Chinese New Year 4706

Chinese New Year was actually February 7 this year, but since that was a Thursday, we decided to have our family gathering the Sunday after. Going along with traditional beliefs, celebrations should always come after the date hits rather than before. I tend to do this with other holidays and birthdays as well. If my birthday falls on a Monday, I prefer to celebrate it on the weekend after even though the weekend before is closer in time.


Last night, we had a small get-together at my parents' house with 9 people total. My parents' house has a small ground floor, good for an 8-person dinner. Anything over that and we have to eat in the basement. While the ground floor is cozier and warmer, the huge basement has certain advantages too. There's more elbow room and enough space to setup a buffet table. Because there's no TV downstairs, we can engage in deeper conversations instead of watching basketball and making fun of the Knicks. Guests started arriving at 3pm to help out. Those that came around 4pm watched some clips of my just-finished China 2007 - Xiamen DVD.

We had so much food... probably enough to feed 20 people. That actually goes along with another Chinese superstition. If you have leftovers, you won't go hungry for the rest of the year. During dinner, Uncle Bock explained that as child, his family would prepare the feast before the New Year hit. That way on New Year's day, there would only be celebration and no labor. Whatever comes in with the New Year is supposed to be a summary of the entire year.