Let’s try again! Happy Chinese New Year! Chinese New Year was on Friday, February 16th. I’m a bit behind on the post I had planned, but my hubby and I went to the one that was celebrated at our church by the Chinese students. I had never been to one before, but it was very interesting and the food was outstanding! I thought I’d share our evening with you. Oh, but the way, 2018 is the year of the dog… 2017 was the year of the rooster! Just some trivia to start your day! You never know when it might come in handy! :o)
We met for some singing in Chinese and spent some time smirking at each other when one of us was singing the wrong words…the songs were too fast for us to catch on to very quickly. Maybe we’ll do better next time! There was a time when it was sort of like a talent show… 2 Chinese girls did a dance, that was really cute!
A “Girl Band” was quickly put together under Ariel’s direction, and they played the most adorable and catchy Chinese New Year song. It’s only played one time a year, so they were asked to play it a second time at the end. It was beautiful!
When we went down in the basement for “refreshments” I snapped just a few pictures of some of the students visiting with each other…I wasn’t sure how they felt about some stranger taking their picture…
Then it was time to eat… and it was delicious! Emperor’s Chicken, chicken and vegetables, pork tenderloin, chicken curry, rice of course, and I’ve forgotten now what else was on the table… but let me tell you, NOTHING was left!
The desserts were fun too! The green, pink and yellow stuff is called Chinese Delight and is made from Cassava (a plant where the starch is extracted and the root of the plant produces what we call tapioca.) It’s cooked and then cut into pieces and then rolled in coconut.
It’s very hard to describe but if I had to, I’d say the texture is sort of like a gumdrop or maybe orange slices candy… kind of hard to tell you exactly, but it was good. Sylvia, the cook for a lot of the food, only makes it once a year, on Chinese New Year… my hubby said, “we’re gonna have to talk about changing that!”
It was a very nice evening and we learned some new things… that’s always a good thing!
Susette sent me some pictures that go right along with Chinese New Year and I thought I’d share them…
I better give her credit too… she’s the one who sent the title for this post! Thanks Susette!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Darling pictures, Susette! You have a treasure trove of Asian things, and your pictures are always so clear and easy on the eyes! Thanks to you, I also have the Chinese outfit you have on Molly, but Ivy wears it at my house!
My goodness, Jeanne, your church has something for everyone! I guess being in a college town makes it easier, but you certainly have quite a varied congregation! The dancers, musicians and of, the food! I can’t get over how much work foreign food is, and all the ingredients that are put together in a dish. My cooking is plain and simple compared to all that! I certainly enjoyed the blog today! Did you or anyone else eat with chopsticks?
Wasn’t yesterday beautiful? Today will be even better, and I am going to try to get outside. I see some spring plants are already shooting up leaves, so the garden needs tending to and cleaning up.
Hi Linda,
Yes, we DO have something for just about everyone! In the 30 years our church has been around, we’ve seen over 90 nations go through here!
Most everyone there ate with chopsticks..we were a couple of fork users! :o)
It was beautiful today..I certainly agree! I was hoping to take some pictures of Molly outside, but it got super windy this afternoon! So I was forced to take them on my dining room table. The windows face west so they turned out well enough to use!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
First I have to say that Isabelle’s ensemble that was posted yesterday is in my top three for sure, and I hadn’t seen it before. It’s wonderful and shows off so many of your talents all in one shot. Are there tiny holes punched before doing the blanket stitch on the jacket? It’s beautifully executed as is everything about it. Love the fabric and searched for it but no luck, of course. Congrats on an amazing outfit. I have a friend who collects moose (I call them meese as the plural) and one friend makes felted ones at Christmas. I’ll send a picture at Christmas.
What a wonderful way to celebrate Chinese New Year. All of the food looks wonderful and, I’m sure, tasted great too. It is their most important holiday in China and Japan and food is a most important part of it. My picture was from last year or I would have featured a dog in there. I now have Ivy who will love to wear the costume. One of my daughters-in-law is Chinese, as I’ve mentioned before, and one is Indian, born in Kenya. Your church’s interest in and caring for international students is certainly appreciated. Thanks for including us in the celebration with your pictures.
Hi Susette,
Thanks for your sweet words about Isabelle’s dress set yesterday. I don’t think anyone had seen it before…I had even forgotten about it.
The stitching around the edges of her jacket was done on my machine using an applique or blanket stitch.
Thank you for your pictures as they added to my post and made it extra special.
Thanks sgain,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne
Loved your post today! The Chinese New Year celebration looked so interesting and then the food to top it all off. Looks yummy and I am going to have to google a recipe for Emperor’s Chicken.
Susette’s Chinese outfit is adorable, I enjoy seeing her Dolly vignettes. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Leigh,
The food was yummy and I could use some of it right now!!
