Tomorrow marks the year of the rooster in the Chinese lunar calendar.
It was interesting to read that the period around chinese new year also marks the largest human movement on Earth as hundreds of thousands of people make their way home to celebrate with their families.
I'm staying in Melbourne this year, having only just gone back to Canberra for Christmas and (Western) new year.
There are a lot of weird traditions and superstitions surrounding the lunar new year. For example, one is not suppose to cut their hair for a month.
You should also refrain from doing any house work on new year's day to avoid sweeping away all your luck and good fortune.
Another tradition is to consume copious amounts of things with auspicious sounding chinese names that are totally lost in translation. I'm talking about things like pig trotters, dried cyanobacteria, dried oysters, sticky cakes and whole fish. Yum.
Every kid's favourite tradition is, of course, to receive red envelopes of money from adults. For a long time, chinese new year was my one and only source of pocket money for the year!
As time has gone by, it seems that Australia has really embraced the chinese new year festivities. For me, I've become increasingly 'meh' about the whole thing.
2 comments:
I hate to confess it is my year, so my age is now clear. I don't care for New Year's Day, Chinese New Year and least of all the drunken Australia Day. Some years ago I presented Chinese mainland born Jane at the well known Chinese restaurant at St Kilda Junction with two oranges, I think with my hands over the top to them. While she probably thought, stupid old white dude, she made appreciative noises. To wish happy whatever, including CNY has become rather passe. Never mind grumpy old me. Enjoy the day and expect a treat from some angle.
It's usually about the food for me though my mum was mortified that I only had sausage rolls (and nothing more fancy) for dinner on chinese new year's eve.
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