For my fellow bananas and/or non-Chinese speaking friends, the characters read “xin nian kuai le” or Happy Chinese New Year
Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
So begins a new year on the Chinese lunar calendar. Yet another round of festivities and gastronomic delights. It should be a time of joy and merriment. It should be a time of anticipation and renewed hope. It has been all that, except that there still remains something to be found. Futile as it may seem, I begin the day by harboring a secret hope, too fearful to acknowledge it even to myself…
The page turns randomly…
… is a wish for something that now seems like a distant falling star. The allure of the ang paos, food and new clothes has faded. Not altogether gone, just tarnished. I have come to the realization that it is not the material things that bring happiness, but the little abstract things. Forging new ties and strengthening old ones are infinitely more valuable than anything that wealth could possibly buy. Giving and receiving a smile makes for a better day…
The page turns again…
Ps. Feel free to send ang paos to support the continued existence of this blog. Don’t forget me while chomping on that piece of bakkwa.
The poignancy of things
A purple flower
The blossoms of spring
And the light snow of winter
How they fallEnya’s Sumiregusa
Posted by Joel 
