Since this series began in January 2018 there have been over 1100 Posts from Your Archives where bloggers have taken the opportunity to share posts to a new audience… mine.
The topics have ranged from travel, childhood, recipes, history, family and the most recent series was #PotLuck where I shared a random selection of different topics. This series is along the same lines… but is a ‘Lucky Dip’
In this series I will be sharing posts from the first six months of 2021 – details of how you can participate are at the end of the post.
This is the first post from children’s author and poet Miriam Hurdle and was published in February 2021 and is a celebration of Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year – Memories, Calendar, Legend, and Traditions
Chinese New Year begins on Friday, February 12, 2021. It is the year of Ox. The holiday was traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities and ancestors. It was also a time to bring the family together for feasting.
Childhood Memories
When I was a kid, my favorite family time was Chinese New Year. We had one week off from school and my dad had five days off from work. On New Year’s Eve, Flower Markets took place in major parks. They were open from early evening to 5:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
One year, I went to the Flower Market with my older sister and her boyfriend. We lived in western side on the Hong Kong island, and took the tram to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. By the time we finished walking through the entire market, there was no tram in operation until morning. We followed the tram track and took one hour and thirty minutes to walk home.
Victoria Park Chinese New Year MarketVictoria Park, Causeway, Hong Kong
I was half asleep even though my feet were moving with one hand holding my sister’s and other hand holding something she bought me. I dropped the bag on the ground many times, bent down, picked it up and continued walking on autopilot.
By the time we got home, my mom had made special food as part of the Chinese New Year ritual. I liked sweet rice balls. We ate and went to sleep for a few hours. On New Year’s Day, everyone put on new clothing. Kids would say “Gung Hei Fat Choi” (Wishing you prosperous) to the parents and adults. My parents and the adults in the neighborhood gave us kids Lucky Money in red envelopes. It was the tradition for the married people to give Lucky Money to the kids and unmarried adults. We visited our relatives on the second, fourth, and fifth day. Kids loved that because we could keep all our Lucky Money.
We anticipated with excitement on the 3rd day. There were three activities became our family tradition. In the morning we went to Tiger Balm Garden, which was a private mansion and garden that eventually became a public garden. After Tiger Balm Garden, we went to the Botanic Arboretum, and visited the Governor’s Garden, which was open to the public during Chinese New Year.
Being able to spend five holidays with my parents was the best thing for me as a kid.
Why Chinese New Year is on a different date each year?
Chinese New Year is based on the ancient Chinese lunar calendar. It functioned as a religious, dynastic, and social guide. Oracle bones inscribed with astronomical records show the calendar existed as early as 14th century B.C. when the Shang Dynasty was in power.
A lunar calendar is based on the monthly cycles of the Moon’s phases, with the new moon being the first of the month and full moon the middle of the month.
Each lunation is approximately 29 1⁄2 days. The lunar calendar alternates between 29 and 30 days a month and an average of 354 days a year.
Leap Year
The Gregorian calendar has an average of 365.25 days a year, and therefore 365 days a year with 366 days in a leap year every four years.
Approximately every three years (7 times in 19 years), a leap month is added to the Chinese calendar. To determine when, we find the number of new moons between the 11th month in one year and the 11th month in the following year. A leap month is inserted if there are 13 New Moon from the start of the 11th month in the first year to the start of the 11th month in the next year.
Chinese New Year usually begins when the new moon occurs between January 21 and February 20, and it lasts about 15 days until the full moon arrives with the Festival of Lanterns.
The Legend of Chinese New Year celebration
Lion Dance, Chinese New Year, Hong Kong
According to Chinese mythology, a Nian is a beast lived under the sea or in the mountains. It was unclear whether the Nian was an authentic folk mythology or a local oral tradition. Some sources cited it resembled a lion’s head with a dog’s body. Towards the end of winter, on Chinese New Year’s Eve, the Nian came out to feed on crops and sometime children. All the villagers hid from the beast. One year, an old man came to the village. On the New Year’s Eve, after the villagers escaped, he put red papers up and set off firecrackers to drive off the creature. The next day, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing was destroyed. They later found out the old man discovered the Nian was afraid of red and loud noises. It became the tradition the villagers celebrated the New Year wearing red clothes, hanging red lanterns, and red scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian.
