Xin Nian Kuai Le

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year's Eve.  Tomorrow begins the largest holiday celebration for Taiwanese and Chinese alike.  Most people will have one week off to return to their hometowns and enjoy all their favorite Chinese New Year fare such as octopus arms, squid hot pot, and a fish egg concoction called a "mullet."

In China, most factories are shut down for several days which can cause a backlog of all those wonderfully inexpensive "made in China" products that we love to hate.  This is also many workers only chance to reunite with their children who are oftentimes left in the care of grandparents in the countryside. .Additionally, as jobs become more readily available in those rural areas, fewer workers will return to the long hours at the port city factories.

During this week, children will receive lots of candy and usually new clothes but their favorite gift is the "hong bao" - a bright red envelope filled with cash that most adults give to each of their under 18 relatives.

Tomorrow night, firecrackers with fill the damp night air with boisterous music as well-wishers rejoice in the coming "Year of the Rabbit" and say goodbye to "The Year of the Tiger."  This year will most likely see an influx in births and marriages that were put off last year because a Tiger year is not fortuitous for either event.

For Jeff and I work will continue much as usual with the exception of several days vacation from language school.  Chloe has been out of school the entirety of last week and her break will continue through this week and next.  It has been a nice break for her since she attended school on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve and has not had a break since school began last September. The local schools are very serious about their attendance days.  In fact, she is suppose to attend school next Saturday to account for one of the days in the winter break that was not accounted for in the school year.  I think she might miss that day.

So, until next year "Women Zhu Ni Xin Nian Kuai Le" (We wish you a Happy New Year).