Wednesday was the last day of class for the pupils at the study center so that everyone could have time to prepare.
I don’t think that any description of the New Year will quite do it justice because you can’t HEAR it. In rural China, firecrackers are a very important element to any New Year celebration so ringing in the New Year sounds more like World War III. People are lighting firecrackers all day and all night without stopping for five days. So Friday, Cui Guo Hua and I went to buy some. He spent over 600 Yuan, which is almost two months salary for most people in this town and he spent far less than many other people. We took a taxi out to his parents house who live in a small village a few miles from Ping Quan to drop them all off.
Friday night there were so many firecrackers that I didn’t sleep at all. Saturday morning I lay awake in my bed listening to what sounded like gunshots and bombs, mixed with laughter. It was a very odd mixture of sound. I got up and had breakfast and then met Cui Guo Hua to go to buy some last minute vegetables at the market. The market was packed with people.
They were selling candy, vegetables and lanterns and these red paper signs to paste around the door for the New Year. 
We took a taxi out to his parent’s house and helped paste the red paper signs around the front door. These red paper signs basically say the wishes of the family for fortune or happiness or whatever. EVERY home and business has them hanging outside. The little boy in the picture is Cui Guo Hua's five year old nephew. He and I get along wonderfully, he talks incessantly to me and leads me around the village. I don't think he notices or cares that I don't speak Chinese, he is just thrilled that I follow him. He has lived with his grandparents since he was born. His parents come every six months to see him but now that he is old enough to go to school they are going to take him home with them. I feel so bad for Cui Guo Hua's mother, she adores him.
Then we went in to the house and everyone was helping to prepare the big meal. At 2:00 p.m. on New Years Eve they have a huge feast. Cui Guo Hua taught me how to make ba si Hong Shu (candied sweet potatoes). We had a big meal with his parents, his younger sister, her husband and their son. Most of it was very good. There were a few dishes that I opted out of but I loved the sweet and sour pork. 
After the meal, we cleaned up and then the tradition is to make joazi to be eaten at midnight and all the next day. Jaozi are Chinese dumplings; they have a meat and cabbage or chives filling wrapped in dough. They are called potstickers at Costco and are like wontons only steamed not fried. Cui Guo Hua’s mother and younger sister taught me how to make them and we sat around and folded jaozi for a few hours and then we ate them at about 11:30. They are really good and fun to make.
At about five minutes to midnight we went out and started lighting firecrackers. It was so loud and crazy. I think I may have lost some of my hearing. These firecrackers are no American fireworks, they are blow your head off type firecrackers, so loud and powerful you can feel them more than see them. Cui Guo Hua, as I said before is slightly crazy and he put a string of firecrackers in an old dry tree, I don’t know why, but there was not mishap there. However the huge firecracker he put on top of the main gate to his home had about 20 of the kind of firecrackers that professionals set off in the US and one of them malfunctioned and blew out of the side. It started a small fire in his parents shed. I thought his mother was going to have a panic attack but it all worked out. It was after one in the morning by the time we were ready to head back into town. There were no taxis, it was very dark and FREEZING. We rode bikes back into town. Riding a bike in rural China is an adventure in and of itself. I will tell you about New Years Day in the next post. Stay tuned…
4 comments:
How fun and exciting! I love the story and pictures. Are Cui Guo Hua's parents rich, they have a very nice house. I can't believe the things that you are experiencing. Are you ready to go back to Bejing?
Love to learn all these new things. Now I want to go somewhere fun.
Glad you were able to participate in the celebrations, and have things explained to you.
You look great!
I want a picture of Cui Guo Hua. And you mentioned you ate breakfast- any time you mention a meal, I want to know what you're eating. Thanks.
Wow! I love the details. It really is giving us a glimpse in to what life in China is like.
Steve makes sure we are back in Germany every year for New Years because he loves all the crazy fireworks they do here. There are tons, and it is very noisy. But I can say, from your description that it is nothing like your New Years.
Can't wait to hear about New Years day.
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