May is the month to celebrate your mom. Like many other holidays, Mother’s Day is about tradition, spending the day with her, taking her to a nice lunch, and perhaps giving her a gift to express your love and appreciation. Perhaps you can use one of these ideas to start a new tradition with your mom (or the mom in your life).

How to Make New Mother’s Day Traditions

• Moms love flowers! Bought or picked from the yard, you will make her day with a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers.
• Make her a homemade card. Artwork and sweet sentiments from her child will mean much more than a card you might spend $5 on at the store.
• Wake her with breakfast in bed. Let the kids help make muffins, pancakes, waffles or whatever her favorite breakfast food may be.
• Make a special coupon book just for mom. Coupons can be a night off from cooking, washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, sweeping, walking the dog, or could be for a special snuggle/reading time together with child.
• Give mom a gift certificate for a massage, facial or manicure/pedicure. Treat your mom to a day of luxury and relaxation.
• Make a video especially for mom. Record thoughts, memories and sentiments from the kids. The kids can make a giant Mother’s Day card or sign for the video and then give it to her after she sees the video.
• Let mom call the shots. Spend the day doing something mom likes to do like going to the park, hiking or playing games.

What are some ways you show your mother how much you love her?

Robin Greene wishes all the Mommies and Mommies-to-be a very Happy Mother’s Day! Robin has been married for over 15 years and has two teenagers. She enjoys freelance writing for mybabyclothes.com, where you can shop for the most precious baby clothes, beautiful baby tutus and dapper baby hats.

• Always takes place in Spring and usually, but not always, around the same time as Easter.
• Both faiths eat a lot of eggs but I am not sure that it is for the same reasons.
• They are both hope based: Passover celebrates the exodus out of Egypt, while Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Christ.

But that is where most of the similarities end.  The differences are truly interesting:

What Makes Passover Different from Other Jewish Holidays?

Passover is Celebrated in the Home

The celebration usually takes place at a meal, called a Seder, and therefore there is no need to go the Synagogue. Much of the family is usually congregated in one place—like the dining room table. All festivities and readings are done from a text called a “Haggadah,” which is read at the table.

Family & Friends Participate in the Service

The purpose of reading the Haggadah is to recall the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Everyone has a job during the Sedar; in fact the youngest child has one of the biggest jobs: asking “The Four Questions.” The “Four Questions” are actually statements about how the celebration of Passover is different from other days. In my family, it is imperative that the child read the questions in Hebrew and not the phonetic pronunciations. To be allowed to read them means that you have started your Hebrew studies and are no longer considered “a baby” in the family. (On a side note: I didn’t learn how to read Hebrew until I was an adult and therefore have never had the honor of reading the Four Questions.)

The Seder Plate

The seder plate is the table’s centerpiece.  Each of the seven foods on the plate symbolize different aspects of the imposed slavery on the Israelites:

Vegetable (Karpas): It is traditionally dipped in salt water. The vegetable (usually parsley or lettuce) symbolizes an old tradition of beginning a meal by dipping vegetables. The salt water represents the tears our ancestors shed during their years of enslavement.

Shank bone (Zeroa) / Roasted Beet: Represents the tenth plague in Egypt, when all firstborn Egyptians were killed. The Israelites marked the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a lamb as a signal that death should pass over them.

Hard Boiled Egg (Baytzah): A symbol of mourning for the loss of the two Temples in Jerusalem. Hard boiled eggs were traditionally considered the food of mourners.

Charoset: A delicious mixture that is often made of apples, nuts, wine and spices. It is supposed to represent the mortar the Israelites were forced to use while they built structures for their Egyptian taskmasters.

Bitter Herbs (Maror): Symbolize the harshness of servitude. Horseradish—either the root or a prepared paste—is most often used. A small amount of maror is usually eaten with an equal portion of charoset.

Bitter Vegetable (Hazeret): This piece of the seder plate also symbolizes the bitterness of slavery. My family places a bowl of salted water as a representative.

Four Glasses of Wine

The Haggadah actually directs the adult participants to drink four glasses of wine during the service. As my family consistently tries to abbreviate the time spent recalling the Exodus, that’s 4 glasses in less than an hour.  Of course, after consuming that amount of alcohol in less than an hour, some of the family participants get a bit rowdy and decide to share some family stories that are better left in the past.

The 10 Plagues

Ten Plagues of Egypt

Because the Passover story is told at home, we are able recall (and even act out) our favorite parts including the recitation of the Ten Plagues imposed on Pharoah.  As each plague is called out, my family dips our little fingers in our wine and place a drop of wine on our plates.

No Bread (Or Anything with Leavening!)

I love bread! But it’s nice that once a year I have an excuse to throw out all of the old bread that has been lingering in the back of the refrigerator just waiting to be made into breadcrumbs. At Passover, it is customary that everything with leavening be thrown in the trash. In its place, we eat Matzah (flour and water) that has been baked for exactly 18 minutes. It’s amazing what can be made out of matzah with a little imagination and time. Crab cakes are DELCIOUS with a matzah meal base. (Yes, it’s true that crabs, by themselves, are not exactly considered kosher according to the Jewish Culinary rules, but I am just making a point about matzahs’ many uses.) Of course, by the end of the eight days of Passover, we are all a bit tired of eating it as our only form of starch but for most of the week it is a great alternate for bread, cereal, pasta etc.

Unleavened Bread or "Matzah"

Hiding the Afikomen

Like any Easter egg hunt, this tradition is really focused on the children participating in the Seder. At the beginning of the Seder, half of the middle three pieces of Matzah (called the Afikomen—which also means “dessert” in Aramaic) is hidden. The Seder service concludes ONLY when it is located by one of the children. The child may “sell” the Afikomen back to the Sedar’s leader. Usually the payment is a new toy or, in my family, five gold dollars. Allegedly, the custom aims to keep the children engaged throughout the entire service and interested in Passover traditions. However, having been the seeker and the one hiding the Afikomen, I find that it is really more rewarding to be one of the adults steering her favorite child towards the matzah before any of her bigger cousins ambush and steal it away from her. After explaining these seven customs to my neighbor, I was surprised to learn two things: first, she was actually still awake and listening to me and second, that she wanted to participate in a Seder. She explained that having listened to the yelling and singing coming from my home last Friday night, she wanted to be part of the party too. I can think of no better guest. After all, the Haggadah notes: “Let all who are hungry, come and eat.” The welcoming of guests to the Seder table is actually a central Passover tradition and in our neighborhood, that could be a lot of people at the table next year.

Featured image courtesy of Flickr.

When I was at Blissdom12 this year, Hershey’s offered us a chance to fill a virtual Easter basket on the computer in their booth. The really cool thing is they delivered that exact basket to my home this week. It has so many delicious treats, I can’t wait to surprise my kids with it on Easter morning. You can also go to Hershey’s Easter website and find all kinds of fun ideas, recipes, and crafts. They asked me to share some of my favorite Easter memories with you.

Easter Traditions with the Family

We have so many Easter traditions in our family. Each year I buy a new Easter dress for my daughter. I remember my mom going to the store and buying my sisters and I a new dress to wear to church, with white gloves and a hat. I only have one daughter and she was never really into the hat and glove thing, but she always likes picking out a new church dress.

In our old neighborhood, we would have an annual Easter egg hunt. Each family would buy and fill a dozen eggs for each child and then take them to the coordinator’s house the night before. On the morning of the hunt, we would go down to the neighborhood park and start hunting for eggs. It was fun to watch the kids take their time searching for eggs and then open each one to see what was inside. Some years the Easter bunny would show up. This was always a lot of fun.

As the kids have gotten older, our Easter egg hunts have become family hunts. We invite my parents and siblings over so that all the cousins can go on a huge egg hunt together. My parents love to hide money in some of the eggs and it is always fun to see who gets the lucky eggs. I remember one year the kids hid the eggs four times. They didn’t want the hunt to end. This picture was taken years ago when we decided to go camping for Easter weekend with my sister and her family. We had an Easter egg hunt in the campground which will always be a special memory for the kids.

One of the things I love about Easter is that we are together with our family. We usually prepare a delicious meal of ham and scalloped potatoes, and then tell the story of the true meaning of Easter. We have a special activity where we talk about Jesus and all the wonderful things he has done for us. It is a time of reflection and meaning.

I hope my kids will cherish all the memories we have created over the years. I know I will, and I look forward to many more to come.

What are some of your favorite Easter traditions?

Jill Greenlaw has a banking background. She gave that up 17 years ago when she got married and started having kids. She loved being a stay-at-home mom while raising her four beautiful children. A few years ago, Jill went back to work in sales. She is now working for the Mom It Forward team as their Community Manager. She loves her job. Her interests include camping, motorcycling, boating, photography, reading, cooking, and traveling. Put her in flip flops anywhere warm and she is happy.

