MetaChat - The complexities of the Chinese new year.

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24 January 2022

The complexities of the Chinese new year. My wife is Director of Diet and Nutrition for a home with more than 120 residents. She tries to keep things interesting by doing special things every month. →[More:]

There are the usual holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and so on, but she tries to find more things to add a day with something special every few weeks. Chinese new year is one.

She went to a Chinese market today to get some things for the dinner and collected decorations and little things to give out and went to the cash. The older lady at the cash began ring things up and my wife mentioned new year.

The woman stopped and said 'Oh no!' and pointed at something and said 'Death' and something else and "Death' and so on.

So the woman took my wife around to get new stuff, 'Not death.'

So now Chinese new year will be celebrated in proper fashion and my wife has new insight into Chinese event decoration.

post by: arse_hat at: 20:01 | 4 comments

Phew, that was lucky!

posted by Senyar 25 January | 09:16

Wow, how awesomely fortunate. What were the death ones supposed to be used for????

posted by mightshould 25 January | 17:00

So I am no expert on Chinese belief systems but it seems death as in funerals and in remembrance is celebrated with many bright, shiny, and colorful items and rituals. The new year has it's items and rituals too but you don't want to mix them up.

A bit of clarification: This home is mostly white folks who had lives as farmers out in the county. No idea why that is that way. It just is. A Chinese new year fail likely would have offended no one but it is nice to know it won't be disrespectful to other people even if they would never know.

Sadly two of the more colorful people at the home, a Scotsman and a Newfoundlander, have had to move to full nursing homes this week. They were fine at Christmas but they declined quickly. My wife took that hard.

posted by arse_hat 25 January | 20:50

Sad to hear the folks went downhill after the holidays. It shows how compassionate your wife is, that she took their rapid decline to heart. Sounds like y'all have gone through some tough times recently. Hugs to all.

posted by mightshould 26 January | 19:29

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