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Happy Chinese New Year!
Updated: 2015-03-05 15:22
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Provided by Judy Zhu |
By Judy Zhu
Here we don’t have a special public holiday for Chinese New Year, but it’s acceptable to ask for several days leave from the university.
On the early morning of New Year’s Eve, I woke up finding that my WeChat message board and moment were overwhelmed with all kinds of New Year wishes: good fortune, happiness, wealth, health, and longevity, etc. The New Year is on the way! When I was busy replying to messages from relatives and friends, my husband couldn’t stop laughing, because he found a funny article, and he forwarded it to me. The Americans and English people were wondering whether it is the year of the sheep, or goat, or ram? Even more embarrassing, they find that there is the fourth kind, the popular cartoon character, Xi-sheep (喜羊羊)!
Our western friends always tell us that Chinese language system is so complicated, and the most challenging part for them is each character has so many different meanings. I explain to them maybe it is because we want to make an expression concise, while they emphasize accuracy. Probably that’s why Shakespeare used more that 10,000words in his works.
Now Chinese New Year is becoming known to people all over the world. On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, we received the New Year greeting from our Swiss boss, saying that “wishing our chinese lab members a happy new year and all the best for the year 4713, which is the Year of the Sheep and starts tomorrow”. 4,713 years?! Such a long history and treasure we Chinese should cherish. Thanks so much to the Internet, you can learn whatever from it, whenever and wherever, if you wish.
Our routine program on this special day is: 1. To do a thorough cleaning of the house (to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck, as told by the elderly). 2. To watch the Spring Festival Gala (it’s right from noon to late afternoon in the local time). 3. To prepare an annual reunion dinner, although there are only three people in this small family. Nicole helped a lot with shopping and housecleaning, and she enjoyed watching the annual Gala this year. She is now growing up to a little girl.
Media Support: | Chinadaily.com.cn | Ecns.cn | People's Daily Online | xinhua.net | |China.org.cn | |cntv.com | |CRI.cn |