How to De-Stress and Get Organized for Easter and Passover

9 Ways to Make Spring Holidays Less Stressful:

• Don’t worry about making the holiday perfect. No one is as critical as you are!
• Decide what traditions are important to you and forego the rest.  Figure out how to make the holiday meaningful for your family.  Your family takes their cue from you, and no one will enjoy the holiday if you feel stressed.
• Delegate whatever you can. When a guest asks what they can bring, have a suggestion ready.  Be proactive about asking guests and family members to help.
• Do it the same way every year.  If you always serve the same dishes, use the same platters and set up the same way, so it becomes routine.
• If you’re a family that takes turns hosting holidays, avoid Passover like one of the ten plagues. Between all of the different courses and types of food, this is a holiday meal that’s very labor intensive to host.
• Although I always advocate ease and simplicity, the Easter baskets I see are filled with junk you don’t want in your house.  Consider filling your own baskets with some higher quality toys that might last longer than an Easter egg hunt.
• If you buy Easter baskets without the handle, they’re easier to store and may have some other uses after the holiday is done.
• Store holiday accessories in labeled boxes with lids.  Since these items are used only once a year, they don’t need to be accessible.
• Stock up for next year as soon as the holiday ends; that’s when you’ll find the best sales!

Happy Holidays!

What are some ways you simplify your family holiday celebrations?

Barbara Reich is a professional organizer based in New York, NY. Her tough love approach turns organization and clutter from chore to lifestyle. To find more tips from Barbara, please visit www.facebook.com/ or www.resourcefulconsultants.com

It is a good day to celebrate the women in your life, because every woman should be celebrated. If you can get your husband to give you flowers again two weeks after Valentine’s Day, that’s awesome. In addition to that, consider making International Woman’s Day a day to not only pat yourself on the back and thank your mother, mother-in-law, or even your daughter, but also a day to think about and applaud what women have done collectively. And consider the ways in which gender-based inequalities still affect women both in your corner of the world and worldwide.

How to Celebrate Being A Woman

How does one go about doing all of that though? First of all, don’t do anything for an hour on March 8th. Stop thinking of everything you need to do, or haven’t done, long enough to realize all you have done. Then, call your mom and/or mother-in-law and wish them “happy International Women’s Day!” Next, go to lunch with three or four of your closest girl-friends, and challenge yourself to compliment each one of them in some way.

Next, go to InternationalWomensDay.org/Events and see if there’s a celebratory event in your area. There are events being held all across the world; you can visit their Facebook and Twitter pages for ideas on how to celebrate it if there’s no event near you. Then, think of an issue that affects women that you feel particularly drawn to, like obstetric fistulas, domestic violence, sexual assault, or income disparity. Go to the Resource page of InternationalWomensDay.org to watch videos and get a few statistics about these issues.  Or, think of someone that inspires you, and ways, however small, that you can emulate her. The women I’ve featured in our Moms Making a Difference section amaze me, at least in part because of the varied ways they’ve come up with to affect change around them.

Then, read these excellent posts by Jyl about her suggestions for IWD activities and ways to motivate yourself to help.This is such a great opportunity to stop and think about what it means to be a woman, to feel and be part of greater whole. Let us know how it goes!

What are your favorite ways to celebrate being a woman?

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

How to Celebrate Purim

Traditional Symbols of Purim

The Purim Story

In the fourth century B.C.E, the Persian King Achashverosh grew weary of his wife, Queen Vashti.  When she refused the king’s order to appear at a celebration and display her beauty for the guests, the king decided to dispose of his queen and find a new one by holding a beauty contest.

A Jewish girl, Esther, was identified as a possible candidate and sent to Shushan, the capital of Persia. She was accompanied by her Uncle Mordechai, who warned her not to disclose that she was, in fact, a Jew. Esther won the contest and married the Persian King.

After the wedding, Achashverosh promoted one of his advisors, Haman, as the new Prime Minister. Haman immediately issued a dictate that all citizens were to bow to him.  Upon encountering Mordechai, Haman demanded that the peasant pay him homage. Mordechai refused to bow for religious reasons causing Haman to become enraged.  In response to the perceived insult, the Prime Minister issued a royal edict: all Persian Jews were to be executed on the 13^th of Adar.

Mordachai learned of a plot to assassinate the king and alerted Esther. Also, aware of Haman’s growing anger toward the Jews, Mordechai informed Esther of Haman’s plans. He implored her to intercede and demand an audience with the king. Despite the King’s warnings not to disturb him, Queen Esther risked her life and requested that the king see her. Fortunately, King Achashverosh was so smitten with his lovely new queen that he granted Esther’s request.

The queen invited both her husband and Haman to two banquets.  That evening, the king learned that Mordechai saved his life by reporting the assassination plot. The king ordered Haman to honor Mordechai by dressing him in royal garments, placing him on a royal stallion and by leading Mordechai through the streets of Shushan.  At this point, Haman was even more determined to destroy the Jews, particularly Mordechai.

After fasting for several days, Esther held the second banquet. She told the King that Haman has signed her death order.  Distraught, the King questioned Haman who denied the accusation. Esther revealed that she was Jewish and if the king did not recall Haman’s decree, both she and her people would be killed.  King Achashverosh recalled the edict and ordered that Haman (and his 10 sons) be hung instead of the Jews.   Mordechai was appointed to be new Prime Minister. While in office, he initiated a new holiday, Purim, which consisted of a festive meal, the exchange of gifts of food and donations to the poor and needy.

Each year on the 14^th of Adar (which is the 12th month in the Jewish calendar and usually falls in March or late February) the story of Purim is told as a reminder that good can triumph over evil in remarkable ways.

Purim Family Fun Traditions

When I asked my eight year old daughter what she enjoys about Purim, she replied simply, “It’s a lot of fun and you eat great cookies.”  And I couldn’t agree more.  There are three themes associated with Purim:

Kri-aat Megillah

Jews gather in synagogues to read the Book (or Megillat) of Esther.

• The Festivities: Congregants dress up and have a skit called the Purim Shpiel:  An entertaining historical account of the events leading up to the holiday. (This year I was asked to play Queen Esther in our synagogue’s re-enactment of the event.)
• The Noise: During the skit, one of the goals of the participants and the audience is to ensure that the name, Haman, is eradicated.  Whenever his name is mentioned, the audience is encouraged to stamp its feet, pound chairs, yell and make noise with graggers.
• The Food: Families gather to have a “feast” or a meal while it is still light out because the verse in the Book of Esther mentions the “days” of feasting.  Haman Tashen (triangular pastries filled with poppy seed – “mon” in Yiddish) is eaten to denote the obliteration of Haman (the “mon” in the pasty represents Haman).

Matanot Laevyonim  or “Presents to the poor”

The giving of gifts of food or money to the needy.  Often synagogues schedule food drives during Purim and encourage school age children to bring boxes of dried goods to the Purim Shpiel.  After they have used the boxes as graggers, the children can donate the food.

Mishloach Manot  or  An Occasion for the Sending of Gifts. 

The sending of gifts of goodies with relatives, friends, and neighbors.  Many of these gifts will include at least 2 different types of food like baked Hamentashen and fruit.

Hamentashen Cookies

Hamentashen Recipe: Traditional Purim Dessert

As a child, my grandmother told me that the triangle represented Haman’s triangular hat. This was my grandmother’s favorite recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lbs Butter (softened) 2 sticks
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 4 Eggs + (1 set aside)
• 4-5 Cups Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Fillings

• 1 can/jar Rasp Pastry Filling
• 1 can/jar Apricot Pastry Filling
• 1 can/jar Prune Pastry Filling
• 1 can/jar Apple Butter

(Suggestion: Use Solo Brand Pastry Filling. It doesn’t bubble out of the cookie.)

Directions:

1. Beat butter with sugar well, until fluffy. Add 3 eggs, beating well after each. Add remaining ingredients and mix to form dough.
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour
3. Roll out dough thinly (1/8″) on floured board. Cut out circular shapes using a juice glass (3-4 inch circles)
4. Brush each cookie circle with the last egg using an egg wash.
5. Place 1 tsp of filling in the center of each circle. Shape circular pieces into triangles by pinching dough together at 3 evenly spaced intervals.
6. Pinch the ends together by joining opposite corners and pressing dough together to forming a pocket for the filling.
7. Place on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees about 18-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

What are some of your family’s favorite holidays? 

Renee Radbill Keats has been blogging since 2003. Recently, Renee was selected to be one of  twelve Oprah Winfrey Lifeclass bloggers on the OWN Network.  You can find Renee’s musings on  A Windy City Momma, where she writes about her strange parental experiences, the decision to learn Hebrew and become a Bat Mitzvah as an adult and her ongoing adjustment to living in Chicago despite the fact that she has resided there for more than a decade.

