Lunar New Year (Asian Spring Festival), of course! The biggest holiday of the year (in our area) begins on Sunday, January 25, and everyone has been spending weeks preparing for it. Schools are on winter holiday; stores and streets are decorated; bus and train stations are packed; and workers are looking forward to a few days of vacation with their families.
Every aisle in every store looks just like this where you live, doesn't it?
Most of the decorations have something to do with invoking good "luck" or fending off bad "luck" during the new year.
During the past few weeks, we helped host several parties for our university student groups with a different theme, Experiencing New Life and Blessings from Heavenly Father during the New Year.
The parties included songs, games, food, gifts, etc. The students were asked to guess the number of coins in this jar. According to tradition, the coins represent the desire for abundant wealth in the new year. Eating chocolate coins is supposed to bring a sweet new year.
The students were asked to draw an ox on a piece of paper placed on top of their heads. We all had a good laugh at the finished products. In our area, this is the Year of the Ox.
They were also asked to use chopsticks to drop peanuts into a container. Peanuts symbolize longevity.
We even had one Indian student join one of the parties. It was exciting to watch the American and the Indian feed each other a bowl of congee (soup) while blindfolded. Eating meals together with family and friends is definitely the MOST important part of the holiday.
Fortune, happiness, longevity, prosperity, peace, wisdom, virtue, togetherness....people all around the world are searching for these things. We continue to daily share this message: Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
Every aisle in every store looks just like this where you live, doesn't it?
Most of the decorations have something to do with invoking good "luck" or fending off bad "luck" during the new year.
During the past few weeks, we helped host several parties for our university student groups with a different theme, Experiencing New Life and Blessings from Heavenly Father during the New Year.
The parties included songs, games, food, gifts, etc. The students were asked to guess the number of coins in this jar. According to tradition, the coins represent the desire for abundant wealth in the new year. Eating chocolate coins is supposed to bring a sweet new year.
The students were asked to draw an ox on a piece of paper placed on top of their heads. We all had a good laugh at the finished products. In our area, this is the Year of the Ox.
They were also asked to use chopsticks to drop peanuts into a container. Peanuts symbolize longevity.
We even had one Indian student join one of the parties. It was exciting to watch the American and the Indian feed each other a bowl of congee (soup) while blindfolded. Eating meals together with family and friends is definitely the MOST important part of the holiday. 
Fortune, happiness, longevity, prosperity, peace, wisdom, virtue, togetherness....people all around the world are searching for these things. We continue to daily share this message: Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
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