Lunar New Year: Year of the Horse

This past Friday was the beginning of the Lunar New Year and I was fortunate enough to be home with my family for the weekend.  We did the usual; lots of food, gambling, and family.  Needless to say, we had a good time.

Predictions about this Year of the Horse:

It is their order to encounter the Year of Birth (Benming Nian), a year to

offend “Taisui’, the god in charge of people’s fortune. In 2014, their fortune

in all aspects will fluctuate, so will require great care. They may feel more

stressed out, in which case they are advised to talk about it with close friends

or councilors, and take part in group activities. Faced with any difficulties,

they should be strong to overcome them all. If they treat people around

them friendly and behave righteously, they will get through the year smoothly.

It's always nice to be home for the start of the new year, but it makes it that much harder to get into the mood for school.  I'll be sure to let you all know when that happens.

But as for the readers, I wish you all happiness and success throughout this upcoming year.

Currently listening to: "Simple Girl" Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Year of the Snake

Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrated this weekend!

I was lucky enough to be able to go home for the weekend to be with my family.  Based on today, this coming year will be full of eating amazing food and being in transit.  One new year tradition is that the first day of the new year will be indicative of the rest of your year; meaning you don't want to clean or cook food on the first day of the new year.

Here are some pictures from my New Year celebration.

"Traditional" new year food, canh chua and thit kho (links to recipes and absolutely gorgeous pictures from The Ravenous Couple):

All food, before it's eaten, needs to be put out for our ancestors.  You always have to remember where you came from.

Games (and gambling)!  This game's called "bầu cua cá cọp", translated from Vietnamese to "squash-crab-fish-tiger".  It's a game of chance and dice; you bet money on whichever picture you think the dice will roll.  I call this gambling for the children...

..and here's the gambling for the adults.  This is a card game that's been played at family reunions for as long as I can remember.  It's played with four players and to summarize the game in a sentence, you rearrange your cards in a group of three, five, and five cards, trying to create your best three "poker" hands.

 And pictures of the family!

Currently listening to: "Locked Out of Heaven" Bruno Mars at the Grammy's