Lantern Festival

This year, February 28 marks the end of the 15 day celebration of Chinese New Year. The 15th day is also called Lantern Festival. One small village near our city is famous for its' celebration of Lantern Festival. On the three weekends of CNY, it is packed with nationals and tourists. So, on a weekNIGHT, Esther and I joined 3 other language students (one Japanese and two Americans) and our language teacher, Sabrina, and we headed to the mountains to see the beautiful site.
The two American students only arrived this past week and will only study in our city for one month, so they were quite excited to have a "cultural" experience. First, we stopped at many stores deciding which shape, size, and color lantern we wanted to purchase.
Then, we all took turns drawing pictures or writing short sayings and poems to decorate our lantern.
Then, we went outside with many other people to "light" our lantern and send it into the night time sky.

Then, we set it free.

Up....

Up....

And Up! Until the whole sky was filled with beautiful lights....reminding us at least that we are called to let HIS light shine all over our little island. (Above photo from the weekends when thousands of people send the lanterns into the night sky simultaneously.)

A Day in YangMingShan National Park

I read on a friend's blog yesterday that so far in 2010, we have had around 32 days of rain. And most of the rest of the days have been overcast thus far. But, recently, we had one day that was warm and sunny, and we took the ENTIRE day off and went out to explore a National Park located right in our city.We began the morning by visiting YangMingShuWu, the last and largest retreat completed in 1970 for the late President Chiang Kai-shek and his wife. It was mostly used as a summer residence and a place to host local and foreign dignitaries.

Besides history, this place is also a perfect demonstration of Chinese garden art, with plants grown according to the climate such as tea trees and plum trees and exotic stones in ponds full of elegant fish.

The east-wing reception room was designed to accommodate foreign leaders and VIPs; however, after TW left the UN in 1971, this beautiful section never really had a chance to be seen by these leaders. But, we got to see it, and it is indeed MAGNIFICENT.

Most of the furnishings are made of red wood and create the feeling of classic Chinese-style elegance. The eyes in this portrait are very interesting. They follow you no matter where you stand or move around the room.

Inside, it's an odd mix of classical Chinese decor, 1970s Western design (including Madam Chiang's pink-tiled bathroom) and extreme security: the basement is bolstered by reinforced concrete to resist air attacks, with a series of escape tunnels leading to the gardens and beyond. The contents of the house – furniture, personal items – are authentic reproductions, including a small collection of Madam Chiang's own paintings. If you go, make sure to call a day ahead and request an English-speaking tour guide. We learned alot about the history of our little island and Chinese culture in general.

YangMingShan is famous for it's flowering cherry trees at this time of year, and we were not disappointed.

We try to always take time off in the middle of the week in order to avoid the weekend crowds and acutally experience some peaceful moments.

Many of you that know Esther well are familiar with her obsession with flowers and photography. So, we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the fresh air while we waited for her to take pictures of every thing in sight.

We had never seen this flower before, but I now have a bouquet sitting on my dining room table.

And, Jack bought Esther a bouquet of these calla lilies for Valentine's Day. I think both of our daughters want these flowers for their wedding bouquets. Wish they were as cheap in the States as they are here. We got six long stem calla lilies for less than $2.

You could pick them yourself, have someone pick them for you, or just wander through the fields at your leisure. Incredible beauty! This is definitely the most relaxing and refreshing day we have had outside in the warm, sunshine since we returned. Isn't HIS creation unbelievable?

Our EVERYTHING Dinner for Two

Jack will be gone on a trip from February 23-March 6. So, we decided to celebrate our EVERYTHING dinner for two tonight. We are celebrating our 24th anniversary (Jan. 4), Valentine's Day, Lunar New Year, Jack's birthday (Feb. 21), and Jessie's birthday (Feb. 29). It's also been rainy and cold for days, so we decided we needed a splurge. So, Jack made us reservations for hot pot at our favorite restaurant on our little island.

Unlike the States, eating hotpot here is a timed event....all-you-can-eat in two hours. After being seated, you choose the kind of broth you'd like to eat. We chose 1/2 HOT and 1/2 mild.

Next, you choose the kind of meat you'd like. We chose beef, pork, and lamb.

Then, there is the WALL of veggies, seafood, noodles, etc.

We could not read many of the labels, but we were able to recognize most choices and just guessed at others like sliced lotus root, tomatoes, pumpkin, cabbage, green leaf lettuce, bok choy, string beans, broccoli, squash, corn, etc.

Then, there is the never-ending list of musrooms: abalone, enoki, beech, shiitake, etc.

And, piles of tofu: dried, frozen, "skin", fresh, and quail eggs.

