Being the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays, the celebration is magnified. Its dates are determined by the second new moon after the winter solstice. Dragged out over multiple days, it's also the longest festivity in the Chinese calendar. On the first day, many people but especially Buddhists abstain from meat consumption. It is believed this will ensure longevity for them, and it's also bad luck to clean. The boys ate meat, but they brought good luck when they did quite the opposite of clean... my apartment looked like a bomb had hit soonafter we arrived in from Ko Lanta. We had no choice but to abandon it and walk down the street to the carnival for some excitement. We got just that, squeezing into thousands of people wandering from stall to stall checking out their next snack or trinket. You could even get maggots, grasshoppers and cockroaches for dessert...
We devoured some more sane, amazingly cheap food and then went downtown to celebrate. The whole city was awake well into the night. On the second day, the Chinese traditionally opened their companies so they'd be blessed with good luck and prosperity in their business that year. So, we brought them good business by attending the carnival again and finding even better food stalls. Then we discovered some of my students performing on the stage inside the park, which was surprisingly impressive. Then we returned to the same pub as the night before, completing our second 5L tower of Chang.
It is evident that red is the theme for the holiday, as well as displays of the popular symbols for good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity. It's also evident that it's now year 2455 according to the Chinese calendar, which puts things in a crazy perspective.
The boys made it to Langkawi the next afternoon, so I can't wait to head there tomorrow morning. It'll be another great weekend in Paradise, so check back for the post next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment