Zhoumo kuaile!

Before I sign off for a week or so, I wanted to leave you with a few parting pics. 

Waxing and scraping the board in preparation:

Chinese New Year's Eve dinner last night:

And fireworks in the middle of the street:

Happy Chinese New Year! Xin nian kuaile! Gongxi fa cai!

What the Horse Will Bring

Want to find out what's in store for you in the Year of the Horse?  Check out City Weekend's recap of one astrologer's predictions.

Here's mine (I'm a MONKEY!):

2014 will move quickly for Monkeys. You will be full of energy and open to every opportunity. The year will be full of chances to make big gains, but don’t forget to relax, spend time with family and take care of your health. 

WORK: You will encounter much pressure at work and will receive extra attention from your boss, including the chance to get promoted. Make sure to fully utilize your talent for leadership. Maintain harmonious office relationships and get along with superiors, colleagues and subordinates alike in order to take your career to the next level. 

HEALTH: Work pressure will cause headaches and possibly even insomnia. Relaxation is very important this year, and meditation and massages will help. In addition, you might suffer from a small injury this year, so be careful around sharp objects. 

LOVE: Your relationships will be stable, but you need to spend more time with your other half during your busy workweek. For women, this year might bring the chance to get married, but there could be small conflicts; be tolerant and understanding of your partner’s personality to avoid arguments, and keep the big picture in mind. The conflicts are temporary. 

MAKE FRIENDS WITH: Rats, Dragons BE WARY OF: Tigers

And the celebrations begin

We kicked off Year of the Horse celebrations last night with another Factory Five ride. They promised free beer and snacks at the end of a short bike ride so, obviously, I lifted my temporary ban on the Tuesday night rides (crowds and cold weather had kept me away).

Taking off at 9:00 p.m., we rode swiftly through the city, hitting all of the major tourist spots: through the Former French Concession (our neighborhood) to Yuyuan Garden, from the Bund to Nanjing Pedestrian Street. Back at the bike shop, we were greeted with cans of beer, bins of chips, and a hong bao. 

Hong boa ("bow," as in "take a bow") literally means red envelope and is a Chinese New Year tradition, although you also see them at weddings, graduations, and other major life events. Filled with money of varying amounts, New Year hong boas are usually bestowed upon young children and employees, housekeepers, and nannies.  

Last night, one hong bao holder won a new bike. I wasn't as lucky, but I did come home 

$1 richer. 

Recognize two people in the last photo, bottom right corner?

Zhoumo kuaile!

You may remember that the question asked among expats in December is, "When are you going home?" whereas the question asked at this time of the year is, "Where are you spending Chinese New Year?"

For us, it's Japan! (It was South Korea last year.) This time next week, we'll be on a plane to Sapporo (after a very short layover in Osaka). We spend one night in Sapporo where we hope to catch a glimpse of the city's Snow Festival that starts a few days after our arrival. It promises streets and parks lined and filled with snow and ice sculptures. From there, we head to the mountains (Hirafu) for three days of snowboarding. To give you an idea of the conditions, it's been snowing there every day since Dec. 28 (excited husband!).

We'll end the trip in Tokyo with a couple of days filled with sushi, sake, and shopping (although I imagine the sake will likely get previewed in Hirafu during après-ski.)

Last year's requisite snowboarding pic

What's on the CNY menu

There's new energy in the air, a sense of excitement with an overlay of glee. Chinese New Year (CNY) is coming. Its Eve is next Thursday (the 30th) and preparations are under way.

Fields, an online grocer from whom we buy most of our proteins and some other edibles, published an article on Chinese New Year foods that I found really interesting. Here's what
you eat -- and why -- on Chinese New Year:

Fish. The word for fish in Chinese ("yu") sounds similar to the word for surplus; the dish is thus a symbol for a year of plenty.

It's served whole, representing completeness, but you don't eat the whole thing. Mike's mom had told us that some should be leftover for our ancestors; according to this article, the head and the tail are to be eaten on New Year's Day, symbolizing a smooth transition from one year to the next.

Cake. The term for this New Year's cake is "nian gao," which sounds like "higher year" in Chinese. It's sticky and sweet, made of glutinous rice flour, coconut milk, and sugar. (How come I haven't had this yet?)

Dumplings. These tasty bites take on several special meanings during the holiday:
- they symbolize wealth;
- the "jiao" in "jiaozi" (Chinese for dumpling) also means change;
- they look like "tael," an old Chinese currency.
Apparently, some cooks will place a coin in one of the dumplings, promising prosperity in the new year to the lucky recipient.

Mandarins. In season now, these little gems represent gold and wealth. Their Chinese name (which translates to "golden orange") sounds similar to luck or fortune in certain dialects.

Rice dumplings (or, as I like to call them, balls). Remember these? In some parts of the country, these are eaten on New Year's Day; in others, they're eaten on the 15th day of the new year, Lantern Festival, marking an end to CNY celebrations. Their round shape symbolizes family reunions.





More on CNY to come -- including our travel plans to Japan (woot!)