Chinese New Year Traditions and Symbols
New Clothes
The Chinese New Year is a time of change and new beginnings, wearing something new is a symbol of removing the old and welcoming the new. Red is the color for celebrating any happy occasion, as it represents prosperity and good luck.
Lucky Money Red Envelopes
The married people give the Lucky Money red envelopes to children or unmarried adults to bless them with good luck/fortune and happiness/abundance.
Plum and Peach Blossoms
People decorate their homes with fruit blossoms to symbolize a plentiful crop in the new year. Peach blossoms symbolize long life, romance, and prosperity.
Fish
The homophone of the Chinese word ‘fish’ is the same as the word for ‘surplus’ inferring more than enough. By hanging up fish decorations or eat fish, people hope the New Year will bring wealth and prosperity.
Tangerines and Oranges
Both fruits symbolize abundant happiness. The homophone of ‘tangerine’ is the same for the word ‘luck’ and the homophone of ‘orange’ sounds the same as the word for ‘wealth’. When visiting family and friends, it is a custom to take a gift bag of oranges or tangerines.
Rice-cake — Progression or Promotion
Glutinous rice cake is a lucky food eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve. This is play on words to infer “getting higher year after year.” It can imply children’s height, rise in business success, better grades in study, or promotions at work.
Sweet Rice Balls — Family Togetherness
The homophone of ‘ball’ and round shape are associated with reunion and being together. They are favorite food during the New Year celebrations.
I hope you enjoyed finding out something interesting!
Wishing you a
Happy Chinese New Year!
©Miriam Hurdle 2021
About Miriam Hurdle
Miriam Hurdle is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She published four children’s books at twenty-six years old. Her poetry collection received the Solo “Medalist Winner” for the New Apple Summer eBook Award and achieved bestseller status on Amazon.
Miriam writes poetry, short stories, memoir, and children’s books. She earned a Doctor of Education from the University of La Verne in California. After two years of rehabilitation counseling, fifteen years of public-school teaching and ten years in school district administration, she retired and enjoys life with her husband in southern California, and the visits to her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters in Oregon. When not writing, she engages in blogging, gardening, photography, and traveling.
Books by Miriam Hurdle
Read the reviews and buy the books:Amazon US – And:Amazon UK – – Goodreads: Miriam Hurdle – Blog: The Showers of Blessings – Twitter: @mhurdle112
My thanks to Miriam for allowing me to share posts from her archives… and I know she would be delighted to hear from you.
How you can feature in the series?
- All I need you to do is give me permission to dive in to your archives and find two posts to share here on Smorgasbord. (sally.cronin@moyhill.com)
- Rather than a set topic, I will select posts at random of general interest across a number of subjects from the first six months of 2021. (it is helpful if you have a link to your archives in your sidebar by month)
- As I will be promoting your books as part of the post along with all your information and links so I will not be sharing direct marketing or self- promotional posts in the series.
- If you are an author I am sure you will have a page on your blog with the details, and an ‘about page’ with your profile and social media links (always a good idea anyway). I will get everything that I need.
- As a blogger I would assume that you have an ‘about page’ a profile photo and your links to social media.
- Copyright is yours and I will ©Your name on every post… and you will be named as the author in the URL and subject line.
- Previous participants are very welcome to take part again.
- Each post is reformatted for my blog and I don’t cut and paste, this means it might look different from your own post.
- If I do share a post which contains mainly photographs I will share up to five and link back to the original post for people to view the rest.
N.B – To get the maximum benefit from your archive posts, the only thing I ask is that you respond to comments individually and share on your own social media.. thank you.
I remember this one, so interesting!
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Chinese new year is very interesting, colorful, and full of symbols and traditions. Thank you for reading and commenting, Liz!
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My pleasure, Miriam!
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❤ ❤
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I used to be the principal of an International Languages Saturday School, and Chinese New Year was always one of the highlights for many of the students!
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I am sure that was an amazing job…I did a monthly radio programme with a Chinese marketing specialist working in the UK whose mother was station director of one of a radio station there. We compared festivals in China and the UK to each other and we would go out live and then they would repeat.. It was an amazing learning experience and always looked forward to learning more. x
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Yes, they were wonderful people, and the students were terrific!
