Showing posts with label chinese new year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chinese new year. Show all posts

Sunday, February 07, 2016

Hey there, Monkey Year 2016!

MUHS Lion Dance Crew 2016
'Coz I'm bitter no more, I'm celebrating Chinese New Year today! :)  Thank heavens my phone came back to life so my mood shifted again!  Haha!!!  What the hell with these whimsical mood swings!  Well, at least I'm feeling better so a happy Chinese new year we have for the whole family!


Singapore's heritage product is the bak kwa for tonight! ‪Lim Chee Guan's‬ ‪is ‎one of the finest I've ever tasted!  Paired with‬ ‪Edam cheese, it's beyond compare!  Aside from the bak kwa, we also had tikoy.  It's said to bring luck, unity, and sweetness to the relationship between family members so I got 3 flavors of it - original, pandan, and ube.  Tikoy nowadays are evolving with varieties of flavors and colors.

Thanks to the Putis family for joining us in officially welcoming the year of the fire monkey 2016! :)


Xin Nian Kuai Le, everyone! :)
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Whimsical Wednesday: When I Spent Chinese New Years with You

Whimsical Wednesday shows my fancy in a myriad of beautiful things.  

When I spent Chinese New Years with you, you taught me how to make dumplings......  
Laoshi Zhu Jing and Her Dumpling Tutorial
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough with meat, vegetables, and sweets filling.  These are traditionally eaten on new year's eve which symbolizes wealth because these are shaped like ancient silver and gold ingots.  These can be cooked in a variety of ways, may it be fried, steamed, or in stews and soups.  These are like empadas in Filipino cuisine if fried.

When I spent Chinese New Years with you, you taught me how to perform wushu sword.....

Laoshi Jack and His Wushu Tutorial
Wushu is an ancient Chinese martial art.  Nowadays, it is considered as an international sport and competitions are being held globally to promote agility and finesse to anyone who are into this sport.

When I spent Chinese New Years with you, you taught me how to carry the lion head.....

Little Yanyan and the Lion Head
The lion dance is being performed every new year to chase away evil spirits and call happiness and longevity instead.  It brings prosperity to any business establishment, the reason why the lion dance crew of MUHS roam around the city before the new year comes to invite and welcome good fortune!

When I spent Chinese New Years with you, you taught me how to wear the cheongsam.....

Chinese New Year Cultural Show 2010
Cheongsam is a traditional Chinese costume being worn during special occasions.  In this event, I had worn a golden cheongsam which symbolizes well of course, gold for prosperity and abundance!

And these were my memoirs when I spent Chinese new years with you.  Though I am not Chinese, you had shared to me your rich culture and beautiful tradition.  Until today, I still remember the Chinese name you gave me, still talk the language you taught me, still sing the songs you sang to me, still eat the food that you let me tasted, and still observe the practices you imparted to me.  

Still it is, "Wu xiang ni and wu ai ni, MUHS Guang Hua!" 



   


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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Get Fenged Up!

I love everything Chinesy!  Chinese art, Chinese language, Chinese food and of course, Chinese culture!  And one culture that I am very fond of and had eventually adopted is Feng Shui.  

Feng Shui literally means "wind-water" but in real essence, it is the balance of the four elements - earth, wind, water, and fire.  It is believed to improve a person's life by receiving positive energy.  Therefore, the four elements must be balanced and in proper coordination with each other.  Certain blocks must be known in order not to hinder the flow of sheng chi (good energy).

Having said so, there are people who master the art of Feng Shui.  They are hired to see to it that everything in the house, office, or business establishment is in proper place.  Unfortunately, these so-called Feng Shui masters are highly priced.  But as what I've learned from my experience, anyone (Chinese or not) can do Feng Shui!  If and only if, you know what to do!  

Feng Shui for me need not be too expensive.  You just have to learn the basics and here it is:
Photo from www.parent-teacher-child-connection.blogspot.com
The above figure is a simplified bagua map.  It indicates the nine divisions of a space (room/house/store) that are the nine areas or aspects of a person's life.  Say for example, if you want to enhance your money luck as we all want, look at the wealth area in the upper left corner.     Its element is wood so you better place something that is made of wood.  Its number is 4 so have it in relevance with number 4.  Lastly, use the colors purple, green, and gold as accents to that corner.  

