gm frens! and happy lunar new year to all!
May this year be full of health and good fortune! Mine was certainly off to a great start, as we were invited to our very first Chinese lunar new year celebration ever!
The exact beginning of the Chinese lunar new year celebration is unknown, but it can be traced back to a recorded history of about 3,500 years, probably during the Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC). So as you can imagine, participating in such an ancient tradition is incredibly exciting and foreign to me.
Oh yes, I'd like to add that we are not in China. We're not anywhere near China! We're actually 14,000 kilometers and 14 timezones away in Central America, making all of this even more exotic.
The celebration will be held in downtown Guatemala City, in the Chinese Colony building which was built in the 1970s by an independent community of immigrants originating mostly from Taiwan after the former consulate of the Chinese Republic was elevated to the status of embassy. This new diplomatic relationship with China resulted in a large number of immigrants arriving to Guatemala to establish industrial and commercial activities in the region.
This is what the building looks like from the outside. As you can see, there's lots of traditional Chinese architectural elements such as the round windows, a pagoda-style roof and a lot of red.
We were going to be drinking wine at dinner, so we took an Uber to the event. Our Uber driver left us on the curb right outside the building and we were received by a dragon dance!
Here are a few more closeups of the entrance to the building so you can appreciate the decorative elements a bit more.
Once past the doorway, the building was much bigger than I had originally expected. It was also full to the brim!
Red jackets, red sweaters, red tablecloths, red glasses and even red hair!
As I looked up, I noticed a lot of red lanterns hanging from the super high ceiling to ward against evil spirits and bad luck.
The color red, is used a lot in Chinese culture to represent celebration, luck, joy and happiness. So it's no surprise that there is a lot of red here today!
Today, on Chinese new year, it's used as a symbol to attract wealth into our homes and businesses.
Our table was number 23, Decorated with some happy rabbits, since this year is the year of the rabbit according to the Chinese zodiac or Sheng Xiao (生肖), a 12-year, repeating cycle of animal signs based on the lunar calendar.
The order of the animals goes like this: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.
You can check out the link below to find out what your Chinese zodiac sign is and what personality traits, romantic compatibility and what fortune the year of the rabbit will bring for you!
Image source: Chinesenewyear.net
We were offered green tea and Oolong tea as a welcome gesture to celebrate the New Year together.
We were also given raffle tickets, as this celebration includes giveaways of TVs, trips, kitchen appliances and other goodies to those who attended. My amazing rabbit fortune has not kicked in yet, so I didn't win anything this evening, but it will soon 🐇
Grandpa Peter Meng sr., the eldest of the family, gave out a Hongbao to everybody on the table. It's a red envelope with money inside it. Only a few dollars worth ending in an even digit. odd-numbered gifts of money are traditionally associated with funerals. This Hongbao is usually given as a gift on important occasions like birthdays, weddings and of course, new year!
The rest of the celebration was an amazing and never ending banquet of vegetables, pork, cold chicken (new to me), shrimp, rice and a million different things. I thought it might me rude to be taking pictures of everyone eating, so I decided to put my phone away and concentrate on the celebration.
After dinner, we did our final round of selfies.
This is our last photo with my amazing and beautiful friend Ana (Peter's wife)
And a mirror-shot with the entire crew.
cheese! 📸
It's also common to receive oranges, kumquats, tangerines and pomelos as Chinese New Year food gifts as they're believed to bring good luck and happiness. Our table was given tangerines. I ripped off a piece of tangerine peel to keep in my wallet all year long and I brought the rest of it to eat at home while I finish writing this blog post.
These are my gifts on our dining room table. They will bring good luck and happiness to our home.
May you also have good luck and happiness in the year of the rabbit!
If you had any Chinese lunar year celebration, please share, I would love to know how you enjoyed this tradition.
Awesome image by @doze