We got back safe and sound to Hong Kong from our 2 week holiday in the States (yes, I'm starting to sound like a Brit, a side effect of living in HK). We had a great time terrorizing other drivers on the road, marveling at the entire aisles of detergent and toothpaste in Target, and buying clothes off the rack that fit. All too soon, it was time for us to pack our 4 enormous suitcases with our new purchases and enough American toiletries to last at least 6 months and head back home. (For those of you who were worried, thanks to my creative packing, we did not get detained at customs for bringing 7 handbags, 12 wallets, 15 polo shirts and 2 Juicy Couture sweat suits of the pirated variety into the country.)
It's now almost Chinese New Year (CNY) which celebrates the lunar new year (February 7th this year) and we're getting ready for our next adventure. Here in the city, CNY decorations have been up since the calendar New Year. Bright red lanterns, miniature orange trees, koi fish paintings and gold Yuanbao ingots (the gold sailor hat looking thing below) decorate every apartment, store, walkway, mall, office, you name it.
2008 is the Year of the Rat, so on top of all the other traditional decorations, there are cartoon rats everywhere. At the bakery, they even have little jello molds of rats complete with little rat ears and tails. If it wasn't so unappetizing, they would actually look pretty cute.
The decorations represent good luck and prosperity in the new year, particularly good fortune (as in money). The colors red and gold also represent good luck. I'll admit, it's a little strange to have just celebrated the calendar New Year with my family in Miami, then come back to Hong Kong and everyone is still saying "Happy New Year!" Even in the mall, you can hear Christmas songs from the speakers that include New Year's greetings ("We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!").
There are also miniature trees, like cherry blossoms, with small red packets hanging off the limbs. The red packets are little red envelopes in which you are supposed to put coins and give to other people. The typical amount is $10 Honkeys and are given to children and single people, so Marc and I can't actually give them out, we'll only receive them from married people. I'm not really sure if the good luck envelope is for good luck getting married or what, but hey, it's tradition and I'm not going to look a gift rat, er, horse, in the mouth.
CNY is a big family holiday and it's even bigger than Christmas in the U.S. because EVERYONE celebrates it. There is a big family dinner on New Year's Eve and the holiday lasts for 3 full days in Hong Kong. In China, workers get the whole week off to go home and visit their families. As you may have heard, this year is very unusual because China has had the worst snow in 25 years and all the train tracks are blocked, causing huge backlogs at the train stations. Thousands of people are stranded in train stations all across the country and the situation isn't getting any better as the holiday gets near. For many Chinese, CNY is the only time of the year when they get to go home and visit with their families so if they can't get home, they will have to wait until next year to see their family. If you haven't read about this, check out this article.
That first picture shows a train station in Guangzhou which, as you may remember from my blog about Guangzhou in August, is described in the guidebook as a "seething mass of humanity." Trust me, it doesn't look *that* much different on a normal day without snow delays and cancellations.
Other good luck/bad luck customs observed during CNY include the following list from Wikipedia:
Good Luck
- Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
- Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
- Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
- It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (However, as explained below, cleaning the house after New Year's Day is frowned upon.)
- Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Asians will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
- Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
- The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.
Bad Luck
- Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin.
- Buying a pair of pants is considered bad luck. The word "pants"(kù) is a homophone for the word for "bitter"(kŭ) in Cantonese. (Although some perceive it to be positive, as the word 'pants'(fu) in Cantonese is also a homophone for the word for "wealth.")
- Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
- Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
- Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
- It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (However, as explained below, cleaning the house after New Year's Day is frowned upon.)
- Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Asians will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
- Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
- The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.
Bad Luck
- Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin.
- Buying a pair of pants is considered bad luck. The word "pants"(kù) is a homophone for the word for "bitter"(kŭ) in Cantonese. (Although some perceive it to be positive, as the word 'pants'(fu) in Cantonese is also a homophone for the word for "wealth.")
- Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition).
- Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
- Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious as well.
- Buying books is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose".
- Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional funeral color.
- Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
- Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious as well.
- Buying books is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose".
- Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional funeral color.
If you want to read more about this interesting holiday, I found this Wikipedia article fascinating.
As you may imagine, there are plenty of dragon parades and festivities during the week which we are going to miss since we are going to Palau tomorrow. However, the downside to staying here is that the city closes down for the whole week and most people leave on holiday or to visit family. So, even though we will miss the festivities, we wanted to make good use of the 2 days Marc has off from work. I'll post about Palau next week, so stay tuned and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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