Now the question is, what are the specific things that you're gonna need?  Simple!  Just take a peek at my cost-effective Feng Shui paraphernalia:
Washed Coins
Currencies from Other Countries
Red Paper Circles
Joss Paper
Joss Sticks

And of course, we should not forget the star of this year - the water snake!  A figure of a snake with coins must be placed facing the entrance of a room/house/store to welcome positive energy.  Aside from this, I also have my own version of the 9 Emperor Coins (5-centavo coins tied in red ribonette), money boat, and spherical tangerine crystal kept in my treasury.

Charms
So there you have it!  Hope you learned some tips from this post but we must also be reminded that believing in Feng Shui can have both its advantage and disadvantage (like in all other things).  Only believe and do what is enough because too much of something is bad enough!  And no matter how you try to Feng Shui your life, if you have a foul attitude toward others, luck will surely never come to you.  Therefore, the golden rule of Confucius still prevails so giving and sharing are still the most important!
Hong Bao

Gong Xi Fa Cai!  Xin Nian Kuai Le! :)


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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Chinese New Year


Chinese New Year is here!  Let us all officially welcome the year of the Blue Water Dragon 2012!  Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday.  In China, it is known as Spring Festival since the spring season marks the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar.  The festival begins on the first day of the first Chinese lunar month and ends with the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the same month.  Therefore, the festivities last for half a month!  Though I'm not a Chinese, I was fortunate enough to celebrate Chinese New Year for two consecutive years with real Chinese people (thanks to MUHS)!  I had learned some Chinese culture and tradition and got acquainted with some Chinese trinkets.   

So let me introduce to you My Top Four  Favorite Chinese Things:

1.  Cheongsam (Qipao) - a high-necked dress with distinctive Chinese features.  It is buttoned on the right side, with a loose chest, a fitting waist, and slits up from the sides, all of which combine to enhance the beauty of the female shape.  It is the most typical, traditional costumes of Chinese women worn during formal or semi-formal occasions.  It creates an impression of simple and quiet charm, elegance and neatness.  I had the once-in-a-lifetime privilege to ramp a Cheongsam during our cultural nights last February 12, 2010 in Ozamiz and February 14, 2010 in Oroquieta to welcome the year of the Metal Tiger.

2.   Red Lantern (Hong Denglong) - a basic symbol of the Chinese culture.  It symbolizes brightness, happiness, and reunion.  It is closely linked with the lives of Chinese people, as you can find it everywhere in any China town all over the world, especially during festivals and holidays.  In Lantern Festival, the preferred warm red of traditional lanterns creates a convivial atmosphere during family reunions as well as lights up the hope for the New Year.  We decorated the stage with a number of red lanterns for our cultural night last February 3, 2011 in Ozamiz City Hall to welcome the year of the Metal Rabbit.
3.  Lion Dance (wushi) - performed at business establishments during Chinese New Year's celebrations for the lion brings prosperity and good luck to the business for the upcoming year.  The lion, a symbol of power, wisdom, and good fortune chases away evil spirits and brings happiness and longevity!  The MUHS Lion Dance Crew are highly applausable for their sacrifices in lion dancing!


4.  Red Envelope (hong bao) - handy-sized paper envelope stuffed with money that is often decorated with gold Chinese characters.  The elders give the youngsters hong bao for prosperity the whole year through!  I had a fair share of hong bao's before.

Festivities are a great thing to jumpstart a New Year!  Let us all be merry filled with all the good vibes and positivities for the year of the Blue Water Dragon!  So allow me to greet you  Gong Xi Fa Cai, Hong Bao Na Lai!  which in English means, "Wish you a prosperous New Year.  Give me a red envelope!" 
ONE LUCKY BLOG READER WILL GET A CHINESE LUCKY CHARM!

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2.  Send name and address to maryrosalieo@yahoo.com on or before January 31, 2012 with the subject "Chinese New Year".
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