Xìn nián kuài lè! (Happy New Year!)

Happy New Year in China! It is the first day of the year of the goat and, despite the frequent explosion of firecrackers (meant to scare off evil spirits), it is the quietest day I've experienced in my neighbourhood yet. The busy market across the road is closed, so the daily noises of cars and bikes honking, the voices of shoppers and shopkeepers bartering and mingling, the butchers slamming their cleavers into their giant round chopping blocks, and the repetitive drone of the beggar's music is silent today. Most of the shops are closed, and the shop owners have travelled to their home towns to visit family, as is tradition here in China. It is a much different atmosphere in the city today. When the norm of never a dull or quiet moment transforms into empty streets with closed up shops, and the only sounds are explosive crackers, it tends to feel a bit like armageddon! 

Up until yesterday, the streets were humming with excitement, much like the lead up to Christmas in western countries. Temporary shops and street stalls popped up to sell spring flowers, red new year decorations, and red underwear! Extra vegetable stands filled the already busy streets outside the market, and the roads and sidewalks became more and more crowded every day. I really enjoyed the buzzing atmosphere and excitement in the air. 

Here are some photos leading up to the New Year. It is tradition in China to give red envelopes of money. This is mostly for kids and unwed women.

Mandarin orange trees are a tradition of good luck for Chinese New Year, so there were seas of orange trees for sale on the streets, available in different sizes. It is unlucky to eat the mandarin oranges, so people keep the trees until the fruit grows old.

Beautiful red and gold lanterns line the streets...

A stroll through residential alleyways was stunning with all the colourful flags and red lanterns everywhere...

It is a very relaxing morning here in China, and now that I finally have some time off from my new full-time teaching job, I am devoting some time to catching up on the neglected aspects of my life, such as blogging, freelance design projects, and responding to the mountain of emails from friends and family that have been piling up over the last several weeks. (I'll do my best to get back to you all!)