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Wow, Your radio program must be fun. Probably you did many programs on holiday events.
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We did Miriam.. comparing the East and West was an interesting project.. New Year, Spring festivals etc.. They were living across from my mother and when her parents came across they spent time with her which she loved.. Neither of them spoke each other’s language but they managed…hugsxx♥
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That was fun for your mother, Sally. California is called melting pot. I hear different languages everywhere I go. When I go to the gym, I hear Spanish and Korean for the entire hour.
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Amazing and great to hear Miriam.. mind you we have our moments here in Ireland too.. I went into the store the other day and the first language I heard first was Russian and then someone speaking Spanish… not bad for a little country town on the coast lol..hugsx
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Our district communications are in four languages – English, Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. When I was an administrator in the department serving the English learners and students from the low income families, we had meetings for Hispanic parents, translated from English to Spanish. Also had meetings for the Asian parents, translated from English to Chinese and Vietnamese. When there were students or parents speaking a language other than those four, we got help from a community services to translate when needed.
The California utility bills are in several languages.
My daughter would like her kids raised in a multi-cultural community, but it’s not practical right now because they’re established in Portland Oregon.
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That sounds like an excellent programme of cultural awareness and participation Miriam.. brilliant ♥
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I loved my work and referred it to as getting pay to do what I loved. ❤
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As it should be Miriam..♥
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It’s great meeting you, Suzanne! It must be an interesting and exciting experience for being an International Language Saturday School principal. Other than my full-time school job, I have been a principal of a Chinese school after-school program for 30 years. It’s closed due to Covid because I use a public school where I taught. The school district will decide on the after-school programs later in the year.
Thank you for your visit and comment!
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It’s lovely to meet you too—your post brought back many lovely memories for me!
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Where was your International Language School, Suzanne? Ill come over to visit your blog soon.
Many Chinese parents send their kids to Saturday language school. When I was teaching back in 1989, some parents approached me to start the after school Chinese school. Their kids could get the homework done, learn Chinese, and could stay home with the families on Saturday. I was glad to keep it going until the pandemic.
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It was in Kitchener Ontario 😊 We had 13 different language groups!
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You must have a diverse community. 🙂 My daughter took 4 years of French.
I did a quick search online. There are 220 languages in California, and 44% of the people speak a language other than English. 🙂
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Lovely feature and educational as well! Thank you, Miriam and Sally. 🤗
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Thanks Gwen..have a lovely week…hugsx
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I had learned something by preparing for this post, Gwen! Many Chinese are serious about the traditions. I still give Lucky money envelopes to my grandkids, just for fun. Thank you for reading and commenting! 🙂
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I remember this post from when Miriam shared it. Isn’t it wonderful to learn about different cultures! Thanks for sharing it, Sally. 🙂
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Thanks Yvette.. I thoroughly enjoyed and thought others would too..hugsx
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Thank you, Yvette! It was educational to me also especially reviewing the legend. There are so many versions. I liked the version I remember in my early years. The newer versions are personal interpretations. The Chinese community 20 miles away set up the Flower market on several streets by blocking off the traffic for three days. 🙂
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What a great article! Lots of little tidbits here to keep in the memory.
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I agree Dorothy.. very enjoyable…hugsx
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Thank you, Dorathy. It brings back many fond childhood memories. Many traditions are still being kept in different Asian countries.
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It was a pleasure to read, and quite informative!
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It seems like everything people eat or do in Chinese new year has a story behind it! 🙂
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Reblogged this on OPENED HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thank you for sharing, Michael! 🙂
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Thanks for sharing Michael..hugsx
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What a wonderful tradition. I also like the colorful celebrations, and all with a founded symbolism. Thanks to Miram for this wonderful posting. xx Michael
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Michael. I think subconsciously I’m still influenced by a few of these symbols such as the shapes and colors. It’s an exciting celebration for kids and grownups. 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed Michael.. a lovely post..hugsx
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Terrific post, Miriam. I attended a Chinese wedding in San Francisco and was surprised to receive a red envelope with money along with the rest of the guests. It was quite a surprise.
