Sticking up the New Year couplets around the door
New Year's Day morning, phoning everyone in your phonebook to say Bai Nian!!
"When Dad brings out the chicken on the plate and holds it up to the sky, you set off the firecrackers, ok?"
As you can see by the position of the fireball, it was about 1/2 a second after lighting the firecrackers and I have already jumped 10 feet backwards out of the frame.
Giving Hong Bao Lucky Money to Mum and Dad on New Year's Day
On New Year's Day you have to go to everyone's house one by one to say Bai Nian and sit having halfhearted conversations over melon seeds, weak tea, and millions of cigarettes you get handed.
Everyone should try to join in!
A mildly annoying (for Jenny) feature of everyone doing New Year housecalls is that non family people in the village realize there is a foreigner in residence and proceed to summon their high school daughters for free English practice. I did two such "English Corners" and I have to say I didn't really mind since it gave me an excuse to chatter away about the ramifications of the Internet Age and the legacy of the Cultural Revolution (pet topics, no regard for audience, I'm not being paid) instead of the normal silent grins that make up my usual Caobo conversation.
You can't have New Year without tons of
Fireworks
Setting fireworks off on the table next to all the other fireworks. After this we set off fireworks under the car.
On this particular evening I voluntarily retired from the proceedings after throwing a firecracker practically right into Hong Yung's face in the dark.
New Year food: the impact of colour, flavour, variety, and quantity would be impressive... were it not for the fact that we had this kind of meal twice a day for the entire stay. Imagine Christmas dinner every day for two weeks.
Another essential part of Chinese New Year are hundreds of ...
Family Photo Groups
Brothers
Jenny with Mum and Dad
The precociousness of the new generation!!
Xiao Yezi, Jenny, Hong Yung, Xiao Feng
And by the way I accidentally deleted the picture of Jenny's parents receiving their Applefield calendar - they loved it and so did Mimi:
