Gung Hay Fat Choy

Tomorrow is the first day of Chinese New Year so we spent today preparing. We bought a new plant and set it out. It symbolizes rebirth and growth. We stacked our oranges in a pyramid and set them out to symbolize abundant happiness. We also put out candies. We only had Valentine M&M's but they will have to do.


Next we decorated our front door with our Spring Couplets.

Then we hung up our special lanterns, dragon and good luck banner.

Last, we cleaned the house. Oops...wrong door. Yikes. Sweeping the dirt out the front door is considered bad luck and it could mean that you will sweep away a family member or all the goodness in your home! OMG! As soon as I realized my mistake, Alexa and I got the broom back out and did it correctly. We swept the dirt into the center of the room then carried it out the back door. Just in case we stated out loud, " Chinese ancestors please forgive our mistake for we did not know." It cracked me up when Alexa said it but I wasn't taking any chances! ; ) You are also not supposed to clean during Chinese New Year, until the celebrations are over so you don't scrub the good luck away. Works for me. : ) Tomorrow Alexa will wear red to school to celebrate the holiday and I'm sure the Chief has some firecrackers hidden away somewhere to shoot off in the evening. I also plan on taking her to have her hair cut this week which is another tradition. My parents also give her money in red envelops to celebrate.

Enjoy your Chinese New Year celebrations!!!