This year, whether you plan to devote a day or the entire weekend to the holiday, here are some ideas we can use to teach our kids about American Presidents and the Oval Office:

What to Watch

• The American President — Comedy-drama about a widowed US president and a lobbyist who fall in love. It’s all aboveboard, but “politics is perception” and sparks fly anyway. (Rated: PG-13)
• All The President’s Men — Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon’s resignation. (Rated: R)
• Young Mr. Lincoln — A fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case. (Rated: NR)
• You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown — Linus runs for school president with Lucy and Charlie Brown being his campaign managers. (TV, 1972)

Where to Go

• Tour the White House. Can’t get to Washington, D.C.? Step inside the White House through an online, interactive tour.
• Enjoy free family activities in Philadelphia at the Betsy Ross House and the Liberty 360 Show in the PECO Theater at the Historic Philadelphia Center.
• Explore the lives and contributions of 43 American Presidents by experiencing the places they knew during their lifetimes and that honor their memories after their deaths.
• Plan a staycation with the kids. Mom it Forward contributor, Jennifer Grant, offers four staycation ideas.

Things to Do and Make

• Apply to become President for a day.
• Paint a patriotic pebble or make a paper chain flag.
• Test your knowledge with the Constitution Quiz.
• Read The Citizen’s Almanac, which discusses fundamental documents, symbols and anthems of the United States.

How does your family celebrate Presidents’ Day?

Photo courtesy of 1canoe2 letterpress.

Desiree Allen is a thirty-something single parent with two children. A native of Denver, Colorado, she lived there until 2009, when she moved across the country to northern New Jersey with her kids. She is doing her best to avoid ‘picking up’ a Jersey accent, but she’s not making promises that she won’t eventually start sounding like some of her new friends. You can find her blogging at Writing to Sanity and tweeting @writingtosanity.

“At least this up and down weather is interesting,” she recently posted, after we’d had a snowstorm one day, thunder and lightning that night, and a big Spring-like melt the next.

Like my friend, I attempt to maintain a positive attitude, even when the weather is less than optimal and my four kids have a holiday or “teacher work day” to keep them home from school.

When yet another three or four day weekend is looming, I get creative. Over the past several winters, I have thrown everything from elaborate Groundhog Day celebrations to birthday parties for J.R.R. Tolkien. I have commemorated Presidents’ Day with cherry pies (a nod to our first president) and old-fashioned games such as Dominos to show my children what games were played hundreds of years ago.

4 Staycation Ideas for President’s Day

As Presidents’ Day (and another four-day weekend) approaches, we can all start planning playful (and, yes, educational) ways to commemorate it.

Decorate the House

Set the mood for the day by surprising your kids when they wake up on Presidents’ Day. Pull out the American flags you usually reserve for the Fourth of July. Hang red, white, and blue streamers. Visit a teacher supply or dollar store to buy (or cut out your own) simple shapes to replicate George Washington’s recognizable profile or Abe Lincoln’s top hat. (Those figures are, of course, the two presidents whom we celebrate on the third Monday of February.)

Learn About the Presidents

Although Presidents’ Day usually points to Honest Abe and the Father of our Country, it’s appropriate to learn about the other POTUSes on that day as well.

For a complete list of our presidents, visit this site. Click on a president to read their inaugural addresses or other historic documents. More recent presidents can be seen and heard delivering their most famous addresses. Create a quiz to teach “fun facts” about various presidents.

Create Craft Projects

Pick your favorite president and have a little fun. Build a pretzel log cabin. Watch this video to learn about Abe Lincoln’s famous log cabin and how to make your own edible version. For a construction project that is a little less sticky, consider making your own George Washington wig. Nibbling on a piece of Mamie Eisenhower’s fudge while watching Dwight D. give his “military/industrial complex speech” on the POTUS site certainly would make it a little sweeter.

Watch Presidential-Themed Movies

Presidents’ Day is a perfect occasion to introduce teens to classic political films such as “All the President’s Men” and “Wag the Dog.” Lighter political fare for tweens includes Kevin Kline’s comic “Dave.” I like watching “1776” with my children on Presidents’ Day to reflect on our country’s origins and the benefits of our system of government. Musicals make me happy and brightening my mood in the depths of winter makes the whole family more sunny.

What’s are your fun ideas for celebrating Presidents’ Day?

Featured photo courtesy of Flickr.

