Plum Blossom

Hang up some lettuce and wait for the Lion – it’s Chinese New Year! Yesterday was the first day of Chinese New Year. Here in Hong Kong, that means lots of Lei See packets, red decorations incorporating carp, dragons and chinese symbols I can’t read (but probably mean good fortune and good luck), fireworks, a parade, and special performances in the malls, schools and hotels.
Chinese New Year, or the Lunar New Year, is a big family holiday here and in China. We have been told it is comparable to Thanksgiving, as families travel to be together and celebrate the potential of the upcoming year. 2012 marks a particularly good year, because it is the year of the Dragon. Those born in the year of the Dragon are particularly blessed, and are believed to be destined for success, power and prosperity. It’s a good time to move to Hong Kong!

In everyday terms, it means the kids have a week off school and Tommy has three full days off. Some local businesses are closed for the holidays, buy many stores serving westerners remain open. Many expats use this week to travel, but we are happy to stay put and enjoy the break. Our temporary apartment hotel/complex hosted a dragon/lion dance Monday morning, and we have enjoyed numerous live musical performances down in the mall. There is traditionally a huge night parade with lighted floats, but we elected to skip the crowds and watch a replay of the Pats/Raven playoff game. We did visit the flower market in Victoria Park, one of the famous CNY attractions here in Hong Kong, but we all felt overwhelmed by the incredible crush of people.  We did enjoy the displays of flowers (briefly), and the oddity of kids “fishing” for goldfish with plastic cups in a kiddie pool as a type of carnival game.   It reminded me a bit of a state fair, but with more directions (which everyone seemed to be ignoring) about how and where you were supposed to walk. We lasted about 10 minutes, then lost each other in the crowds while exiting.  A bunch of texts later, we found each other and a cab. We were relieved to finally get back to our hotel.

Tuesday, the second day of the holiday, will bring a huge fireworks display over Victoria Harbor.  Fireworks and firecrackers play prominently in CNY celebrations and decorations, as traditionally they scare away the evil spirits so the new year will have a positive, auspicious beginning. Other symbols that are new to us include the carp, said to bring good fortune, lettuce hung over a door to bring a lion (which eats the lettuce and scares away evil) and mini mandarin orange trees, which symbolize good fortune.  The boys have enjoyed handing out Lei See packets, which are red envelopes with a small amount of money in them  – usually two bills of some sort, to indicate double happiness and good luck.  Many of the decorations here include the mini-mandarin trees and plum tree branches decorated with red and gold.