Chinese New Year Celebrations

This Thursday I had the honor of joining my friend's family for dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year, which based on the Lunar calendar. After sitting down at the table, the family started to file into the room that had two, large, circular tables. Aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, grandparents, and parents (20 in all) gathered together today for the Chinese equivalent of Christmas. Initially, the tables were segregated by generations. Almost all of the men and elders sat at a table, while the women and children sat at another table (I was at this one).

We began dinner with cold dishes, then moved onto the hot dishes. The room was filled with babies crying, mothers soothing them, and family members talking. Surprisingly, there were three people who spoke quite good English, of which one was an elder uncle who wanted to talk with me about politics and business. It could have been because of the baijo he drank, but he was quite emphatic and passionate when describing his opinion on the Chinese political system. After our discussion, he pulled me over to the elders table because he wanted me to opine about Obama becoming President, which made for interesting conversation.

I feel lucky to be invited to join my friend's family for dinner on such a family occasion, and it was great to experience how they celebrate their most important national holiday.

Praying at a Buddhist Temple before dinner.