Of course we need to decorate for the holiday. Our very first Chinese New Year decoration, the "good fortune" display on the pedestal pictured at left, was a thank-you gift to me from Andrew Liu, the student leader of the Saturday morning Green Shoots English classes. Printed on the back of the decoration is this translation: In A.D. 1673, "ask the good fortune to continue the longevity" for the Queen Mother Zhuang of grandmother's filial piety, write down and shake "macrobiotic good fortune" that glitters at all times, good fortune this imply "many son, many just, many field, many longevity, many good fortune"... That's about a third of it, copied exactly from the original. Happiness, good health, longevity, and prosperity are common themes for the holiday.
I was all set to go back to Green Shoots on January 8, but Andrew emailed that classes would not start up again until mid-February because of the New Year holiday. At first I thought that seemed like an unreasonably long break. However, this is comparable to the 6+ weeks in the U.S. between mid-November and early January, when many American people set aside optional activities because they're preoccupied with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
Besides the above "good fortune" display, our other Chinese New Year decorations consist of 4 small red paper lanterns that I bought last week. (And that's it. I'm a minimalist when it comes to holiday decorations.) I intend to hang the lanterns from the 4 large screw heads in a rectangular light fixture in the living room, but I have to figure out how to get them up there, 9' or so off the floor. We don't own a step ladder or step stool. I suppose I could use my laundry hook on a pole that I use to put hangers on our 9' laundry rod outside on the balcony ceiling. As I write this, I realize that I need to buy at least one more lantern, or else give away at least one: 4 is considered a very unlucky number because the Chinese word for 4 sounds very similar to the word for death. A quartet of lantern decorations simply will not do in China!
On the lower left in the photo you see the ubiquitous red envelopes--the color red being associated with good fortune--which are used to gift money on special occasions and for Chinese New Year. I was first introduced to the red envelope in 1990, when Colin and Phyllis Fong gave one to Emily in honor of her birth, "a Chinese tradition", Colin said at the time. Who would have thought that 21 years later I, too, would participate in this tradition--in China?
There are rules for the red envelopes, called Hong Bao in Mandarin. Terry and I are reading up and asking around so that we can hopefully avoid offensive lapses. One important consideration is to check out the message on the envelope to be sure that it's appropriate for the recipient. Please let me know if you can read the message on this envelope and it's the wrong message for the recipients described below! Red envelopes are given during Chinese New Year to younger family members and often to employees as a year-end bonus. A month's wages are a typical gift to an employee. A single crisp new bill is best, it shouldn't be folded, and even denominations are considered auspicious, although any number with 4 should be avoided, as you already know.
We employ only person that I can think of: Leah's morning driver to school. Unfortunately, there's a new driver, as of this past week, which complicates the situation. Other people we probably should red envelope (the Chinese language equivalent to using this as a verb is more graceful, I'm sure) include Chen, the helpful and friendly concierge at the desk in our apartment building; the nice young man who regularly delivers our big 18.9-liter water bottles--his jovial "long time, no see" made me smile a few days ago, considering his limited English; and Connie Liu at the Dial-an-Angel re-location agency, who is our translator/liaison when we need a water delivery, need to communicate with Leah's morning driver, have a question for our landlord, and so on. Red enveloping is supposed to bring blessings to the receiver, as well as to the giver. This is a tradition that encourages generosity!
Now back up to the photo. On the lower left you'll see a pair of orange 3M foam earplugs, which seem oddly placed with the other holiday items. Here's the story. Last week I asked my friend Yan about her plans for Chinese New Year. She and her sister, who also works in Shenzhen, have train tickets to travel to their home in the city of Shangrao on January 25, a trip that will take a whole day. Much as she's looking forward to going home, she said that she is dreading the actual New Year's holiday because the neighbors' fireworks, blaring television and boisterous voices will go on all day and all night, which makes it impossible to sleep. She asked me if I knew where to get something to cover her ears to keep out the noise. I assured her that I could. Terry has kept lots of foam earplugs around home for years, first purchased for visiting noisy industrial facilities and later found to be oh-so-useful at home to block out noise from teenagers who often like to stay up considerably later than their parents. I told Yan that I didn't think I could get them in time for Chinese New Year this year, but that Terry could bring some back after his next trip to the U.S. However, yesterday when I was moving some things around on a shelf I found this package. I'll give these to Yan to pack in her bag for the trip home. Hopefully they'll help her welcome the Year of the Rabbit feeling well-rested and appropriately calm.
3M could probably do bang-up foam earplug business here, marketing this nifty low-tech ear gear to Chinese people who don't care to listen to full-volume New Year's fireworks all night long!
No comments:
Post a Comment