A Belated Happy Chinese New Year

[przed]

I've been MIA due to tiredness, busy-ness and three days this week lost to a freaking migraine (that still is hanging around in echo form, goshdarnit) but thought I'd post a few pics from a Chinese New Year banquet we went to tonight with a couple of other families we know.

Here's Ros in a cheungsam we got her in China last year, looking frightfully grown up.


The lion dancers, pretending to sleep on stage before they resume their performance. Before the dance started, all the kids were playing on the banquet hall's stage. When the (really loud) drums started up for the lion dance, the gaggle of kids, including ours, fled from the stage in utter terror. Ros spent about 30 seconds on her dad's lap being afraid of the sound (as usual for this event), but then when she saw all the other kids had recovered and were chasing the lions and patting their fluffy tails, she took off to follow (also as usual).


Ros taking a turn in the lion's head. (One year I'm actually going to get a good picture of her doing this.)

Comments

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

Very cute. We went to a Chinese New Year lion dance many years ago when my daughter was younger, but since we lived in San Francisco at the time, it wasn't the only time she had seen one. They're all over the place in SF.

Gung hay fat choy!

[przed.livejournal.com]

They're all over the place in Toronto, too. We have a huge Chinese population and at least four big Chinatowns. The banquet one is what Ros sees up close every year.

Xin nian kuai le!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

That's lovely!! She obviously had a great time and you did too. Her cheongsam does indeed look extremely grown up. But not grown up enough to take roaring lions in her stride...

That migraine is taking its time - I thought you had the strong meds all sorted?

[przed.livejournal.com]

We all look forward to the banquet every year. Though it is getting smaller. (It's hosted by Families with Children from China, and with far fewer kids being adopted every year, the attendance is starting to dwindle a bit.)

This is a new migraine. The meds were keeping it down earlier in the week, but then it blew up overnight on Tuesday and took me down. It finally settled completely today. But I seem to be back on a once a month for 2 to 4 days schedule, which really, really sucks.

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

Happy Chinese New Year! She looks fabulous in her dress *g* I'm sorry about the migraine & tiredness, hope you're feeling better soon ♥

Every year around Chinese New Year when I was small, we'd get one of those gorgeous concertina-paper chinese dragons that would be being sold in the markets near us, and every year, despite being careful, my brother or I would break its beautiful delicate folds and we'd have to wait for another one. Taught me something about entropy, I think... *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

She does look fab, and the migraine has finally been booted to the curb. (I hate hate hate migraines.)

The dragon sounds fab, though breaking one every year is less so. (I've got Ros various New Year's decorations over the years, but never one of those dragons. Perhaps next year...)

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

She is frightfully grown up! Except I find reassurance in that she ran from the roaring lions. *g* What terrific fun it all looks like. Happy Chinese New Year! And long may the migraines disappear--go to sleep, like the lions.

[przed.livejournal.com]

She's starting to be such a big girl, it's a little frightening. But it is a bit reassuring that she still needs mum and dad for some things.

The banquet was great fun, and the migraine is, at long last, gone. It's been a good weekend.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you're battling a migraine! That sucks. Ros looks so darned cute! She's a beautiful girl. Take care!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Migraines doth truly sucketh, and Ros is definitely a cutey. (She's going to be terrifying as a teenager.)

[gritsinmisery.livejournal.com]

I swear she gets prettier with every new pic you post.

And I know adults who flinch from the lion dancers -- a friend of mine, Hong Kong born but US raised -- got tagged to feed the lions cabbage during a festival back when we were both in our 20s, and she was still holding it out as far away from her body as she could manage.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I don't think Ros will ever be ready for feeding the lion a cabbage. (One of the teenagers got to do it last night, and she looked just a bit terrified. But the lion dancers were also teenage girls, which is all kinds of awesome.)

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Oh, marvellous!

I remember walking through an area of town with a lot of Chinese businesses when I was a teenager, and stumbling on what can only have been the new year celebrations: there was a lion dancing its way from restaurant to restaurant to supermarket, and a group of people following, and people coming out with snacks - perhaps bits of oranges or lemons? I was fascinated, but too shy to go up and watch for long.

I had forgotten the huge drum noises until you mentioned Ros clinging to her dad! Yes, so loud!

[przed.livejournal.com]

When I lived downtown and visited Chinatown a lot more, I'd see lion dances at New Year's, but also for the opening of new businesses. It's always but, but very loud. (Ros has never been one for loud noises. We took her to her first fireworks when she was about two or three and she loved it for about ten seconds, and then she was done. We now watch the Canada Day fireworks from a nearby park that's about a mile from where the fireworks are launched.)

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear that you had such a good time. :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

It's a fun night, and we look forward to it every year.

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Oooh - lovely photos :) Ros is growing up so much!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Isn't she, though?! It's awesome and frightening.