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San Francisco has the biggest China town and it has the best authentic Chinese food. A wedding in San Francisco would be an authentic traditional Chinese wedding. No wonder you received a red envelope for luck, John. 🙂
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I told the bride I would keep it as a souvenir and she warned me it need to be spent quickly for luck. 😊
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I guess it’s the tradition, John! I think my daughter spent the money but kept the envelope. 🙂
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That sounds like a good compromise.
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One year, I gave a red envelope to my daughter. She dropped it when we left Carl’s Junior. When we went back an hour later, it was still on the ground. I guess people not in the Chinese community don’t know what it was. She was happy that it was still there.
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😁
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😂
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That was definitely lucky…xxx
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She was lucky. 😄
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I missed this one the first time around, and it’s packed full of information. Thanks to Miriam and thanks for finding it, Sally!
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Thank you for your visit and comment, Olga. As a kid, I liked Chinese new year the most because it was colorful and full of excitement. Everything we did and received came with a long history and tradition. I was happy to learn something I took for granted.
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Thanks Olga..hugsx
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Reblogged this on The Showers of Blessings and commented:
I’m with Sally at Smorgasbord Magazine today. Sally features my post about the legend and traditions of Chinese New Year. I learned a lot by preparing this post. It brought back many childhood memories. Please head over to visit Sally and her rich features on her blog.
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Thanks for boosting the post Miriam and a pleasure to share..hugs ♥
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Miriam – is one of the best bloggers, well deserved, This is such great informational sharing with different culture and values.
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Thanks Mihran and quite agree.. have a good week.
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Thank you for your kind words, Mihran! We all have rich cultures and values. It’s wonderful we could them in this blogging community. Hope you’re doing well with your business and your family!
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Thanks for sharing, Miriam and Sally! Intriguing.
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Thanks Bette.. have a lovely week..hugsx♥
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Thank you so much for dropping by and commenting, Bette! Have a wonderful week!
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What a wonderful post to share from Miriam. Not only is it educational, but fun as well. Thank you, Sally, and congrats to Miriam!
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I had fun doing this post, refreshing my memories, reviewing, and learning new things. Thank you for dropping by and commenting, Jan! I appreciated that. Have a wonderful week.
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Thanks Jan..♥
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I remember when Miriam shared it. How great to see it again! Not only is it educational and fun, but so colorful! Thanks for sharing, Sally!❤️
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Thanks Jill.. I enjoyed it very much and was sure others would too. ♥
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Thank you so much for reading this post again, Jill! ❤ I still could see myself falling asleep, walking with my eyes closed on New Year's eve as a kid. I learned something new and tried to be accurate on other things when doing this post. It's educational and fun for me also. ❤
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I remember this post. It was positively mesmerizing and so informative. What a great selection from Miriam. Thanks for sharing, Sally!
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I had fun preparing this post, Mae. The fun of all fun was remembering the celebration in my childhood. Thank you for dropping by! Sally has a keen eye for selecting posts!
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Thanks Miriam..♥
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Fabulous post Mae.. and as you say fascinating..hugsx
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This was such an interesting post from Miriam. I enjoyed the family stories of New Year, and appreciated learning the different symbols representing good luck. ❤
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I found it interesting also, Debby. Many families still get together for New Year, like any other major holiday. But many younger generations, such as my daughter who is 1,000 miles away, are not easy to be with the family. Learning the symbols are fun for me also. I almost forgot about some of them. Thank you for your comment. ❤
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❤
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💞
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I thought it would go down well Debby… I think it would make a great teaching series in schools – different cultures and their traditions and festivals.. might encourage more understanding and respect ♥♥
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Absolutely Sal ❤ xx
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I also remember this post—a very good one from Miriam!
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This is a fun post, Pete! I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
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Thanks Pete.. love to discover more about other cultures…xxx
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So fascinating, Miriam – thank you for this. Toni x
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You’re welcome, Toni. Thank you so much for dropping by! ❤
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An interesting read.
It was one of the topics that we did in school each year. We loved getting the children to perform as the Chinese dragon.
Older classes created the Willow Pattern plate and my preschool group (at the time), did some beautiful peach blossom paintings.
