Happy Chinese New Year -The year of the pig

Today, Sunday, February 18th is officially Chinese New Year's Day. It's the closest I've seen the city of Hong Kong come to "closing down" for holiday. This is the biggest holiday of the year where offices are closed for a few days and everyone goes back home for giant family get-togethers. The city is still crowded though and everyone is celebrating.

Saturday night (New Year's Eve), Mark and I went out for drinks with friends and passed by Times Square on our way home at around 12:30. It was PACKED! Just wall to wall bodies. What's funny to me is all the people buying these riduculous blow-up plastic toys. (See picture in the subway of some people proud to be carrying their 4 foot Chuppa Lollipop blow-up toys and giant blow-up pigs.) 2007 is the year of the pig and pig shaped things are everywhere you go. Adults, children, elderly people, they all seem so happy to be carrying these odd things home from new year festivals.

At the top of the page is a picture of Bailey and Mark taking a walk today (that's right, she's walking!) and posing in front of our apartment building which is festively decorated with a lucky kumquat tree and lucky red envelopes.

New Year Traditions
Chinese New Year is rich with tradition and even more rich with superstitions. There is a long list of things you should or should not do in order to bring good luck. We've tried to abide by them all so hopefully we will have a lucky year of the pig! (Below are a few things you should do on New Year's Day)

Do's:

• Do open your windows at midnight on New Year's Eve to let the old year out and the new year in.
• Do wear red (it's especially lucky to wear red underwear)
• Do bring oranges and mandarins to friends when visiting
• Do have flowers in your house to bring long lasting love and happiness
• Do have kumquat tree at your door to welcome in fortune
• Do give friends and relatives "red envelopes" with money inside
• Do pay back debt or you'll be owing money all year
  

Do not:

• Do not wash your hair on New Year's Day or you will wash away your good luck.
• Do not use scissors or you will cut off your good fortune.
• Do not sweep, or you will sweep away good fortune
• Do not wear black.
• Do not lend or borrow money or you will be lending or borrowing all year.