FYI... it only happens once every 50 yrs...

[Dancing Fire]

this year V-Day will be on the same day as Chinese New Year. my daughters asked...can we spent V-day with my bf or do we have to be home for CNY?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Funny! I asked my driver about valentine''s day and he said that valentine''s day is on the 15th this year. I was like what?? I guess that''s how the Chinese are handling it here - tell your daughter the 15th looks wide open for romance

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/9/2010 2:27:36 PM
Author: Cehrabehra
Funny! I asked my driver about valentine''s day and he said that valentine''s day is on the 15th this year. I was like what?? I guess that''s how the Chinese are handling it here - tell your daughter the 15th looks wide open for romance

that could be true,cuz Feb 14 here in the U.S. would be Feb 15 in China?

 

[choro72]

DF, I need advice. FMIL invited us for dinner on the 13th. We have a haircut and makeup appointment for our wedding on 14th evening. FI has to go get his haircut too. We don't have time to do this during the week, and we have no other weekends left to do this, Sundays are closed. We left 14th open specifically for CNY, but FMIL didn't tell us this until yesterday. FMIL insisted that we have to go for CNYEve, nobody cares about CNY day, it's Chinese tradition, FI always goes on CNYEve (which is a lie), yada yada yada.

Now, I understand that Sunday CNY doesn't happen often, and she wants to use this opportunity to do it properly. But is it really so bad that we celebrate on CNY DAY? Why is she telling us about Chinese tradition that FI doesn't even know about? If she wanted him to be traditional, why didn't she raise him that way? Would you be pissed as a parent if we went on CNY day?

ETA, sorry about the theadjack

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 2/9/2010 3:31:28 PM
Author: choro72
DF, I need advice. FMIL invited us for dinner on the 13th. We have a haircut and makeup appointment for our wedding on 14th evening. FI has to go get his haircut too. We don't have time to do this during the week, and we have no other weekends left to do this, Sundays are closed. We left 14th open specifically for CNY, but FMIL didn't tell us this until yesterday. FMIL insisted that we have to go for CNYEve, nobody cares about CNY day, it's Chinese tradition, FI always goes on CNYEve (which is a lie), yada yada yada.

Now, I understand that Sunday CNY doesn't happen often, and she wants to use this opportunity to do it properly. But is it really so bad that we celebrate on CNY DAY? Why is she telling us about Chinese tradition that FI doesn't even know about? If she wanted him to be traditional, why didn't she raise him that way? Would you be pissed as a parent if we went on CNY day?

ETA, sorry about the theadjack

Err.. what is the problem? Dinner on the 13th evening haircut/makeup on the 14th evening?

CNYEve is usually the more important date, similar to significance to Thanksgiving dinner, where everyone tries to make it back home for dinner.

 

[choro72]

Closed on Sundays. I really want to go. I don't think this CNY setup will happen again anytime.

 

[stone-cold11]

Usually is flexible about when dinner is. Talk to her?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/9/2010 3:31:28 PM
Author: choro72
DF, I need advice. FMIL invited us for dinner on the 13th. We have a haircut and makeup appointment for our wedding on 14th evening. FI has to go get his haircut too. We don't have time to do this during the week, and we have no other weekends left to do this, Sundays are closed. We left 14th open specifically for CNY, but FMIL didn't tell us this until yesterday. FMIL insisted that we have to go for CNYEve, nobody cares about CNY day, it's Chinese tradition, FI always goes on CNYEve (which is a lie), yada yada yada.

Now, I understand that Sunday CNY doesn't happen often, and she wants to use this opportunity to do it properly. But is it really so bad that we celebrate on CNY DAY? Why is she telling us about Chinese tradition that FI doesn't even know about? If she wanted him to be traditional, why didn't she raise him that way? Would you be pissed as a parent if we went on CNY day?

ETA, sorry about the theadjack

choro...
when my momm was still with us,she used to tell us kids to be sure to come home for CNYEve dinner.what this meant to the older Chinese generation is that "we are closing out the old year".

then, there's an old fashion tradition were the married daughters aren't allowed to visit their parents on YNEve or New Year's Day,cuz once their daughter is married,they consider their daughter belongs to the husband side of the family.

btw; i wouldn't let your FMIL know about getting an hair cut on New year's Day.

i usually get my hair cut a few days before CNY.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 2/9/2010 2:43:21 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 2/9/2010 2:27:36 PM

Author: Cehrabehra

Funny! I asked my driver about valentine''s day and he said that valentine''s day is on the 15th this year. I was like what?? I guess that''s how the Chinese are handling it here - tell your daughter the 15th looks wide open for romance

that could be true,cuz Feb 14 here in the U.S. would be Feb 15 in China?

you could look at it like that but they usually celebrate it on the 14th but of course CNY gets priority!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Everyone I know here is in it for CNY *eve*. My driver doesn''t care at all if he works on the 14th - but his family gets together the night before. Ditto my tutor, and everyone else I know. The big family dinner and celebration is on the 13th but late as you would in american on new years eve - wait for the ball to drop at midnight. It is THEIR new year''s eve. the 14th is an extension of that... sort of like for people who have a big dinner christmas eve and open gifts on christmas eve still spend christmas together.

 

[Cehrabehra]

choro - maybe she wants to take this rare opportunity to bring you into HER culture - this is a HUGE deal here, *huge*. I can understand your frustration but your wording makes it sound like she''s making all of this up just to torture you. She isn''t. She''s correct.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Yes dinner can be very late - my driver''s family isn''t getting serious about the meal until 10pm. But he''s also willing to work to get out of having to make jiaozi and play mahjong earlier in the evening.

And what DF said is true - you''re not supposed to cut ANYTHING on new year''s day (so says my 10 year old who brought this info home from school and I didn''t believe until I read what DF wrote lol)

I''m sure if your appointments on the 13th are earlier in the day you''ll have time to do both.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/9/2010 7:41:43 PM
Author: Cehrabehra
Yes dinner can be very late - my driver''s family isn''t getting serious about the meal until 10pm. But he''s also willing to work to get out of having to make jiaozi and play mahjong earlier in the evening.

And what DF said is true - you''re not supposed to cut ANYTHING on new year''s day (so says my 10 year old who brought this info home from school and I didn''t believe until I read what DF wrote lol)

I''m sure if your appointments on the 13th are earlier in the day you''ll have time to do both.

my wife play 2X per week,if she can find enough players she would play everyday!!

 

[stone-cold11]

You are also not suppose to sweep the floor during the new year festival.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 2/9/2010 8:05:20 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
You are also not suppose to sweep the floor during the new year festival.

this is definitely not a problem for this house!!!! lol

As for the mahjong - I just learned how to play 2 weeks ago - it was funny, I played with about 8 chinese and only 1 spoke any english. We were just playing for fun so I could learn and sometimes people would trade places or one side was played by 2 girls. I had only played the solitaire version before moving here and I think the real one is a bit like gin rummy! They need to make a REAL mah jong ap for my iphone!!!! lol

 

[Dancing Fire]

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY and HAPPY V-Day to all!!