NiXīnnián Kuàilè! Gōngxǐ fācái...

Happy Chinese New Year! This holiday here makes the 4th of July look very small! I think there is a major difference in celebrating 230 years versus 3000 years. So first let me give you a bit of background on Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar, so it is also called the Lunar New Year. And it is also referred to as the Spring Festival since it is the beginning of the Spring term, which is the first term of the 24 terms on the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar is represented by twelve animals. Each year is represented by one animal. This year is the year of the Rat. The 12 animals in order are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Oh, and if this is your lunar year (you were born in the Year of the Rat) then last night you

should have worn red underwear and today you wear red socks. Red symbolizes good luck. Last night (Feb 6) was the Day Before New Year. Traditionally it is usually a day reserved for family and socializing and big feasts. The firecrackers are to scare away all of the evil spirits. Today is the first official day of the Chinese New Year, Nian Chu Yi. According to tradition, most Chinese will spend this day with family. The literal translation of this day is something like "welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth". The 2nd day of CNY is typically spent visiting in-laws. The 3rd day is basically a stay at home day as it is considered unlucky to have visitors that day. The Chinese believe that on the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year it is not appropriate to visit family and friends, and call the day "chec hao", meaning "easy to get into arguments". On the 5th day, the god Cai Shen is welcomed as this is the day that businesses open back up and Cai Shen symbolizes prosperity. The seventh day traditionally is known as the common man's birthday, RenRi, the day when everyone grows one year older. The tradition calls for counting your age from this date. So, it is possible that you could be born in January and be two by the time February rolls through! The celebrations end on the important and colorful Lantern Festival, Yuan XiaoJie, on the evening of the 15th day of the month.

Yesterday, there were fireworks ALL day. Actually you can hear them several days before, but yesterday was unbelievable. We went to Deb & Tim Spofford's apartment at Shimao Riviera, which is down on the Hungpu river across from the Bund. What a great place to see the fireworks. None of the fireworks were "organized" like they are in the states. Basically people set them off outside on the sidewalk or just stop their car and light a box. And these are not little fireworks. These are huge boxes of great fireworks. Think of every neighbor you have letting of a 10 minute firework show right next to your house! And then multiply it by 100. In fact, you can not explain to anyone who has not been in China during this time what it really is like. Deb & Tim's son Tucker bought a few boxes and took them down to the street and set them off. Even though the boxes look big in the picture, the fireworks that came out were pretty small in comparison to the others around us. As Tom said, "It was like he felt when he took a shower with the Seniors in High School for the first time...". We had a good time last night watching the fireworks from above. Since we were on the 36th floor, some of the fireworks that were set off right below on the sidewalk actually cam up and exploded below us. What a great perspective. Also interesting to see all of the "strays" shooting off into the apartment complexes. We would be surprised to find out how many people are killed and injured during this holiday, but you don't really see anything about that side of it here! We didn't get in the taxi to come home until 1:20. Luckily there was little traffic and only a few fireworks to dodge! Natalie crashed 45 seconds after getting in the Taxi.

The pictures are from the party last night. I am using a new camera so I apologize that the night pictures are not great, but you can see how there are literally fireworks going off everywhere in the city. Amazing. I highly recommend experiencing this once in your lifetime!