Local Cooking Experience Hong Kong Looking to do something a little off the beaten path in Hong Kong? How about a cooking class in a fairly unexplored part of Hong Kong? We decided to go with Edith from Local Cooking Experience Hong Kong to see what a cooking class in Hong Kong entailed. I’ve been to a cooking class in Thailand, loved it, and this time was no different!
CHINESE NEW YEAR TIMELINE Chinese New Year is approaching and of course, you’re probably wondering what it means and if there are some taboos things you shouldn’t do and what are the things you should do… It can get pretty daunting and is THE #1 MOST IMPORTANT HOLIDAY for the Chinese. Think of it like Christmas for the Chinese people. Also, this will also be the time of year where they will get the longest amount of holidays so prepare and stock up ahead of time in terms of food and supplies as the first 3 days of Chinese New Year are holidays in Hong Kong! We’ve made a timeline for easy reference.
WHY YOU NEED TO BUY A NIPPLES [FRUIT TREE] AND PUSSYS [WILLOW]! Chinese New Year is a very family oriented holiday, but there are fun activities that everybody should do, regardless if they celebrate Chinese New Year or not. Visiting a Chinese New Year Flower Market is on the top of my list if you’re interested to see and feel some of that atmosphere!
4 MOST POPULAR GIFTS TO GIVE FOR BAI NIAN (拜年) Bai Nian, 拜年, is when you visit your friends’ and family’s houses to exchange Chinese New Year Greetings to each other (If you want to learn the most basic ones, please see post here). Once the Chinese New Year Greetings are exchanged, lucky money then also gets exchanged (Depending on your status, you either give one or receive one… See our infographic to see if you give or receive, here). Now, this bai nian extravaganza starts on “chu 1” (初一), the day after Chinese New Years’ Eve as based from the lunar calendar. And the Chinese are very polite; therefore, us guests don’t show up to a person’s home empty handed… So what’s an appropriate gift?
THE LUCKY MONEY COMPLEXITY: WHO GIVES AND WHO RECEIVES? Happy Chinese New Year! When I was growing up, I loved the Lucky Money tradition during Chinese New Year. In fact, it was probably my favourite part of Chinese New Year. I mean, what’s not to like? I say a Chinese New Year Greeting (if you want to learn how to say the 21 Most Popular Greetings, then click here), and bham, I received a red envelope containing money. It’s awesome right? But now, as I grow older and thereby, more mature (methinks), I start to wonder, when do I give a lucky money, and from whom do I receive one from? So I went around and asked my HK coworkers, and it’s actually very simple and boils down to 3 simple questions. Read on to find out what they are.
PHONETICS TO PRONOUNCE THE 21 MOST POPULAR GREETINGS FOR CNY! Chinese New Year is here and it’s a HUGE HOLIDAY and celebration in Hong Kong! (And in countries/cities with a big Chinese population). Wanna impress your coworkers with a few festive Chinese New Year greetings when you go back to work? If you want to ensure that you get the biggest stack of lucky envelope possible, make sure to ace some of the greetings below. We have curated the most popular 21 greetings for you and put together some easy phonetics (for Cantonese pronunciation) and descriptions to go along with them. If that’s not enough, then also download the PowerPoint because I’ve embedded audio so you can hear the actual pronunciation if you’re that much of a keener =D. You’ll have at least one greeting for everybody person and purpose! Let’s get the CNY celebration started!
