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Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

恭喜發財
On Saturday we attended a special Chinese new year celebration for members of lour local FFC, Families With Children From China. It was a fun evening of good food, music, dancing, dragons and sweet kids of all sizes.
There were crafts and more crafts...
Grace and Miss K with a friend from their school.
Miss K won one of the giveaways!
The dragon makes his entrance!
Our Grace and Miss K joined the Dragon celebration...
Chinese New Year is a holiday that celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. It is considered to be one of the most important holidays for Chinese families. The holiday is celebrated with big family gatherings, gift giving, the eating of foods rich in symbolism
and display of festive decorations--all focused on bringing good luck for the new year and celebrating the coming of Spring. When Is Chinese New Year?The start of Chinese New Year changes every year since it is dictated by the lunar calendar. The Gregorian or solar calendar--which is based on the Earth's movement around the sun and has a fixed number of 365 days a year (366 during a leap year) is the most widely used calendar system in the world and has been the official calendar used in China since 1912. But in China the lunar calendar is still used to determine traditional holidays like Chinese New Year. Since the lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon-- which has a shorter cycle than the sun--Chinese New Year is never on the same day each year, but typically falls somewhere between January 21st and February 20th. For 2008, Chinese New Year falls on February 7th. In 2009 it falls on January 26th. How Long Do Chinese New Year Celebrations Last?According to Daria Ng, Assistant Curator of Education at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas in New York City, celebrations can actually last up to a month, especially in China. Originally the celebrations lasted for lengthy amounts of time because China was a very agriculture-based country so farmers took the whole month off to rest since crops couldn't be planted during the winter. Nowadays most families celebrate the New Year for about two week's time, says Ng, starting on the first day of the new year and end on the 15th.
2009 is the year of the Ox! Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddah asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in ox years tend to be painters, engineers, and architects. They are stable, fearless, obstinate, hard-working and friendly. 恭喜發財 Happy New Year!

24 comments:

Terri Steffes said...

Susie, so beautiful! Can there be anything lovelier than a child? Did I make up that word? It looks weird.

Thank you for sharing this. I didn't know these events existed. You have broadened my world!

Unknown said...

That looks like a lot of fun. I've been in years past to a Chinese New Year but missed out this year. Your pictures of the children are FANTASTIC...they are so beautiful!

SaraG said...

Great post and BEAUTIFUL photo's. Did you use your new camera to capture them??

SmilingSally said...

Most are of the children are girls; where are the little boys? Perhaps they don't dance?

Andi said...

Happy New Year! What a wonderful celebration and such beautiful children. I love all the bright colors and smiling faces. I would love to attend an event like this.

Grace as always looks lovely!

Carole Burant said...

Now I know where the term "China Doll" comes from...those children you took pictures of! My goodness, they're adorable. Sounds like it was a fun celebration and I love how Grace and her friend took part in a lot of it:-) The colours of the costumes are absolutely awesome! xoxo

Cottage Rose said...

Hello Susie; What a great post, I did not know about Chinese New Years very well, and now I do. What great and very beautiful girls, such pretty smiles, looks like they all had a great time.

hugs;
Alaura

Salmagundi said...

Those are among the most beautiful pictures of children I've seen. What a fun time you all must have had. So wonderful that you are keeping that culture alive for Grace. Sally

Sue said...

Hi Sue...what gorgeous children...every single one of them.....ofcourse Miss Grace is the most special!!

BittersweetPunkin said...

Susie...love all your photos. All the children look so beautiful...look at all those lovely outfits!!

Hugs,
Robin

Harbor Hon said...

Oh sweet Bunny Lady, what beautiful pictures! Love the pagentry of the celebration and especially the peacock skirts. Grace looks like she had a blast with her friends too.

I was born in the year of the Dragon. Thanks for sharing the New Year with us. xxoo

Neabear said...

I really enjoyed the pictures! Also I love your new header. Great picture there too.

Wendster said...

What fabulous photos!

I am a blog follower of Rabbit Run Cottage, world! And I don't care who knows it!!!

Thanks for the welcome back, hot stuff!

Wendster said...

By the way ... I LOVE the new layout! Really really eye catching and pretty.

Your blog gets better every year! Which I didn't think was possible cuz it was already SO dang good!

Pamela said...

beautiful children.

Thanks for the new year info, too.
I think you will be pleased that I was born in the year of the RABBIT

Unknown said...

Oh, what a glorious post. We lived in Hong Kong many years ago, and had Chinese New Year celebrations all the time. It looks like a wonderful party.
Karen

Valerie said...

what sweet faces - and it looks like you had a wonderful time!

Cheryl Wray said...

Oh my goodness... how ADORABLE are all of these kiddoes? The pictures are fabulous!!

Thanks for the info on Chinese New Year. Another wonderful reason to celebrate!!

(and btw...I just LOVE your new banner pic. That heart just makes me happy!)

Melanie said...

What great photos of the Chinese New Year celebration! So colorful! Hope you're having a great day!

Jill said...

Looks like you all had so much fun! The girls looked beautiful!

Gretchen said...

Your pictures are fabulous. What an event! How blessed Grace is to have a mom who celebrates her birth heritage. So cool. And how cool that you shared it with us. :)

Justabeachkat said...

Beautiful photos and what a wonderful celebration.

I think you know this already, but one of our sons and his wife are waiting (impatiently) for a child from China. They have three of their own, but want so badly to adopt. This post made me impatient too.

Hugs!
Kat

Meggie said...

Happy New Year to all at Rabbit Run Cottage!

Omah's Helping Hands said...

That is so cool! I love their outfits. It's great that their are programs like that for the kids to participate in their heritage. Such cute children. Grace is absolutely beautiful!!! Happy New Year to all of you.

Plus, I love what you have done to your blog, and your choice of tunes. :) I've missed being able to visit. I love my days off to take the time to catch up.