Sunday, February 18, 2007

Chinese New Year


Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-year cycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

Chinese New Year begins on February 18, 2007, and is the year of the Pig (Boar). 2006 was year of the Dog!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

The Waiting Families Meet

Tonight we got together with the other families that we will probably be traveling with to China. It was a really great dinner and we learned a lot about everyone. We met at the Yangtze River Restaurant in Lexington, MA and stayed several hours just chatting and getting to know one another.

One couple, Trena and Andrew, are adopting their second daughter and were a wealth of information about what to expect. Their daughter Quinlyn joined us as well and she will be taking the trip to China to meet her new little sister.

Our travel group includes:
  • Sanna & Brian
  • Trena, Andrew & Quinlyn
  • Erika & Joe
  • Melanie & Joe
  • Thecla & Thomas (were unable to join us)

Friday, February 16, 2007

Xin Nian Hao

Xin Nian Hao or Happy Chinese New Year!

Lin Jing from the Alliance for Children, held a class this evening on Chinese cultures and customs, specifically on customs of Chinese New Year. As the Chinese New Year begins this weekend, she educated us more on how the Chinese people celebrate their biggest festival.

At the end of the class, she shared with us a slide show on some of the humanitarian foster care projects that the Alliance for Children is working on to give us more of an idea of foster care in Chinese orphanages.

Gong Xi Fa Cai
(We wish you good fortune)

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Surprise Shower

Well they got me! Those sneaky people, Lara, Melissa & Lynn! Under the guise that Ken Marran had a "conference in Boston", Lynn and the gang came for the weekend for a visit. We went to Melissa's to spend the evening so the kids could play and the adults could also play. It turned out to be the best "anti-shower" ever and it was a very nice surprise. There was a last minute cake save by Barabara who stopped in Boston for some backups as the originals were involved in a kitchen fire at the Kondeitermeister.

My Aunt Jeanne flew in from Colorado, and I had family and friends from all over which was fantastic. At first I thought I was at my own funeral because there wasn't anyway that my friend Goose and my Aunt Jeanne would be in the same room unless it was my wedding or my funeral. Since I was already married, I thought it was the later. Thanks to everyone for coming and celebrating with us, it was truly great.

The guest list included:
  • Melissa, Adam, Shelby & Tyler
  • Robyn
  • Jared & Cindy
  • Lara, Jed, Luke & Jax
  • Lynn, Ken, Sam & Julianna
  • Gerry (aka Goose) & Gabrielle
  • Brian
  • Joy
  • Aunt Jeanne
  • Aunt Kate & Mr. Bob
  • Uncle Robert & Aunt Margaret
  • Barbara
  • Ed, Jane, Taylor & Jack
  • Carrie & Steve
  • Nikki & Jason
  • Karen, Andy & Kealy
  • Susan & Roger

Thank you also to those that were not able to attend but were there in spirit: Dad, Deb B., Madeline & Mike, Bing, Amy & Fran, Jeff & Kerry, Mildred & Jim M., The Holmes Family, Uncle Roy, Aunt ME & Aunt Pat!