Archive for the 'Festivals' Category

This is a rather belated post about my CNY 2008. Since its Chap Goh Meh today, I better post this before Chinese New Year is over.

Before CNY we went shopping and saw lovely decorations at the Malls, not as nice as Christmas but still lovely.

On the first day of CNY the kids wanted to see the Lion Dances but we missed two as we arrived too late at the temple and too early at the house we were visiting. Nevermind, we made up for it on the 2nd day in our hometown. We couldn’t miss that as aunty cooks for the Lion Dance troupe which uncle is part of. 

We were mostly sick during CNY all down with coughs. Hubby slept alot but on the fourth day of CNY when he was better, after lunch he suddenly announced that we were going to take the kids to Kek Lok Si Temple and he wanted them to experience the climb so we were not going to drive up. I looked down at my dainty high heels and knew that I was going to have a tough day…… on my feet. 

It was worth the climb though. I hadn’t been there in a long time and had not seen the recent developments. We took the first inclined elevator up to view the bronze Kuan Yin statue which looked very majestic looming in the sky above the hills. My picture above does not do it justice. Majestic beams surrounding it are still being constructed. We wrote our names on a roof tile that will be part of the new renovated portion. The air was cool and nice.

The boy slept on daddy’s shoulder on the way down. The girl dragged mummy’s hand as mummy was slowed down by her dainty high heels. Men! They never think of such fine details like these do they. He could have at least told me to wear my sneakers.

We finally made it home to KL the next day, a 6-7 hour drive. My cousin who left a day earlier drove for 12 hours!

Well, I’ve had my fill of cookies and oranges etc etc until next year now its time to diet. I think I have a head start with my food poisoning.

Free Chinese Graphics from CyArena

Its the year of the Rat this coming Chinese New Year. I read in several places that its a bad year for the Horse. (thats me!) Oh dearie me. Oh dearie me.

Anyway, I digress. I like it that I can put a Chinese New Year greeting on my blog to wish anyone who happens to pass by here. Its like sending a greeting to the world! Haha. So I searched for some nice Chinese New Year graphics to put on my blog. I tried out the Chinese New Year cards at 123Greetings but most of them are two large and they run into the sidebar. Uh uh. No good.

Then I came across a blog about Chinese New Year and found this nice Chinese New Year Graphics link on the Chinese New Year blog. So I’m putting it up. I also put one up on my Mothering Times blog. That one is a nice muted grey with cherry blossoms that blink pink and yellow (go take a look and see if you like it. hehe.) not as loud as this one but talking about loud, you just gotta hop over to my Parenting Times blog to hear the classic Chinese New Year song: Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni song on video. Your kids will like it but perhaps you might like to get some earplugs if they can’t stop listening to it like my kids. Haha.

Ok. Enough procrastinating and dilly dallying. I’ve just got to go and clean house now. If I don’t update this blog for a while, you know what I’m doing. If its before Chinese New Year, its spring cleaning, if its during Chinese New Year, its eating.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Have you ever thought about how far the Mandarin Orange travels before it reaches your stomach? Just think about it.

Its because of this Chinese Culture we have of exchanging CNY goodies during CNY. For example, its considered rude to arrive at a guest’s house empty handed. Its also rude to allow your guest who arrives with gifts to leave empty handed.

So this is what happens to the Mandarin orange. Just imagine this scenario.

First it arrives from China. Then it gets wrapped up into pretty hampers. You receive a hamper from work, think its very nice and decide to give it to your older relative. Your older relative gives it to another nephew or niece who comes visiting from outstation. The nephew or niece gives it to a friend who visited them with gifts in return for their gifts. The friend gives it to another friend who gives it to another friend and yet another friend (who happens to know you too) who gives it back to you when he comes to visit you at your house.

Don’t shake your head. This scenario is entirely possible.

Speaking of exchanging gifts. I’m not very good at this gift giving and returning. I always feel a bit awkward doing it. It doesn’t come naturally to me. How about you?

The popular Better Chinese Calanders are back on this year 2008 the Year of the Rat. Each month is colorfully illustrated with the major holidays and events according to the Chinese and American schedules. Its a great way to keep track of upcoming Chinese Festivals. Chinese Festivals are illustrated and explained in the calendar making it a great way for kids to learn Chinese Cultures and events.And whats even better is there is now an ongoing Better Chinese promotion. From now until Feb 29, 2008 you will receive this Better Chinese World Calender (worth $12.95) Free if you spend $65 or more at www.BetterChinese.com.

Haven’t heard of Better Chinese? Its a great site for kids to learn Chinese. You can check out the free online trial. I did and now I’m hooked or rather my kids are.

During Chinese New Year, I just gotta have my….

• bak kua (barbequeued meat)
• kuih bangkit (Melt in the mouth cookie)
• kuih kapit (Love Letters)
• toh tau (peanuts)
• kam (mandarin oranges)
• keropok (prawn crackers)
• my aunt’s chai bui (sweet and sour soup made from leftover vegetables and meats)

Well, those are my staples during the festival but of course there’s lots lots lots more, so how to diet? Thats it!

I now declare my diet officially postponed till after the Chinese New Year festival. Don’t read my blog. I’m a bad influence. Hehehe. As it is my “L” sized Chinese New Year Cheongsum threatens to split at the seams. After the Chinese New Year, it probablly will!

