from February, Chinese New Year

 

February 9 was New Year's Eve on the Lunar Calendar. I've mentioned it before so I won't belabor the point, but Chinese New Year is by far the biggest holiday in this country. We found it to be overall much quieter this year (read: less fireworks), but it was still a rip-roaring, loud few weeks. Since our girls aren't big fans of loud fireworks, we personally stick with sparklers. We had a neighbor join us on New Year's Eve as we lit our sparklers. You might be able to see he was carrying around a lighter. Most boys his age and older carry lighters everywhere at New Year time. It's a crazy idea to me! In fact, the other day I saw two 10 year old boys lighting grass outside our apartment building just for fun. I quickly asked them to put the fire out!

 

 

 

The big fireworks begin all over the country as the sun goes down, and at midnight the entire country is lit up in a loud crescendo. I took this photo right outside of our bedroom window around 10 pm.

Over the holiday, our friend asked us to visit her in her village. She is home from working in a factory in Shenzhen. The girls were excited about another trip to our friend's house. The mountains are not fun to drive in, but they are beautiful. We had to stop to catch our breath from the bumpy road take a minute and enjoy the view.



When we arrived,Trinity stopped to enjoy the appetizers (walnuts) the family set out.



The family cooked a feast for us. We ate outside with pine needles serving as a tablecloth. This is a very common way to eat in Y villages.



I love this picture of my friend's mother and grandmother. They were excited to have their picture made and asked me to send them a copy.



Cutie pie



Trinity was on a quest to see every animal in the village. She chased chicks, found all the cattle, and even found the donkey this family has owned for at least 15 years.



Our friend's dad is the assistant village leader and gave us a tour of their village's Y. minority culture center.



"Hello, goats!"

As we walked from one part of the village to another, we took a short cut with some small paths. Our friends laughed at how clumsy we were at trying to navigate the small path. They were pros and could probably cross up and down these roads with their eyes closed.



Sweet family in the village

The New Year holiday is over and tomorrow is the first day back at school for most students. Around these parts, March 4 is the beginning of the new school semester. So there you have it, our celebrations from the new Year of the Snake.