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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Celebrating Chinese new year 2017

Growing up I celebrated all Western holidays, with Chinese New Year never
even crossing my mind. In all honesty, I can’t even remember at what point I
learned of its existence; however, I will always remember my first year
celebrating it that was in the year 2014 when I started to get active with
heritage conservation activities.




Jan. 28 marks the official start to the Chinese New Year, bringing 
in 2017 as the Year of the Rooster.  This year, the Chinese New Year
will be celebrated from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2.

Why two weeks and why do the dates fluctuate? The Chinese calendar is
based on the ancient Chinese lunar calendar, so the dates depends with the
cycles of the moon.



Chinese New Year is truly a feast for your senses. From the bright
red and gold colours that spread across the Lucky Chinatown mall and
Ongpin, to the buzzing Lunar New Year items of seasonal goodies being
sold on the streets, Gandara, Ongpin , and Binondo is a wonderful place
to experience this holiday.





The Chinese New Year is marked with fireworks, good food, parades,
celebrations and seldom with gifts.



Food plays a large role in every Chinese new yr celebration.,  so of course 
Chinese New Year is no different. There are foods considered particularly lucky 
that are specifically eaten during this time of year.


One would say “gung hei fat choi” to wish someone a happy New Year  
in cantonese,  eating “fat choi” or black moss is a popular New 
Year dish. (hair moss or hair weed used as a vegetable in Chinese cuisine)
Another item consumed during New Year’s is “tang yuan” 
which phonetically sounds close to the word “reunion”. 


Each member of a family eats this sweet dumpling at the end of the  reunion 
dinner.

lucky" red envelopes filled with money called the ang pao are given.
the color red is considered so lucky that it's the primary color of clothing worn
during celebration and also the color used to decorate. this is the year of the
fire rooster. so if you are one
( born in   1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 or 2017)
you're likely trustworthy, responsible and good at time management.
Another significant aspect of the Chinese New Year in the Filipino culture is
the lion ad dragon dance. The Binondo district of Manila becomes a riot of fun
and color during this time with the parade of huge dancing lions and dragons.












this is your LOVERBOY Dennis signing out


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