Parenting writer Jennifer Grant’s first book, “Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter” was published in August 2011. Her second, also a memoir, is titled “MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family” and will be released in May 2012. “MOMumental” is a “humorous and candid memoir that shows would-be supermoms how to create a realistically balanced family life without losing their minds.” Find Grant online at jennifergrant.com.

5 Ways to Bring Your Family Together on Valentine’s Day

1. Enjoy a Valentine’s Day breakfast together. Heart-shaped pancakes with toppings like red, pink, or heart sprinkles, strawberries, powdered sugar, or whipped topping are sure to be a big hit. For the little ones, add strawberry syrup to their milk. Who knows, the older kids might enjoy it too!
2. Make Valentine’s Day cookies. Kids love to help in the kitchen! Get out the heart-shaped cookie cutter, as well as the cookie dough, sprinkles, and icing. Get the family around the kitchen counter, bar, or table and make cookies that everyone can enjoy.
3. Have a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt. Hide hearts around the house inside and out (weather permitting) with clues to get to the next hearts leading to a Valentine’s Day surprise. Work together as a family or as teams for larger families.
4. Make homemade Valentine’s Day cards for a local nursing home or assisted living home. This family activity takes a little prep work but is definitely worth it. Call a nearby nursing home a few days in advance to get permission to hand out the cards and the number of people living there. Some homes can be rather large so you may want to visit a hall or wing. Dedicate a night or two before Valentine’s Day to make homemade cards with sweet messages inside. Deliver the cards to the nursing or assisted living home on Valentine’s Day as a family.
5. Eat out at a special restaurant (older kids might enjoy this). If a fancy meal out is not in your budget, create the atmosphere at home. Decorate with inexpensive candles from the dollar store. Place pink and red paper hearts throughout the dining area. Add candy conversations hearts as confetti on the table. You can usually find themed plates and napkins at the dollar store as well. It is possible to cook a nice meal for a fraction of the cost of eating out so choose a family favorite. After the family meal, surprise everyone with a special Valentine’s Day dessert like chocolate dipped strawberries, pineapples, and marshmallows.

What fun ways will you be spending time with your family this Valentine’s Day?

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Robin Greene is a mom of two teenagers and a kindergarten teacher. Robin enjoys spending time as a family as she is anticipating her oldest going away to college in a few years. She enjoys participating in church activities and freelance writing for mybabyclothes.com. With Spring just around the corner make sure your little one has some beautiful baby clothes, sweet baby headbands and stylish baby hats in their wardrobe.

For China, this is one of their most important holidays. It’s a celebration that lasts for 15 days, culminating with the Lantern Festival. Each year is associated with one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. For 2012, it’s the Year of the Dragon.

Chinese New Year Fireworks

The Chinese New year is all about family. New Year’s Day children are given red envelopes filled with money. The money usually comes with a wish to be fast and clever. The money is used to buy their favorite things, which probably include fireworks for the big celebration. In the past, it has been said that fireworks were set off to ward off evil spirits. Today, fireworks are set off just for fun and celebration. Fireworks are set off all over the cities. Molten iron is also melted for a huge fireworks display. Homes are decorated with symbols and the color red to ward off evil spirits, and lanterns are made and placed in ponds after being lit one by one.

Chinese New Year Feast

For the New Year’s holiday, cooking is serious business.  A huge feast is prepared with the whole family taking part in the process. Dumplings are one of the most important foods eaten on this day. They can be filled with chives and minced pork. White radish, lotus root, pork, and cabbage are prepared to make a delicious stew. Fish, which stands for plenty, is also prepared.  The fish symbolizes that there will be plenty to eat throughout the upcoming year. The fish is dusted with flour and cut in a special way so as to hold loads of delicious sauce. Rice pudding is also prepared and can be topped with jelly which symbolizes wealth in the New Year. The New Year’s feast is the biggest of the year. It is their hope that they will have all of the things that the food represents.

This is one of the best time during the year to travel to China. This is considered the off-season, so one may be able to find lower prices for airfare  as well as tours given to celebratory events. There are tons of cultural events happening as well as Chinese-style carnivals and folk performances. You could find yourself enjoying a dragon dance while munching on some grilled, spicy squid or rice cakes.

 What holidays do you and your family enjoy celebrating together?

Photos courtesy of Tonya Staab and Getty.

Stephanie is the mom of 2 daughters and a South Carolina native. This southern girl is married to a wounded warrior who served in Iraq. She enjoys traveling and trying new foods. She is a teacher by day and consults with businesses to connect them to the military consumer. You can find her boasting of travel adventures at Military Travel Mama. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook!