Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is upon us. This is the year of the Dog. If you are born in the year 1970, 1982, 1994… this is your year. If you are older than 36 years of age then please minus 1970 by 12 increments to see if you are born in the year of the Dog.

Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days in total, with food, color and noise.
A few interesting thing about the traditional thing to do and not to do during these 15 days:

1. You must pin up red papers and fire up red firecrackers during these period. The reason is to chase away a spirit call “Nian”(direct translation would be “Year”), or else you will suffer during the next 365 days.
2. You must eat fish! Fish rhythms with “savings”. It is the traditional believe that if you eat fish during the celebration, you will have plenty of savings thus prosperity during the year.
3. Do not sweep the floor during these 15 days. All the earnings that you have would be lost if you do so.

There are other fun stuffs to remember and do… in essence, the 15 days of celebration mirror the next 365 days of your life. If you do nice things, pay attention to details and being courteous to your guests, you will be rewarded for the full of year.

The Chinese New Year is a time to be home. To spend time with your family. To reflect and be thankful to your parents.

I have not being home during Chinese New Year for 16 years now. There’s no special celebration here in Houston, therefore, I have not observe the Lunar New Year since that time.

It is a fact, that this is the time that I miss the most since childhood, and sadden a little every time this festival comes around. It usually means that I am spending a lot of time in Chinatown, hoping to experience what I am missing. Desperately hoping I would stumble upon food that resembles my mom’s cooking. (for the record, I have never found them in 16 years)


Every time I close my eyes, I can remember the color of my home with red decorations, with poems in calligraphy, fresh flowers, smiles on my parents’ faces, laughter, money in red packets… the weather always seems to be cool and nice, and one of the most vivid of all is the occasional noise of firecrackers close and far (I would ran to the window eager to see if my friends are firing them up, and so I can join them)… and the smell… emmm… There’s nothing like the smell of firecrackers.

How I would love to go back there, at a time when I was completely happy…