I know this post is long overdue but life's been rough these past couple months. So here is my personal experience on celebrating the Chinese Lunar Year with a family in the rural area deep in central China. This is solely on my personal experience, what I've learned, my intake, and etc. So if you want to educate yourself on the Chinese New Year, please refer to my blog Everything You Need to Know about Chinese New Year.
Day 1 - Arrival
We arrived late at night in Anyang. We were greeted with some meal and crashed immediately. We were pretty exhausted since we came right after a long day at work. On top of that, we were on the road for almost 3 hours.
Although I prefer to have been well rested before coming to Anyang, we knew traffic was going to be a nightmare the next day, so to avoid that we came early. Now, it was super duper cold in the village so at this point my goal was to make it through the week without getting sick. Yeah... that didn't really go as planned.
Day 2 - Family visit, Work, and The market
Today we went to the new year market to sell red couplets (Dui Lian). We were in the middle of the market trying to sell red couplets and I was already tired of it 10 minutes in because it felt like 10 years. We were there for 30 minutes and we still had not sold a single thing. Now I understand why some vendors chase after people and bribe them to buy things because I was 90% close to doing that. I also realized today I have a long way to go when it comes to having patience.
After a while, we decided to go look around the market and shop while the son stayed behind to take care of our stand. The market had many stands where people were selling different products and produce especially fish.
I always pass stands never thinking about how long vendors stand there trying to sell their products and that this is the only way most villagers make their income. Being the seller and not the buyer was painful because I don't have the patience for this one bit.
Honestly, I have to give all the people around me props because I don't know how they manage to stand in the cold for hours to sell stuff. I also noticed that having a food stand is the best way to make money because even I was running to the snack stands because you know, food is life. I got to try shaobing which is a type of bread that's super tasty. It's a baked layered flatbread topped with sesame seeds. Normally it's sweet but it can also be savory. I also tried bubble tea for the first time and it was gross, but then again I hate milk.
We also visited some of the family members today because they haven't seen each other much this year.
Day 3 - Decoration & games
Today was all about decorating the house so we hung the red couplets. Well, actually the son did all the work and we were just there for moral support.
I learned how to cook hongshuwanzi (红薯丸子) which is pretty much made out of sweet potatoes, flour, and sugar. Listen, I know it sounds weird, but it tastes amazing!
After lunch, we went back to the new year market to buy more snacks and stuff. There, we got to speak with a couple who was baking and selling fresh shaobing. They were very kind and funny. I asked for their permission to take pictures of them, so they asked to introduce me to their son.
We spend the rest of the day playing cards and just simply enjoying each other's company.
Day 4 - Chinese chest, Chores, and Dumplings
Today I learned how to play Chinese chest. Okay, sorta kinda. You know it's about to be hard when people try to explain it to you but confuse themselves in the process.
First of all, I rather play monopoly all day over this because this makes no sense! I thought chess was complicated, but this feels like a chem lab without any instructions.
We also helped out with some chores today. We had a bag full of fresh garlic sprouts to pick, peel and separate. We also had to separate fresh parsley and some other vegetable. Don't ask, I was just doing what I was told.
Because tomorrow is New Year Eve, a lot of food was being pre-prepped so in the process, we got to see how they fill, fold, and make dumplings. We didn't learn how to make dumpling's dough because we were too busy with our phones.
Day 5 - New year Eve, Buddha Temple, CCTV and More
Today is New year Eve, so the morning consisted of us cooking meals.
I ended up learning how to make different Chinese cuisines such as fried coke-chicken, tremellas, and more.
After Lunch, we went to a temple. Here is where it gets interesting, during the week the mother was folding gold paper sheets into Chinese ancient money shapes, and today, we took that to the temple just for her to burn it all.
At first, I was confused but I quickly learned that just like we have different angels as Christians, they have different Buddhas as Buddhist. And the ones we were visiting today were the Buddhas of wealth. So the money was set on fire in order for the Buddhas to receive it.
Afterward, the mom lit incense sticks in order to send her prayers. Think of this like the way we go to church during Easter, they go to a temple during New Year, and different religions have different rituals.
By the time we got back home, it was time for dinner. It's a tradition for every Chinese household to set off firecrackers before eating dinner. So around 6 pm, all you hear is firecrackers. This is done in order to invite ancestors to come dine with the family. Endless dumplings were served for dinner.
After dinner, we went outside to set off more firecrackers and launch fireworks. the whole village was filled with fireworks and firecrackers. The streets were filled with kids running, playing, and screaming around as they saw the adults launching and setting off firecrackers and fireworks.
8 pm came around and most people went home to watch CCTV chun wan (春晚). This is a famous live New Year show that goes on until midnight.
Chun wan is a national show with performances from all over the world. I even saw Jackie Chan sing. Yes, Jackie can sing. Some people pull an all nighter today because tomorrow they are going to be traveling to see their relatives.
Day 6 - New Year Visit
Today we woke up super early. It wouldn't have been a struggle if we had actually slept, but people decided to set firecrackers all night long.
We were eating breakfast by the time it was 6 am. Now today was odd for me because I hate eating breakfast, and I'm not used to eating anything heavy such as dumplings for breakfast which left me sick. The reason we were up this early is because the house with the youngest generation has to go around the neighborhood and pay a visit to the neighbors. We were the house with the youngest generation, so we had to do the visiting. To make time go faster, we decided to set off firecrackers on our way.
We got money from the grandparents since its a tradition for elders to give us money. Later on that day, I got to meet the father's side of the family since everyone came to visit the parents (grandparents).
Day 7 - Last Day, Carnival Day
Today we visited the mother side of the family and I spent most of the afternoon playing with the dog because I prefer animal interaction over anything.
The house we went to had no heater so the men brought sticks and woods and we used that to heat up the house. That was harsh because I don't know if I could have made it here for seven days if our home didn't have heaters. We also used the oven looking thingie to toast apples on sticks.
Afterward, we went to the carnival and then the light show.
Day 8 - Farewell with Apples
The culture vulturing came to an end today as I said my goodbyes and headed out to go to the bigger cities to experience the westernized version of this holiday. I was sent off with apples because it symbolizes safe travels.
This week was well needed and it was amazing even though I ended up sick I wouldn't want to have been anywhere else. I learned so much more about the new year and Chinese traditions, and I've eaten food I would normally never touch.
The best thing was being able to relax eat, drink, hear stories, learn new things, and not worry about anything. But at the end of the day, I just can't wait to be reunited with my bed. This week also showed me the importance of a family and how much I can't wait to see mine. I think if you are blessed enough to be reunited with your family at any holiday, cherish it.
The Following week:
I spent the following week in Macau because it's home. But here is the crazy part, when I went from the village where people survive on every penny to a city where people spend $100 on nothing. I saw the bigger picture. It hurts because for some of us we can work for it and earn it easily without putting too much effort, but for the villagers, they have to sacrifice a lot and work three times as hard just to make a quarter of what most of us make in a day. Even though I'm good at handling money, it made me appreciate the power of money more. It makes me thank god for blessing me with the life I have, and it also motives me to go for what I truly want, to work hard, and strive. So many people don't have the opportunity that many of us have been blessed with.
I have seen things and learned about things that I choose not to blog about. I will end this blog by saying this week definitely has been a very humbling experience, and I will try not to take things for granted from this point on in my life. I'd also like to thank the Qin family for taking me in this holiday and treating me like their own. I can not thank them enough for their hospitality. I wish you all the best and a happy prosperous year. May the year of the dog bring you all the blessings a heart can know!