Jack's favorite part, however, is concocting the dipping sauce from such ingredients as: Sesame Paste, Peanut Paste, Chili Oil, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Fried Minced Garlic, Sliced Scallion, and Chopped Cilantro.

And to top it all off, there are 8 flavors of Haagen Daz ice cream and 8 flavors of Movenpick ice cream. Who can taste just one? The entire two hour experience was about $30 USD. I think Jack got off pretty cheap since we were celebrating five occasions in one meal. Tonight was our first time to make reservations, order, eat, and pay without a national's help. Maybe our language skills are improving. Come visit soon, and we'll give you the opportunity to have this incredible experience!

CNY 2010

I know where most of you live, February 14 is a very important day. It's Valentine's Day, of course. But where we live, February 14 is the beginning of Chinese New Year. And, folks over here have been busy preparing for this 15-day long holiday. The local kids are out of school for about a month. Most government-type jobs will have about ten days of vacation (including two weekends). And, people are decorating, buying gifts, and stocking up on food items as they prepare to travel to be with their families during this time.

They say our city will be a virtual "ghost" town. We can't imagine it. We will continue with work and school as usual. Please remember us as we hope to have many opportunities to share HIStory while people are a bit more relaxed and have a lot more free time. Xin Nian Kuai le! (Happy New Year!)

CNY Explained

Article adapted from “Company” website:

A Lovely Day to Celebrate

The cold, crisp winter temperatures lend themselves to the excitement already in the air. Chinese people scurry to buy special treats, clean house, buy new clothes, buy tickets to travel home, and greet their neighbors with a sense of exuberance comparable to what you might expect to see at Christmastime in America. Chinese are preparing for their biggest holiday of the year, Chinese New Year. Known as “Spring Festival” in China, the New Year is determined by the lunar calendar, and almost always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year, it just happens that Chinese New Year’s Day falls on a holiday familiar to the rest of the world, Valentine’s Day. February 14, 2010, ushers in the Year of the Tiger. Traditions

Spring Festival is no quiet holiday, and there are definitely no “silent nights” involved. Fireworks illuminate the night skies. Not even a good pair of earplugs can drown out the explosive sounds emanating from the constant popping of firecrackers day and night throughout the holidays.

In the weeks prior to the holiday, Chinese people battle the winter cold and stand in line for hours at train and bus ticket counters, hoping to find affordable tickets to their hometowns before they are all sold. Getting home to share a special meal with family on Chinese New Year is the goal of almost every Chinese person. Different parts of China have different traditions, but foods that are eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve may include chicken; long, uncut noodles; and dumplings called jiaozi. The traditional holidays last for 15 days, with the 15th day being the Lantern Festival. Shops are often closed for the first three days of the holiday. Schools are often closed for a month at this time of year. Traditions during the holiday include visiting friends or family and taking them gifts such as fruit or cookies. Adults give children red envelopes containing money. It is important to clean the house prior to the festival, but sweeping and dusting can never be done on the first day of the festival, as it is associated with sweeping away one’s good fortune in the coming year.

The numerous traditions associated with the festival all have a special significance or superstition attached to them. Although modern Chinese will be quick to tell you that they do not believe all these superstitions to be truth, they nonetheless carry on the traditions as part of their Chinese culture; it also keeps their childhood memories alive as they pass them down to younger generations. For some Chinese, appeasing the “kitchen god,” praying in a temple, and scaring away evil spirits by setting off firecrackers are very important rituals. For these people, the holidays are a time of fear, stress and bondage to evil spirits.

A Time for Sharing HIStory

Many Chinese people work far from home, with only one opportunity to see their extended family members during the year, on Chinese New Year. For Chinese people who have become siblings during the previous year, Chinese New Year affords them their first opportunity to return to their hometowns, talk to their families about their new life, and share with childhood friends. For new siblings, this can be both joyful and stressful. Their acceptance of HIS eternal plan is not always met with enthusiasm or acceptance. Many young adults in China have grueling work hours with no free time; they work 16 hours a day, seven days a week; they live at the factories where they work. Chinese New Year is one of the few times during the year that they are able to mingle with people outside their workplace. Chinese New Year is an opportune time for many of them to freely interact with those who can share HIStory with them.

Loving the Chinese

Chinese people living in countries throughout the world also do their best to celebrate this special day. Cities with Chinatowns may have parades and special celebrations. However, for Chinese who are integrated into mainstream western society, this day may be just another workday, a lonely day that fills their hearts with longing for their homeland and loved ones. This year, as you celebrate Valentine’s Day, let it remind you of HIS love for those in the Chinese world who are celebrating their New Year. Pray for your brothers and sisters in HIM in China and around the world. Pray for open hearts for those Chinese people who are hearing about HIM for the first time during these holidays. Ask Father to pour out His great love on all Chinese people.