Happy Chinese New Year! This is the beginning of the Year of the Boar (well, "pig", but boar sounds a little better to me), the Golden Year of the Pig, if I am correct. Most years I spend this season in China, in the homes of friends, but this year is a little different. I am in Thailand, spending the New Year in the home of my wife, whose father is Chinese Thai.
As a factory owner, my father-in-law is responsible to provide a New Year meal for all the employees. So, fruits of all shapes and sizes, boiled chicken, noodles, and much more have been flowing in mass quantities from the kitchen all morning.
After the employees' meals have been distributed, their celebrant laughs float on the air from all parts the factory. Here at the house, sacrifices of a more expensive nature are at hand. Not just incense, but duck, alcohol, "nice" fake money, flowers and more are carried to the table just outside the front door of the house to sacrifice to the family ancestors.
Chinese New Year has a distinctly different feel in Thailand than back in China. I do not know if it is due to the predominately Chaozhou origins of most Chinese in Thailand and a slightly different style of celebrating in the parts of China where I live, or whether the holiday has evolved differently for mainland and overseas Chinese. It is always an excellent time of the year to build relationships and invest in those Chinese with whom you relate.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
