Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, will be January 26th
this year. This is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Did you know that
2009 is actually 4706 by some traditional Chinese calendars? So whether you’re cele-
brating the beginning of 2009 or the beginning of 4706, here are some fun facts about
Chinese New Year:
• This is the Year of the Ox, also known as Yi Chou.
• Before the New Year, it is traditional to clean your house completely so
that none of last year’s dirt will be present in the new year.
• Many people give their doors and window frames a new coat of red paint
for “good luck” to welcome the new year.
• Homes are decorated with paper cut outs of Chinese symbols.
• Buying new clothing, shoes, and getting a fresh hair cut symbolizes a fresh start in the new year.
• People wear red clothes and give children “lucky money” in red lai-see envelopes.
• Families share a traditional feast with lettuce wraps, spring rolls, long noodles, duck, fish, pork, tea eggs,
nian gao or sticky rice cake, eight precious pudding, and other delicious foods.
• Fireworks, firecrackers, and a lion dance are traditional ways of celebrating on New Year’s Day.
We are doing the red envelopes this year for our nieces and nephews. We have cut outs of Chinese characters around the house and red Chinese character garland in the house also. Can't wait to actually celebrate this with Avery. Our traditional Christmas cards will turn into Chinese New year cards to add some influence of her heritage into our lives. We have all of our Chinese New Year ornaments and other red and gold ornaments, and Avery ornaments on a small tree in one of our livingrooms. We'll keep it up through the Chinese New Year.
A special thank you to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tom for the ladybug ornament for Avery, and a special thank you to Grandma Vi and Grandpa Lew for the gift for Avery. We just had our last Christmas last weekend with the Newton side.
We are keeping fingers crossed that our dossier will get into the review room really fast, but we probably have to wait another 3-4 months. I just want it to get into the review room. It's like you can see the light at the end of the tunnel but it just escapes our reach.
We are thankful to all family and friends that bought and sent Avery gifts for Christmas, we really appreciate it!!!
The little Asian girl I teach each week in my classes gives hope and a glimpse into the future of our lives, and I am so grateful for her to be one of my students. She is bright, and bubbly, and smart, and a great little dancer. I'm hoping that she and Avery, when Avery gets to be older, will be friends.
I'm opting to not go the adoption agency Chinese New Year celebration this year. On the one hand I want to go just in case there are other families from our group there (there weren't last year). On the other hand it's a really depressing and frustrating event for Gary and myself. Last year I was really overwhelmed when I walked into a room full of about 50+ gorgeous Asian children from 8 months old to about 12 years old. It caught me off guard that I got so overwhelmed and I just think I don't want to do that to myself this year. We'll go again when we've received our referral or we have Avery.
We've gotten all of Avery's things into her closet, and it's full!!! So nice to see a closet of things waiting for a little precious baby girl. Lots of pinks, and ladybugs of course, and dresses, and toys etc. It doesn't fill the need of wanting to be a Mom though. But since we're waiting, and waiting, and waiting, that's all we can do right now. So we'll start her room soon.
We also need to do something about her quilt, probably when the weather gets warmer though.
Just had some tid bits to share today!!!
Love to all~
~Alli
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