It’s officially the Year of the Rat.
According to the Chinese zodiac, this year is a time of hard work, activity and renewal. It’s supposed to be a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product, or make a fresh start. That seems to bode well for my friends and family, since many are jumping on the marriage and baby trains this year. Whoowoo.
I really miss being at home with my family to celebrate Chinese New Year. After living in Hawaii for a few generations, much of the Chinese culture within our family has been lost, or evolved into more of a Chinese-Hawaiian-American blend of tradition. But Chinese New Year was always celebrated with pride and fervor. Probably because it revolves around the important things – family and food.
In my experience, no other holiday can beat Chinese New Year in its ability to overload the senses. In a wonderful way, mind you. There are the greasy smells of roast duck and sticky rice from the kitchen. The sounds of mah jong tiles being moved around the surface of the table. The rough texture of the red lai see envelopes filled with money that grandparents dispense to the grandchildren. The view of extended family and friends gathered together around the dinner table, celebrating each other and a new year to come.
Gung hay fat choy, everyone!
The Larissa Monologues 
Happy Chinese New Year to you, too!!
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Happy Chinese New Year!! Have fun celebrating and spending time with your family and friends!
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Happy Chinese New Year! I went to my first Chinese New Year party this past weekend.
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Gung Hei Fat Choy to you too! Unfortch this year is ‘my’ year, so everything isn’t that great. I read one horoscope that said “if you are single you will have bad luck. If you are in a relationship, it is likely it will end.” which means as far as my love life is concerned, I’m pretty much screwed either way. lol But, I’m determined to prove them wrong and have an awesome year 😉 Hope yours is great!! ps. when you mentioned roast duck and sticky rice my mouth watered. literally. lol
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Happy New Year!!!
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And to you too! On a side note, I love mah jong though I have never played it in real life, just on the computer.
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I have always wondered what Mah Jong actually is… is it anything like Taipei? I frickin loved to play that game on the computer! I miss it…Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year, I hope it turns out to be everything you hope and more!
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happy belated to you!i wish soooo much that i could partake in the feasting. UGH that sounds amazinggggg…
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Happy Chinese New Year! 🙂
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Happy Chinese New Year! My coworker read me my Chinese horoscope today for the new year, and lets just say it was harsh, yet interesting 🙂
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Happy Chinese New Year! This post made me smile, and I felt like I could smell the roast duck. P.S. Mah Jong is the best, and is one of the reasons why I didn’t sleep much in college.
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Happy Chinese New Year and Valentine’s to you! 🙂 I love, love, LOVE the new layout.
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Happy New Year to you! Hope you had a great celebration with your family!
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Oh yes. They are all getting married and pregnant. But who do you feel more sorry for. Ha.Happy Chinese New Year!
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Happy Chinese New Year right back at ya!I’m feeling the hard work and activity so far, but not so much the renewal part. Hmm. All in good time I hope! (And I’ll be sure to pass on the part about it being a good year to get married to the BF. Thanks for the tip. heehee.)
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Hooray for the Year of the Rat!
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