Lantern Festival: Happy Chinese New Year Today!!!

The Year of the Dragon is upon us, and today is the date for Chinese Lantern Festival.

Last week we went to our local Chinatown (oh, how so very different than New York's various Chinatowns, whether on the Lower East Side or in Sunset Park!), and we sought out Chinese New Year's greeting card red envelopes used for money gifts for children (the Chinese do gelt in their own way).

Here is one that we got, in a multipack of other licensed characters:

Stango didn't give me $ in this, but instead he wrote a love note.  I know, I know, wrong holiday...but next year, when we know better, we will do it right.  And since we don't celebrate the holiday that is on February 14th, this was a good time to jump the gun.

My friend the Nunever consulted with his friend, who is Chinese, and I received  the following quite lovely translation and interpretation:

"The top line means be auspicious and wishful, and bottom is happy new year.  That's very good because it's integration of Chinese tradition and American culture.  Localization always means to me the symbol of being rooted, accepted, united and harmony.  We see peace as well from those."

And that is what the Whole Phamily is about.

Of course, we were eating Chinese food when we gave the cards.

We are Jewish, after all.




(What I REALLY want is to make my friend Marci's "Chinese New Year's Cookies" which are so deliciosu and not at all Chinese but they are made with lo mein noodles, butterscotch chips, peanuts, chocolate chips, and it can all be varied.  Marci, would you post the recipe?!?!)