Gung Hay Fat Choy!

That means "Happy Chinese New Year!"  Today is the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar.  2013 is the year of the snake, and while I'm not a huge fan of snakes, 2013 is also the year that Ai Lan gets to come home to us, so the Year of the Snake will forever have a special place in my heart!

Don't know much about the Chinese New Year?  Here's a few facts for ya!

• The festivities run for 15 days, from Chinese New Year's Day itself to the Lantern Festival
• Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor deities as well as ancestors (we will just use it to celebrate Ai Lan's heritage)
• Often, the evening before the New Year is a reunion dinner for families, and in preparation of that, every family thoroughly cleanses the house to "sweep away" any ill fortune and make way for incoming luck (love the cleaning house part!)
• Windows and doors are decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with the popular themes of "good fortune," "happiness," "wealth," and "longevity."
• Firecrackers are set off (hmmm...I'm going to have to stock up at 4th of July) and money is given in red envelopes (kids will like that!)
• On the last day of festivities, the Lantern Festival," lanterns are put out to represent people letting go of their past selves and getting a new one, which they will let go of the next year.

I especially love the idea of the lanterns, and I think I can put our own family's Christian spin on it using Ephesians 4:22, which says, "...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desire, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

I'm so excited to incorporate Ai Lan's heritage into our family! As she grows, this will be such an important thing to helping her know who she is and where she came from.  She may be our daughter, but never should discount her heritage...it's part of her identity and it's important for us all to recognize it.  

Gung Hay Fat Choy!  And in 2013, may the the peace that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord!