February 7 - Chuc' Mung` Nam Moi' (Happy New Year)

It's Chinese New Year today (sometimes called Lunar New Year). Though I don't slant that way...LOL...most Asians still celebrate it. It's the biggest, most important holiday in the east. It starts on the first day of the lunar month and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival.

During this festival, children can be seen playing and carrying their lanterns at night. These lanterns can be very simple to quite ornate. I can remember making one as a child and parading around with it as it hung from a stick all while singing traditional Vietnamese songs.

But my all time favorite tradition has to be receiving those coveted red envelopes filled with, hopefully, lots of crisp, cold cash. One only has to greet a married adult with a new year's blessing of good luck, i.e. "I wish for you a year full of health, happiness and love."...well, that was my stapled phrase and it worked every time. LOL Now, as a married person, it's my duty to pass that tradition along to the unmarried regardless of age should they present me with such a greeting. Okay, so no one greeted me with such endearment today, but the Mickster and the Pink Princess did score big with a few red envelopes from their Ngoai and Auntie L.