Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Kung Hei Fat Choi! The Chinese New Year is really a big deal after all. Since my return I’ve been greeted with the Chinese greetings for Happy New Year (both in Cantonese and Mandarin), as “eligible” candidates express their desire to get a red envelope.The red envelope is the equivalent of Christmas gift, but with a little more importance on luck. It is given by those older or married to the younger and single – I almost made it in. At least the company gave me one as luck from our employer for the New Year. Pretty neat, huh? But the exchange of red envelopes with a fresh, crisp new RMB bill are being passed around merrily this week.
Our factory was closed for the last week, like most in this country. When I got into Hong Kong on Saturday night from Thailand, it had this eerie sense about it, that I could not at first comprehend. Finally it dawned on me: the streets were far less crowded. A cab driver told me that at least half of the 7 million residents had left the city and most had still not returned. When I headed in to the mainland on Monday morning, I think I ran into all of them on the train.
Another interesting phenomenon was the number of applicants to work this week. Evidently many people change jobs by leaving what they had before the New Year, and applying for what they think will be better now. The lines at our factory have been in the hundreds every morning.
This is the Year of the Dog. They have a lot of superstitions and other thoughts on these things. And it is a time of family celebration. That is where most everyone went for the holiday: to see their family.
Traditional celebrations were also held. Ironically, I went to Thailand and saw a great Chinese New Year celebration. One of the shopping centers in Pattaya put on a Dragon Dance and show. It was incredible. The dragon danced, fireworks were lit, and a fight was held with the dragon.
Pictures from the Dragon Dance, and other pictures of Thailand can be found by the links on the right.
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 5:29 PM
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