In case some of you may not know, Chinese New Year is this coming Monday the 26th. We have been doing a little research into this rich tradition from Malea's birth country and it has been very interesting! For starters, the Chinese zodiac calender is based on 12 animals that are tied in to a 12 year cycle. This year is the year of the ox. Many Chinese people believe that if you were born in a particular animal's year, you will share that animal's personality traits. So, that got me wondering, what are the traits of an ox? hmmm...
I am going to try and make some Chinese food for a celebratory dinner (that may be a scary thought) and I am hoping that since I grew up in an Asian country, maybe in my subconscious brain I will remember how to do good stir fry. I am not attempting to make fortune cookies, they are a dollar for a whole bag at the local Chinese restaurant. On that fortune cookie thought, our new family tradition (thanks to Marc) is to have everyone read their fortune out loud and when you are finished reading it, add the phrase "on the toilet" to the end. It makes for quite and entertaining end to dinner and the kids LOVE the "potty humor". I apologize to anyone I might have offended who takes fortune cookies seriously!
Anyways, a few other things we will be eating are small oranges as they represent good luck and the long noodles in the chow mein are for long life. It is customary to give gifts in red envelopes so I think each of the girls will get a dollar in a red envelope, once again this represents luck in the Chinese culture.
I need to go to the store to get some paper to make Chinese lanterns so that is on the to do list for tomorrow.... It is cool to have another culture to learn about and it makes our lives all the richer!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I think it's so wonderful that you are all learning about a new culture, and that you are honoring Malea in that way.
I hope you'll post photos of the event!
okay....on the toilet...that is hillarious :) We say at the Roberts' house "in the bathroom" We just ate and Koko's Teriyaki and entertained ourselves with the children reading "in the bathroom"...thankfully there were no other patrons within ear shot or we might have cleared the restaurant!!
Post a Comment