Whats your Chinese New Year food staples? Those that you can’t do without?

Mine is almost done. Accept for food stuff that is. But I’ve got the new clothing and decorations. I didn’t want to rush with the mad crowd so I shopped very very early in a nice relaxed manner taking my own sweet time. Haha. Thats the good part. No rushing. The bad part is there is no Angpow packets or other goodies to collect. And the mood isn’t really there yet.

Still that is a small trade-off compared to walking around with stressed, tired, grouchy and whiny kids and trying to push little shoes into uncooperative feet, or persuading the kids that clothes are reallly much more fun to shop for than toys and oh not forgetting those long long long queues to try clothes and those long long long queues to pay.

So, yes, I’m done with my shopping. Now its just the cleaning. Now that the fun part is over, the hard part has just begun. But lets look at the bright side. Perhaps all the exercise that comes with spring cleaning the house will make me fit into that “L” sized cheongsum I bought. And no, I never made it for my lose 5 pounds in 5 months to fit into a “M”. BOO HOO HOO. And Chinese New Year is coming and that means food glorious food, instead of losing 5 pounds in 5 months, I’ll probably gain 5 pounds in 5 weeks. HELP!

Yesterday I went to the Pavillion for the first time. They were having Chinese acrobatic dances at the stage and the red flowers decoration was up. The Chinese New Year mood is here!

I must say that the fitting rooms at the Parkson, Pavillion are really big which is the way it should be IMO. Usually the fitting rooms are so small that you would have to squeeze yourself like a contortionist just to close the door. I think that the queues outside fitting rooms would be shorter if you made the fitting rooms larger because usually people shop in groups and they like to try in groups to give each other comments. (I don’t know about men but thats what women usually do). Otherwise, everyone has to queue a mile long then come out and I comment on your outfit and you comment on mine and repeat making the queue longer and longer and annoying everyone else in the queue.

Anyway, back to the Parkson fitting room. It had an armchair, a table and a three way mirror (if thats what you call it). The two sides can be moved about (as discovered by my two kids). It could easily fit in my family of four and more. Very nice. A good place to let the kids sit down and rest while you try outfit after outfit after outfit. Hehehe.

However, for a fitting room as large as this one, you should expect to pay premium prices. The outfits can try cannot buy unless you have lots of $$$$. Funny, how they have managed to turn around. At one time, I thought the Parksons all look so run down and about to close down and now they have become so premium.  

Thats what everyone appears to be doing during the last two weeks of the year. The shopping malls were packed… like sardines. The gift shops were packed. The toy shops were packed. The book shops were packed. And the eateries were packed from all these shoppers.

Then in no time at all, the clothing department, shoe department and supermarkets will be packed again with shoppers preparing for Chinese New Year. From Hari Raya to Deepavali to Hari Raya Haji to Christmas to New Year and then Chinese New Year……..

Isn’t it fun to be a retailer in Malaysia, a multicultural country with multi celebrations? They must be laughing all the way to the bank! And I’m crying all the way from the bank.

I went to Carrefour to do some shopping during the weekend and was amused to see the speed at which Christmas is being taken over or replaced by Chinese New Year. All things Christmas has disappeared in place of the coming Chinese New Year (which isn’t really far away at all, being just one more month to go). So its…..

• Goodbye Jingle Bells, Hello Dong Dong Chiang
• Goodbye Green, Hello Red
• Goodbye Christmas trees, Hello Cherry Blossoms
• Goodbye Christmas Turkeys, Hello Lap Cheong
• Goodbye Christmas Log Cakes, Hello Yee Sang
• Goodbye Silver Bells, Hello Red Lanterns

Yup! If you go shopping soon, you will be seeing all of the above at the shopping malls. Soon, it will be time to shop for New Year clothes, F&N orange, Mandarin oranges, Bak Kua (Barbequed Pork) etc. All this shopping is going to put a BIG, BIG dent in our pockets!

I haven’t been anywhere near my blogs for two weeks now. Too busy enjoying the holidays. Hehe. No, I haven’t gone anywhere for a holiday. Just pottering round the house doing small things for the house like repairing the doorbell, painting old patches etc and playing silly games with the kids and their dad like making paper boats and watching them sail in our back drain in the rain.

Thank you to those blog friends who dropped by my blogs with your Christmas and New Year wishes. I had a very good Christmas indeed, stuffing myself with the turkey stuffing. Hahaha. There goes my diet! Now I’ve only got about a month left to Chinese New Year and I haven’t lost an inch!!! Malu nya!

Anyway, I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year 2008. May all your wishes come true and I would like to leave you with this wonderful holiday images. December is really the most wonderful time of the year isn’t it?

Here’s a beautiful fairyland to greet shoppers at Mid Valley Megamall.

You could even get to meet fairies a dancing…..

But if fairies are not your thing, perhaps you could watch the soldiers a drumming….

Or you could simply stop to admire the Christmas tree made entirely of bread and buns!

Or stop under the toadstools to rest…

Or just take a photo or two with close friends and family. You’ll have lovely backdrops to add to your photo album.

I only managed to take some of these images at One Utama and Mid Valley Megamall because thats all the time I have for. There’s still the Pavillion, The KLCC, Sunway Pyramid etc to make shopping in KL extremely fun and enjoyable during this year end season.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 TO EVERYONE!