January 25, 2012
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Lunar New Year
After taking some time off during Christmas, I returned to the fast pace world of being a corporate slave. The past 2 weeks were a blur filled with long hours and precious few free time. But I managed to survive. For the Lunar New Year, J and I did our usual Lunar New Year visit to the temples. We both had our family dinner on Sunday night. The only difference is that he cooked for his family while my family ate out. I drove over to J's place after my family dinner. After he finished cleaning up, J coaxed me into giving him a foot massage because he was standing all day in the kitchen. I did that while watching the Giants and 49ers battle it out for a berth to the Super Bowl. (If any of you want a foot massage, the line up forms behind J.)
The scene at the 2 temples haven't changed a lot in previous years. It seemed less crowded though. As usual, we went to one temple on Sunday night and another temple the next day. J reminded me not to shower on Sunday night or Monday morning (it washes away the good fortune). We had a vegetarian lunch on Monday that he made and headed off to the temple. If it wasn't for J, I doubt if I would follow a lot of these rituals (including cutting my hair before the New Year). It was also interesting reading this article in the Toronto Star about how others celebrate the Lunar New Year. (click here: http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/chinesenewyear)
One of the lion dancers.
A somewhat quiet dragon (no drums and cymbals) worked his way around the hall.
We purchased these floating candles for the small pond by the wishing tree.
One of the volunteers raising our wishes (good health) to the tree.
The 2 lion dancers paying respects by the wishing tree accompanied by bodyguards.
I thought this was kinda cute. This was at another temple the next day.
Comments (36)
Looks like your Chinese New Year/Year of the Dragon was very festive. I've never seen the floating candles for this event before but judging from the picture you posted, it looks lovely. Hope you ate some great new food too when you were out with your family
Gong Xi Fa Cai.
A foot massage!? :-O Oh my, this can lead to all other kind of massages.
looks like a good time
Happy Dragon Year, Matt! Nice photos and quite colourful indeed, especially the first two.
You are such a good "husband" listening to J's advice of not showering. And I'll gladly take a que for your foot massage!
I envy that your "husband" lets you in on what you should and shouldn't do during CNY
I forgot about the no showering rule, but I did the other stuff for CNY: cleaned the house, splashed my face with flower water, received a Red Pocket and and had a large dinner with the fam. Zhu ni xin nian kuai le!
Happy Chinese New Year! It's funny cos there are a lot of Filipino-Chinese here in the Philippines it has been declared a national holiday.
Well Filipinos have celebrated this ever since. I mean we just kike to party even if we ain't Chinese. hehe
Do you do back massages too? I'll line up for that!
Happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon - I did all I could to follow the rituals. It is the Year of the Dragon and I am a Dragon - hear me roar meow, meow, meow.
happy new year to you! did you have those "tikoys"? i dunno what the english term for that but it's round, sticky and you get to fry it with egg. my mom was given one and guess what's in for breakfast.
i was asked what's the round thing that the dragons chase. looks like a giant lollipop. hehehe. i made a wild guess and said, that's probably a star or a lantern that guides the dragons.
Happy New Year to you and J. I am so glad that you both do the rounds of the temples and follow the traditions so well.
Neat pictures Matt.
Beautiful pics, Matt. Happy New Year to both you and J. It looks like you both had a wonderful time. I know how it feels to have to go back to work though. One does wish good times like these won't ever end.
@Devilzgaysianboi - it was sort of a laid back evening for both of us. We both had a long day and it was quite late in the evening when we headed to the temple. It's the first time I've seen these floating candles as well.
@beowulf222 - yes, I try to be very disciplined with my massages. Massages have a way of uhm... going off in a different direction. Happy New Year to you too Nick.
@buddy71 - yeah, it was a nice way to reconnect culturally too.
@CurryPuffy - I hope you and W found some quiet time together to celebrate the New Year. I'll have to give W some tips for foot massages - hahaha.
@stepaside_loser - hey, you did alright with the rituals. You cleaned the house! (I should get you over to clean my place.) I didn't know about the flower water ritual. I think every region has their own little rituals. When I was growing up, I think my parents tried to be more westernized. J is more traditional than I am. I'm glad you had a big dinner with your family. I hope you start to write again. I miss reading your entries.
@oxyGENE_08 - it's a national holiday? I guess with so many Filipino Chinese a lot of business would be affected.
@tomatoboi - I do back massages too although I have no formal training (just read a bit here and there). J falls asleep sometimes when I do his back and legs. It's either very comforting or very boring.
@Fatcat723 - your feline dragon roar sounds very cute!
@Renatojr3 - I didn't have those sticky rice cakes but J's family has them. I didn't really know what that round thing is until you asked. I looked it up and it's the "Pearl of Wisdom". The dragon chasing this pearl represents the dragon seeking insight and knowledge. Thank you for the rec and it's good to hear from you again.
@ZSA_MD - it's probably one of the few times I get to reconnect with my culture so I have to thank J for that. Thank you Zakiah for the rec.
@zionlover - Happy New Year to you as well and thank you for the rec. That first Monday back really felt like a very long Monday.
Happy New Year, Matt!
@ElusiveWords - Yeah. It was a national holiday. Not that many businesses were affected, I guess only those in Chinatown. MNC's here are from the US (contact centers - they didn't have that day as holiday). hehe
That's a long time not to shower, Matt. At least it would be for folks here in Thailand!
@Dezinerdreams - thank you, Happy New Year to you too.
@christao408 - I showered on Sunday afternoon and didn't shower again until late Monday afternoon, so it wasn't too bad. I'm not sure I could gone so long without showering in Thailand.
happy new year! i haven't really celebrated the new year, sadly. i've forgone pretty much all the traditions, and didn't even have a chinese dinner to celebrate. i am sort of having a belated celebration of sorts, though, and having a few people over for shabu shabu (hot pot). it'll be a nice, quiet get-together.
@kunhuo42 - Happy New Year! Ai ya Aaron, you've forgotten the traditional stuff? tsk tsk... (good thing I have J to remind me what to do). Enjoy your hotpot dinner and pls take some pictures.
Gong Hei Fat Choi Mattie! Which temple did you go to? Chan Shan?
@brooklyn2028 - Happy New Year Sheldon! We went to Chan San and also Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple (where the lion dancers are).
@ElusiveWords - thanks for your nice words, matt
and it's interesting that your parents acted western, my parents didn't.
Matt,, what about YOUR foot massage... ?
wishing you the very best my friend..always
*~matthew~*
@bleuzeus - I think I give better massages and I know where it hurts on his foot. So it's easier for me to do this than it is for him to do it to me.
i didn't spend a single minute at the temple to welcome the new year. i can't remember the last time i actually spent time at the temple with my family. how did i welcome the new year? by eating
oh, happy chinese new year, by the way.
@rudyhou - eating is a great way to ring in the new year, it's the easiest tradition for someone like me to follow.
what the heck is a quiet dragon?!
@yang1815 - it didn't have the gongs and drums.
I need my foot massage.
@stevew918 - make sure you wash your feet first. (odd - I just got a notification that you just subscribed to me.)
I was using my ipad and accidentally hit the wrong button and unsubscribed. I panicked as I would have withdrawal symthom missing your blog. So I subscribe again immediately. Hey, do you plan to go watch Jeremy Lin on Tuesday as I heard he is coming to play ball in Toronto?
@stevew918 - withdrawal symptons - lol... but thank you.
Ok - you had me scratching my head as you're one of my long time subscribers. I'm not sure about getting tickets, I have to see how my work schedule is this week. I think the tickets are selling very well. If the game is on TV, I'll be watching for sure.
@ElusiveWords - what the heck kind of broken dragon is that?!
@ElusiveWords - did u watch the game tonight? I was listening to the Toronto radio station, and afterwards watched the last shot on youtube. That was an exciting and teech crenching ending . I think i get Linsanity.
@stevew918 - yes, I watched the game. I was cheering for both the Raptors and Jeremy. But I really wanted my poor Raptors to win. Although on the other hand I was glad Jeremy had the winning basket.
@ElusiveWords - that 0.5 second last shot was awesome. Both are very good teams, and Knicks were way behind most of the game. any way, the schedule says that NY and Toronto will play again. I plan to watch, u? You actually very lucky if they play in Toronto. is J into watching Jeremy basketball games? Any chance you two go watch in person?
@ElusiveWords - to be honest, i had a hard time when i watched the Knicks and Lakers game. Did not know which team to cheer, lol,