For the first time we had two more for Chinese New Year. My second brother brought his wife and my first brother brought his fiance!
My brother was in Taichung to attend a church event, so he and his fiance rode back down with my other brother and his wife on Tuesday, and they all got in at 1 AM. We did not open gifts that night!
My second brother and his wife.
My first brother and his fiance.
They had announced their engagement a few days before.
Chinese New Year
Chinese Lunar New Year is not a fixed date on the solar calendar and can come any time from January through March. (This year it came on January 23).
It's not a private little holiday for the immediate family but like Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one. All the married sons and their families travel home to make the family circle complete again.
By nightfall on Chinese New Year's Eve, all businesses have shut down, the streets are empty, and everybody is home at the big family reunion dinner, prepared to stay up all night celebrating. They do not give gifts but the young people especially get red envelopes of cash.
The next day is the first of the lunar new year. The department stores will probably be open to get everybody's Red Envelope cash, but most other types of businesses will stay closed.
The second day of the lunar new year is when all married daughters and their families return home to see their parents, further congesting the roads with travelers.
On a bad year the Chinese New Year falls on a Thursday and everybody has to go back to work on Monday, with only four days off. This was a very good year with Chinese New Year falling on a Monday and giving most people nine days off!
The Next Day
showing old family photos
Showing my little sister how to play her recorder.
Eating spaghetti.
By late afternoon we were finally ready to open presents and they told me to pass out the gifts. It was my first time to be in charge of that and I hadn't known it was so fun keeping track of who was ready for their next gift and timing them to the situation.
The Next Day
My sister-in-law's sister came down to pick up a homeless cat for a friend and dropped in to see us that morning.
My father doing what he loves best, talking Bible.
My brother was in Taichung to attend a church event, so he and his fiance rode back down with my other brother and his wife on Tuesday, and they all got in at 1 AM. We did not open gifts that night!
My second brother and his wife.
My first brother and his fiance.
They had announced their engagement a few days before.
Chinese New Year
Chinese Lunar New Year is not a fixed date on the solar calendar and can come any time from January through March. (This year it came on January 23).
It's not a private little holiday for the immediate family but like Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one. All the married sons and their families travel home to make the family circle complete again.
By nightfall on Chinese New Year's Eve, all businesses have shut down, the streets are empty, and everybody is home at the big family reunion dinner, prepared to stay up all night celebrating. They do not give gifts but the young people especially get red envelopes of cash.
The next day is the first of the lunar new year. The department stores will probably be open to get everybody's Red Envelope cash, but most other types of businesses will stay closed.
The second day of the lunar new year is when all married daughters and their families return home to see their parents, further congesting the roads with travelers.
On a bad year the Chinese New Year falls on a Thursday and everybody has to go back to work on Monday, with only four days off. This was a very good year with Chinese New Year falling on a Monday and giving most people nine days off!
The Next Day
showing old family photos
Showing my little sister how to play her recorder.
Eating spaghetti.
By late afternoon we were finally ready to open presents and they told me to pass out the gifts. It was my first time to be in charge of that and I hadn't known it was so fun keeping track of who was ready for their next gift and timing them to the situation.
The Next Day
My sister-in-law's sister came down to pick up a homeless cat for a friend and dropped in to see us that morning.
My father doing what he loves best, talking Bible.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
No profanity, please, "... but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (Eph 4:29)