lions and dragons

Last week we went to one of the nicer malls, IFC, over on the HK side to watch the movie The Descendants (which finally just made it out here).  While walking through the mall, we happened across a lion dance and a dragon dance.  This was totally unexpected and super fun.

The lion dance was really neat as the boys were very acrobatic and energetic.  For those of you who have not seen one before, the lion consists of two dancers, with one acting as the head and the other as the body.  They must work together to walk, jump, and dance in unison.  The dragon dance was also lovely to watch as the boys worked really well as a team to get the dragon to move around smoothly and quickly.  There were also musicians playing the drums, gongs, and cymbals, which kept the atmosphere very festive (and loud).  

Something different that I had not seen before was the "eating of the green" ceremony.  Each store had lettuce, various greens, and red packets hanging above the doorways that the lion dancers had to get down.  The dancers had to reach up to grab the packet and then proceed to eat it, keep the red (money) packet for themselves, and spit out the greens which represents the spreading of good luck for the new year.  This was definitely the highlight for me.

Lion heads

 

Lion leaning forward on a ladder and leaping from step to step.

Lots of strength goes into these performances.

 

Some of the dancers and musicians.

Close up...the dragon chases the ball.

People touched the lions and dragon for good luck.  So happy!

Focusing on the pattern.

Blessings.

Lettuce package hanging on the doorway of a shop.

 

Reaching for it, grabbing it, and eating it.

Close up...this had a lot of herbs and a carrot!

A different view from underneath.

(Linking to Sweet Shot Tuesday)

(Linking to Tuesdays Around the World)

cny in hk

Flowers are a huge deal during Chinese New Year.  I never realized to what extent until I saw the mad rush to buy plants and flowers during the weeks leading up to it.  People were out buying everything from simple bouquets to ornately decorated potted plants to actual trees.  Here are some of the things I saw while walking along the flower market (the one below our apartment) in Mongkok.

Potted plants

Orange trees

Cherry blossom trees

These are really popular during this time of year as red is an auspicious color.  

I call them the Scarlet Letter Berries.

Dyed in every color imaginable.

Some festive ornaments.

Over Chinese New Year, there were also a few fairs held at different public parks.  I went to one near our apartment one evening and there was a lot to see.  There was of course a section dedicated to flowers and plants that had people busy buying up.  There were also a few food vendors selling different types of sweets and desserts.  There were people selling balloons, toys, and all sorts of noise makers.  The funniest though were the hand warmers in all sorts of different shapes and sizes...very creative!  Here's a small glimpse of what I saw as it was cold and rainy that evening.

Love the colors...I took a few pics of these.

Mochi

You can build your own face mask!

Hand, head, and ___ warmers!

Time to take the pet frogs on a walk around the park.

Look at those eyes...how can any child resist these?!?
(Linked to Tuesdays Around the World)

year of the dragon

Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!


Display in TST

We are currently enjoying our time off due to Chinese New Year (CNY) and are happy to be celebrating the start of the Year of the Dragon from the comforts of home.  We decided to stay in HK and not travel this break as we were keen to simply relax and chill out in our own space and enjoy some peace and quiet.  Since break, we have watched a lot of TV, read some books, been online a lot, cooked, and even managed to get out for a bit.  It has been perfect and just what I needed.

There was only one slight hiccup to our plan initially due to the lack of quiet we had hoped for.  As this has been our first time staying in HK in our current location, we just had no idea how loud it could get over here.  It has been so intense that we have been sleeping with a fan on even though it has been cold to help drown out some of the noise from the flower market below us.  We had the TV or music on all the time because there were so many people outside.  Let's just say that they do not know how to whisper! The days leading up to CNY were the most congested we'd seen our neighborhood as people were busy buying flowers and plants at all hours of the day.  The shopping would start as early as 6 am and continued until late in the evening, well beyond midnight.  It was quite the adventure trying to get to and from our apartment during the week leading up to CNY.  Thankfully it has died down since Monday as the flower shops have closed for a couple of days.  It is almost eerily quiet now as there seems to be no one around at all...not that I'm complaining!

View of the flower market from our apartment one morning.

View of the flower market from our apartment at midnight.

The street in front of our apartment leading up to CNY.

The street in front of our apartment on CNY.

Another street in front of our apartment leading up to CNY.

Another street in front of our apartment on CNY.

(Linking to Sweet Shot Tuesdays)

chinese new year

I know this is a week late, but I’m learning that on my blog, a week late is not that bad! It’s pretty pathetic actually, I know.  I do enjoy blogging and I have ideas as to what I want to blog about, but whenever I have time (which is more often than not), I tend to do everything BUT blog.  Hopefully my mind will start functioning more and I will soon do more things (the things I really WANT to do) than just watching my t.v.  So enough of my rant, enjoy my short update…

Since we decided to stay in Hong Kong for Chinese New Years, I thought it would be fun to go out and see how it is celebrated around town.  It’s ridiculous, but I only managed to see a small portion of what was available as it was COLD and all I wanted to do was try to stay warm at home.  That being said, we did go to Victoria Park and survived the crowds of people, saw the fantastic firework display from the comforts of our building, and watched a dragon dance welcoming the New Year.  So all in all, we had fun and got to experience this holiday in a somewhat local way.

Matt with a hand warmer and me with a yummy treat!

The sea of people that were seriously everywhere!

 

The lucky oranges that were given out and a cute little old couple enjoying the day!

The firework display!

Cute little kids who enjoyed the fireworks with us and the dragon show!

mid-autumn festival

Saturday, October 3^rd, was the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Chinese Moon Festival here in Hong Kong. This is a festival that takes place when the moon is the biggest and brightest it can be. This festival seems to consist of eating lots of “moon cakes” and displaying beautiful handheld lanterns.

We decided to go to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to celebrate this festival. I think it was a good choice as there were so many people there. When we arrived at the MTR station, all we had to do was follow the tide of people heading to the park. There were lovely lanterns hung all over, making it all very picturesque. There were several stages with various shows going on all evening. There was a stage for ethnic Chinese dancing, a stage for traditional Chinese opera, a stage for an acrobatic show, and two stages for two different types of puppet plays (one with the live figurines and the other with the puppets performing behind a sheet). There were also several booths all around with games, Chinese riddles, and even fortunetellers.

I loved seeing all the adults and children milling about with their lanterns in hand. There were traditional paper lanterns as well as many new, modern plastic lanterns. There were many who wore glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets and became walking pieces of art. People were eating cotton candy and popcorn while enjoying the carnival atmosphere. Families were even having picnics while enjoying the cool air and the bright moon. It was truly a wonderful evening!

Cool dragon display!

One of the finger puppet shows.

The second puppet show. I really liked this one as the colors were so vibrant!

These red lanterns were hanging everywhere. Beautiful!