how next Christmas we will be watching her unwrap all her presents from Santa. How we will drive around looking at Christmas lights with her and watch the wonder in her eyes when she sees them. We can't wait to go trick-or-treating with her on Halloween. But most of all we just can't wait to hold her in our arms; to show her how much we love her.