A time when we could enjoy and celebrate in our school and not have to tick the prescribed boxes.
The peach blossom paintings I shall definatley be doing with my grandson for Chinese New Year in 2022.
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That sounds great Sue and such an important part of growing up.. I was lucky to live in other countries and learnt to respect other cultures but if a child is not exposed to the wonderful elements of other people’s traditions it means they are at the mercy of the media and their one sided view of the world.. which is bad news sells xxx
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Totally agree.
It was one of the things i loved about our school when we were at the top. We would learn about and celebrate so many different cultures and put on special assembly performances to the school and parents.
A lot of hard work but definatley worth it.
It was about teaching understanding and respect.
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We see a lot of one-sided views in many aspects of life these days. Sometimes I wonder how they got here even when the world is getting smaller and people are getting closer.
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In our schools, we celebrate all the holidays by reading books and doing projects to learn about the different cultures also. The peach blossom paintings must be beautiful. I learned to do the bamboo drawing when I was a kid. I’m glad you continue to do the fun project with your grandson, Sue!
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What an interesting life you’ve had Miriam! Most colourful and memorable. Hugs xx
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Thanks Joy..♥
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Thank you, Joy! I have many fond memories of my childhood. Celebrations of the different festivals marked the time of the year with anticipation. ❤
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Such a fab post Miriam. I loved it and it reminded me of living (twice) in Singapore. Once in 1954-55 when I was a small child, and then again 2000 to 2004. We managed a Chinese recording artist in the 2000s and we spent a lovely time there. Chinese New Year was always amazing. We took her to California for the Chinese New Year celebrations and also for Harvest Moon Festival and she was a guest singer for Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Chinese Harvest Moon Festivals Just magical. It all came back thanks so much. Lovely post.
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Wonderful memories Jane and another amazing adventure in your music industry career.. ♥
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Oh yes if you are around long enough lol..
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I can imagine how exciting it was for you to have lived in Singapore, Jane! I went there with my dad and my nine years old (then) daughter. Hong Kong followed the example of Singapore to keep the city clean.
Your music career is amazing. I could hear the singing and instruments in my head right now. The artist must have had a blast traveling with you to sing for the Festival. Harvest Moon Festival is another colorful event for me as a kid. The legend behind the festival is a fascinating tale.
I’m glad the post brought back your fond memories, Jane! Thank you for your comment. ❤
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Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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Thanks for sharing Ed..
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Thank you for sharing, Ed!
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What a lovely and educational post! I loved reading about the peach and plum blossoms and their symbolism, also such a beautiful visual. Thanks for sharing, Sally and Miriam! 💕
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Glad you enjoyed Lauren..thanks ♥
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Good to see you dropping by, Lauren. The symbols of peach and plum blossoms still carry their significance. Weeks before the Chinese new year, the Chinese markets nearby (20 miles away) are busy with people buying peach trees and tangerines to bring prosperity in the coming year.
Thank you so much for your comment! ❤
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Hi Sally, I remember reading this lovely post of Miriam’s before. It is so interesting and a great choice to share.
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Sally has a keen eye to select posts from the archives. Thank you for your comment, Robbie!
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♥
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💖
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I thought it was fascinating too Robbie…hugsx
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Great post! I remembering reading it before and learning a lot. Love seeing it again!
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I can’t believe that eight months have gone by since I wrote this post. It was fun writing it. Chinese New Year is one of the colorful festivals people celebrate in Asian countries. Thank you for your comment, Denise!
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I know this year has flown by 🙂
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I don’t know why though. It seems like after Memorial Day, the rest of the year goes by fast. 😊
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Thanks Denise…hugsx
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This was so educational Miriam – I just love these traditions. Thanks for sharing it again, Sally!
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I love learning about different cultures and traditions, Teri. Thank you for reading and commenting! 🙂
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Thanks Teri..hugsx
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How wonderful to see Miriam’s post again. I loved it then. I loved it now. Thank you, Sally, for hosting Miriam again.
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Thanks very much Karen.. a lovely post and delighted to share..hugsx
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Thank you for reading the post again, Karen! I hope the pain in your neck eased a little bit. Take care!
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