This holiday we made a trip to Kuwait to visit my family. Caught up with some great Arabic food, old friends and spend quality time with the family.
We were welcomed back with a Bang! We came in just in time to catch the wonderful fireworks.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated in full grandeur. Most people travel to their hometowns to spend time with their family and is the only time you'd find empty roads and not so crowded subway trains in Beijing.
People hang/paint the character "Fu" which means luck upside down which then reads as "dao" which means "arrived" so it literally translates to "Luck/Prosperity has arrived"
People also have dumplings as part of the main course on this day during the family reunion. Crescent-shaped Jiaozi(dumplings) are a symbol of wealth because of their resemblance to ancient Chinese money.
Another tradition is bursting fire crackers - traditionally they were set off to ward off evil and is usually done on the 5th day of the Chinese New Year.
The temple fairs are something that shouldn't be missed during this time. Last year we caught up with the festivities at Dongyue temple but missed this year's fairs. At the fair you can play some games, buy some traditional chinese gifts-
like hand - made paper cut cards, bags, toys etc. You can also watch the Lion and Dragon Dance performances while at the fair.
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On the 15th day of the new year the Chinese then celebrate the Lantern Festival which is what I usually enjoy the most. Streets are filled with colorful lanterns of different shapes and sizes. People also eat Tangyuan (my fav chinese dessert)
made of glutinous rice flour filled with red bean/sesame paste. I usually pick the frozen ones at the supermarket and boil them at home. This year the Lantern Festival falls on the 17th of Feb.
Hope you all have a "Fu" filled year. And remember, if it's your birth year - you might want to wear something red, like the Chinese, for good luck!
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