Two tales of Chinese New Year

福到-Happiness is here

Christmas and New Year are barely behind, my Christmas decors are still up, and I am already thinking about Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (春节) as it is referred to in China. But yes, the year of Rat is going out and year of Ox will ring in the 26 of this month.

With the last Chinese New Year still so vivid in my mind, it is hard to believe almost a whole year’s time has passed since then. It feels as if it was not that long ago when I, my husband and son celebrated Chinese New Year 2008 in Guangzhou, China with my family and had the best Chinese New Year holiday in a long, long time.

Over almost 20 years that I’ve lived in the states, I went back to Guangzhou for Chinese New Year twice, 1995 and 2008, and I visited over the summer of 1997 and 2004. While I found changes from every visit, this longer visit in 2008 revealed stupendous changes China’s thriving economy has brought to the city of Guangzhou and the affect it has on my family and friends’ lives and the customs around Chinese New Year.