It’s fun to have readers who can add to my posts in various ways. I always love Susette’s pictutes too!
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, it’s wonderful to celebrate different cultures. I love when our dolls can celebrate too (smile)!
Hi Dorothy,
I am so blessed to have friends from so many different nations. I think they are the reason I love Asian dolls.
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Fun!
Thanks Jeanne and Susette for all of the colorful photos.
Blessings.
I’m glad you enjoyed today’s post, Becky!
Blessings, Jeanne
Quite a celebration. Looks like everyone had fun.
Love Susette’s little ceramic kids and the fire crackers. What a wonderful presentation. Is the outfit that Molly has on difficult to find? I’ve never seen it before and wonder what year it came out. Loved seeing the photos.
When does your sister arrive? Hope you have recovered from the other kitchen and can work a bit on yours.
Hi Joy,
It was wonderful when Susette sent me her Chinese pictures. I’m so glad she did.
Susette sent me some info to pass on to you…I’ll do that in an email…
Cindy is coming on Saturday and I’m definitely hoping she can help me with at least something in my kitchen…even her ideas would be wonderful.
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the post, Jeanne! The title, Gong Hei Fat Choy, is actually in another dialect of Chinese (Cantonese, regionally spoken in Canton and also in Hong Kong). In Mandarin (the most commonly spoken one, and “universal” Chinese), it’s actually Gong Xi Fa Cai. It translates as “gong xi” = congratulations and “fa cai” = richness/prosperity, a wish to congratulate people on their incoming prosperity and riches in the new year.
Happy New Year is actually Xin Nian Kuai Le (in Mandarin) or, going back to the Cantonese you used in your title, San Nin Fai Lor (or is it Lok? hmm…). 🙂
Love the post. And by the way, the students are typically fine with photos. 😉
Thanks for clearing it all up Ariel,
I enjoyed it so much and I hope everyone enjoyed it second hand from me. I think they did.
Thanks so much for all you did preparing for that night. You did very well.
Blessings, Jeanne
What a nice celebration. It looks interesting, full of happiness, and delicious, and must have been a nice break for you. I hope you are having another one today, with lots of sunshine. We are also having sun, which is melting the snow — the pattern we’ll probably be following until May. March and April are our snowy months, though with the changing climate, we may have rain in April, but last year we had a substantial snow in May, which was hard on the leafed out trees. I’m not making predictions this year.
I love Susette’s pictures. The little china people anticipating the bang of the firecrackers are so cute. Molly looks lovely in her Chinese outfit. I always think of Molly as cute, but she’s also very pretty. I want to move into the house in the garden, don’t you?
Hi Marilyn,
It certainly was a nice night, and it was full of smiles and happy times.
It has been a nice day; nice enough for some pictures. It was beautiful outside but very windy here. I manged to get Molly’s pictures taken …inside….FINALLY!!
I hope Spring comes early for you this year!
I enjoyed Susette’s pictures too…they are so much fun to study and look at every little detail.
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Loved the pictures today! The New Years dinner looked yummy and Suzette’s pictures are wonderful! That garden shot makes me want to try a corner of the yard with an Oriental theme!
Enjoy the milder week!
Thanks Kathie,
Susette does have a way with those little houses, doesn’t she? I’m glad you enjoyed things today,
Blessings, Jeanne
How very interesting! And, of course, the food looks delicious. Susette’s pictures are adorable. I love the outfit Molly is wearing. I have an Ivy doll, but I missed the opportunity to dress her up for the Chinese New Year. Maybe I’ll Romberg next year!
Hi Carolyn,
It was fun to see everyone’s comments today. I’m glad you enjoyed it too.
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
I really enjoyed the pictures today, and thanks, Ariel, for explaining the differences in the Chinese dialects for saying “Happy New Year!” I had no idea…
I am busy getting ready to leave tomorrow–our Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup is upon us once again! Tomorrow I will check into my motel and meet with one (or possibly more) friends for some shopping and dinner near where we’re staying. Expo starts on Thursday and runs thru Sunday, but I will be going home Sat. after my last class, as I have to be up early Sun. morning to teach Sunday School.
This year I’m taking a total of six classes (which still leaves plenty of time for shopping! LOL). There are several friends I meet up with every year–most years, it’s the only time we see each other, although they only live about 2 hours away (including a ferry ride).
I’m wondering if anyone else on this list is also going to Expo? It would be fun to meet up, if you are!!
Hi Charlotte,
We ALL wish we were going with you to Expo! I hope you have a fun time in your classes. I have always wanted to go to something like that…
You’ll have to tell us about what you learned in the classes…
I hope you have fun learning, sewing, visiting with friends and of course, shopping!
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne