9th day

The nineth day is to make a offering to the jade emperor!!!!!. I like Jade..I bought braclets, earrings and stuff while in Beijing. Here is a picture od the jade factory we visited.

8th day

On the eigth day the fujian people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnightthey pray to Tian Gong, the god of heaven.

7th day

The seventh day of the New Year is the day for farmers to display their produce. These farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate the occasion. The seventh day is also considered the birthday of human beings. Noodles are eaten to promote longivity and raw fish for success.

days 6-10 of CNY

During these days, the chinese visit their family and friends freely. They also visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health.

5th day

The fifth day is called Po Woo. On this day,people stay at home to welcome the God of wealth. No one visits families and friends because they believe it will bring both parties back luck!

3 & 4 days of CNY

On the third and fourth days of CNY, the son in laws are to pay respect to their parents in law.

2sd day of CNY

On the second day, the chinese pray to ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.

Chinese New Year decor

                                                            these are moon cakes.

                                                               mooncake

                                             this is what a mooncake looks like on the inside

 we have these decoartions thoroughout the entire house. I really like them. I am going to get them laminated.

These are to resemble firecrackers that they use. I am totally loving these on the front door. I am falling in love with a culture that is so saturated with traditions.

Gong Hey Fat Choy!!! Happy New Year!!

     Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later.The 15th day of the new year is called lantern festival,which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

     The chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to  "catch up" with the solar calendar. The chinese insert an extra  month once every few years  (seven years out of  a 19 -year cycle. This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is only  accoring to the solar calendar , the chinese new year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's eve  and new years day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving.  The celebration is traditiona;y highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honour of heaven and earth the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacifice to the ancestors , the most vital of all the rituals , united the living members with those who have passed away. Separated relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living , celebrate the onset of the New year  as one great community. The community feast is called "surrounding of the stove" or weilu.  It symbolizes family unity and honours the past and the present generations.

         The fifiteen day celebration of Chinese New year!!!!!!!!

1st day- the first day of the lunar new year is welcoming of the gods of the heavens and the earth. many people abstain from meat on the first day of the new year because it is  believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them.

A chinese tradition is that family members are to give young children and single family members hongboa with money in it. Hongboa is red envelopes.Here is Miss Diva with hongboa from me , mom and Jeannette. She thought it was great. I am loving that I am learning so much about her culture and can follow through with it. We love you missy!!!

A Bowling Party

 Miss Diva was a liitle freaked out about what her white socks were doing while she tried to play a game of bowling.

                                                                let the game begin

                                                     Miss Diva and baba bowling together

                                                                   the gang

                                                   getting instructions from L's momma

                                                       the birthday girl and her momma

 L cam up with her own game. It was called "pin the heart on momma or dadda." Miss Diva was a little unsure about having a scraf tied around her head so she couldn't see. Here she is pinning her heart.

                                                    Miss Diva dancing with L's momma

 L blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. Can't believe she is 6 already!!!!

                                                            Playing hot potato

                                                                  playing twister

                                                              finally the presents!!!!

                                                                loot bags

There's a fairy in the house!!!!

                                                             we were playing dress up..so much fun!

                                                                my beautiful fairy!

                                                             A dancing fairy....to mandarin music

January 22.2012 Sunday Morning Breakfast

 She is turly a pain to get to eat breakfst sometimes, this morning she had to problems eating "chocolate"(nutella) for breakfast.lol

                                                                      ENJOYING!!!!

I have the best momma in the world..she gave me chocalate for breakfast...love the nutella covered face. I love this kid to pieces...

playing with daycare friends

 Playing outside with her daycare friends, she really likes playing outside, especially now that we have a little snow.

 They were playing birthday party, it was Miss diva's turn to have a birthday and this was the birthday cake they had made for the party. You can see her initals on the cake. I think I have the best job ever. i get to play all day..lol

Jason likes to play with all the kids as well. Here are a few of the kids playing. I really like this picture.

They are pretending to be eating the cake. Miss Diva was getting upset because they were destroying "her" cake.lol

Playdoh!!!

 I don't think she has ever played with anything like playdoh before, she was a little  unsure what this stuff was. We played together for a while, matching the letters and making different shapes.

 What a cool toy from Uncle Jeff, Auntie Melissa nad cousin Kaleb, thak you so much !

She played with it for only a little time, then I heard "mommy, to messy" Then she wanted to clean it up and dance to her mandarin music. I think we have a performer on our hands.

Our 1st Chinese New Year Celebration

 We were very excited to pack Miss Diva up and head to our first Chinese New Year celebration. We tried some chinese food we normally don't try, curry fish balls, was one, I didn't care for it to much but miss diva enjoyed them.

 This is the senior dance! They were the first to perform. This is how the seniors in China get some of their exercise. I am thinking Thai Chi is another huge exercise , we saw a lot people doing thai chi in parks and in front of  temples while in China.

  The traditional lion dance. While watching this, it kind of gave me a peaceful feeling. Very interesting to watch.

 This group of girls were doing a traditional mongolian dance, I was very interested to this considering miss diva is from Inner Mongolia. The dance is to show how proud they are of there beautiful land and culture.

 These girls were very cute. There is a girl in this group that was room mates with Libby while in the orphanage in China. She is the girl behind the biggest girl in the front, slightly to the right , in the back roll. She is so adorable.

                                                                Mongolian dance

 It was interesting to see that Miss Diva new these moves and was dancing right along with them. The vice president of the chinese cultural centre came to chat with us after. Asking how old she was and if we would be interested in enrolling her when old enough. Absolutely!

Every year, there is a different animal that is the symbol of that year. This year it's the dragon. Also, red in china means good luck and yellow smybolizes the dragon. This is why this group has red and yellow ribbons. Each year the red ribbons will remain but the yellow will change to the colour that symbolizies the next animal which is the snake.