Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year! It's 2014 - the year of the horse! Last year when we were waiting to bring Calli home, I read a lot about the traditions of Chinese New Year and knew this was something I wanted us to incorporate into our celebrations once we had her home. So, I was super excited to celebrate this year! Chinese New Year is actually celebrated for two weeks, beginning with a big reunion dinner on New Year's Eve and ending two weeks later with a lantern festival. Is is also called the lunar holiday or the Spring festival, and it coincides with the lunar calendar, so it's on different days each year. This year, it started on February 1. We planned to have a Chinese dinner (with take out!), and had the Mitterlings and Michelle over to eat. The girls dressed up in their traditional dresses we bought them when we were in China. Cooper was not very interested in taking pictures.
When Sarah and Caleb came over, we painted and made red and gold lanterns. This was after dinner, after they had changed clothes into dress-up clothes. :) We also gave them red envelopes with $2 bills in them, so they were showing those off as well.
The girls loved helping me decorate the house earlier in the week. We also checked out some books from the library that they have enjoyed looking at!
After they ate, they colored a picture while I read them a story about Chinese New Year. Then we passed out their red envelopes! This is a tradition in China - the children get red envelopes from family and friends, and it is supposed to bring good luck. The girls even got red envelopes in the mail that day from Gigi and Peeps! Such a fun tradition to share with our family.
We're so thankful for Calli and for the opportunity we have to learn about her birth heritage and about the country where she was born. She has been home with us 10 months in just a couple weeks! God has richly blessed our family through her and we are more than thankful!
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