All posts tagged: spring festival

A Happy New Year

Published by Sula H.

Yes, yes, it’s coming a day late, but with the move of MistyHilltops.com and all, there wasn’t really much I could do. But now, I can actually take the time to wish everyone another happy new year! At least in my part of the world, we get to celebrate new year’s twice each year, and who doesn’t mind having an extra reason to celebrate? Anyhow, to all those who mind about Spring Festival, I wish a great and wonderful holiday season!   PS. And don’t forget to eat your dumplings. PPS. Oh wait a minute. That was yesterday.

Deserted Campus

Published by Sula H.

Many of my colleagues dread the winter break, because it seems that this town turns into a ghost town, especially right around Spring Festival. As soon as they can, they flee this campus and our town, touring through Asia, and trying to get as far away from here as they can. I actually don’t mind a deserted campus, because it seems to me that this is the only time of the year, when this place isn’t actually overcrowded. You see, our school is growing in terms of people, but hardly growing in terms of space, which means that every year, the campus gets more populated and quiet corners more rare. Except for the winter break. Now quiet corners are everywhere, and to me that’s a rather pleasant sight!

The Way We Travel

Published by Sula H.

Spring Festival (and the winter break for that matter) is just behind, which means it’s the busiest time of the year – traveling-wise. After all, pretty much all of China is shifting some way or another, going back to celebrate the holidays with their families, visiting friends and relatives, or simply taking advantage of having a couple days off work to travel. Traveling season also means that those who venture into leaving the comfort of their homes to go on a journey, may be facing a series of obstacles. Obstacle #1 | The Tickets The problem with this one is: Officially, you can only start purchasing train tickets (the main means of transportation here) about 10 days before you mean to travel. But when the 10th day before the journey comes, and you run to the ticket center early in the morning, and get to be the first one after they open their doors to purchase a ticket, the answer still will be most likely: “Sorry, no more tickets available!” How that’s possible? Yeah, good …

Happy New Year!

Published by Sula H.

… at least in these parts of the world. It’s Spring Festival! Which means, little sleep, lots of fire crackers, and of course everything shuts down around here for basically two weeks (though I’m glad the big supermarkets will only be closed for about 2 days!). At any rate, I got myself prepared again, for the big fireworks display right in front of my building. And lo and behold, I wasn’t disappointed. Shortly before midnight, the guards began to set up their boxes with all the fireworks, which was my cue, too. This year, I was a little better prepared – all bundled up warmly, I seated myself on a stool on my balcony all ready to shoot away myself (shooting pictures, that is). The only disappointment: I didn’t expect the grand display to be over so soon. (Last year, it took them at least half an hour to fire up all that they had set up down there.) But this year, I was just getting warmed up with my photo shooting when it was …

Another Normal Night

Published by Sula H.

I’m saying good-bye … to the old year that is. Not that this has any special meaning here in China! New Year’s Eve here is just another night like every other – who cares that with the stroke of midnight the number of the year changes? The real new year here begins with Spring Festival, which isn’t for another couple of weeks. Tonight, students will go to bed at the usual time, and the campus remain quiet. Like I said, it’s just another normal night …

Around Town: Lantern Festival

Published by Sula H.

Of course, with the Lantern Festival being the day, the highlight of all the fire cracking – when for one night everyone is going berserk with lighting fireworks – I had to make a little more effort than on the Chinese New Year’s Eve to get some better shots of the fireworks. Now, the town’s official fireworks show had just been canceled, due to the drought around here and the town officials’ decision to invest the money in watering the fields instead of blowing it up with the fireworks. So, the best shot I would have to get some good pictures – I figured – was the roof of the teacher’s flat. So, I grabbed my camera, positioned myself alongside some of my colleagues, and then I watched. And pressed the shutter, of course! Take a look yourself:

Lantern Festival

Published by Sula H.

It marks the grand finale of the Spring Festival celebrations: the Lantern Festival. Each year on the fifteenth of the first month (according to the Chinese Calendar), the Spring Festival comes to an end with yet another day of fireworks, and special festivities. In fact, while the emphasis is on fire cracking in the beginning of Spring Festival, it is the great displays of fireworks and light-shows that characterize the Lantern Festival. Many towns organize big shows with glamorous fireworks and lantern parades (showing off uniquely shaped and decorated lanterns), while private citizens take advantage of the chance to fire up yet another array of fireworks in all shapes and sizes. The origins of the Lantern Festival are not quite certain, as there are numerous legends circulating with regards to how and why this festival first was implemented. Many of those legends commonly refer to events of where the setting up of lanterns and lighting of fireworks was done to prevent some destruction that was to come upon the people. In other instances, the day’s …

Special: Happy (Chinese) New Year!

Published by Sula H.

I hope you all had a good night’s sleep, for I certainly didn’t. Custom has it that around midnight (after the TV show has finished) everyone comes out and the fire-cracking/fireworks goes berserk for at least another hour. And then everyone has to get up really early the next morning, around 5 am, to wish their family members health and good luck for the new year, receive their presents (usually a red paper envelope with money that will be spent on clothes) and eat dumplings. All this is necessary to keep good luck for the new year. Anyways, right after that – also for good luck – everyone starts to fire up a new round of fire crackers. So, this morning, at 6 am sharp I woke up to a big whomm!!! that took place right in front of my window, and ever since then the constant whomm whomm has continued  and probably will go on for the next couple of days – at any given hour. Well, at least last night I was in …

Spring Festival

Published by Sula H.

The most important holiday in China without question is Spring Festival – the Chinese New Year. It begins on the first day of the Chinese traditional calendar – which is usually some time between the end of January and the middle of February – and concludes on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival. Origin Many myths and traditions revolve around this holiday, the most prominent legends claiming that Spring Festival originated in the fight against a mythical beast that would come about this time of the year to devour whatever was in its way. In order to protect themselves, people offered food to the beast, until later they discovered that using the color red would frighten off the creature, as well as the noise of fire crackers. Hence, now, every year at Spring Festival, people paste red paper strips on their door posts, containing phrases of blessing and luck, and all throughout the season of the new year, fire crackers can be heard everywhere. Traditions Some of the most common traditions centered around the …

Saturday Feature: Countdown to the Festival

Published by Sula H.

The countdown to Spring Festival has started. In less than a week the nation will welcome the Chinese New Year, and for that, lots of preparations have to be made. Chinese families make extra efforts to give their homes an extra thorough cleaning – to clean out all the “bad luck” from this past year. Stores and supermarkets are crowded with people buying presents and ingredients for the elaborate New Year’s meals – Spring Festival is very much about eating! Public transportation is bursting with travelers – more than any other time in the year – as most everyone is trying to return to their respective hometowns in order to spend the holidays with their families. Usually, traveling around Spring Festival is a nightmare – prices are much higher than usual, and trains and busses so full, that more often than not you won’t be able to get on a vehicle at all. Here around school, we can tell that the new year is around the corner, because in recent days it has become even …