Happy Rabbit Year! 兔年大吉！

新春大吉，祝愿大家兔年行大运，恭喜发财！

This year is the year of RABBIT! Hopefully this sweet little bunny could help us to"REVERSE" the bad luck!

元宵節，情人節 Chinese Lovers' Day

　　元宵節，情人節，花好月圓，有沒有人到河边抛柑呀？

　　在马來西亚，單身男女在元宵節聚集到河边或湖边抛柑，並在柑上面写下姓名和联络方式，希望就此结识可以携手相伴的有缘人！当然今时今日，看热闹湊热闹玩闹的人居多，但认真的人也不少！

　　祝愿天下有心人可以早日找到意中人！

　　Today, the 15th day of the 1st lunar month on Chinese Calendar, is the Lantern Festival. It's also well-known as the Chinese Lovers' Day (Chinese Valentine's Day)!

　　In Malaysia, we have a special festival for those who are still searching for their other half. They gather at the river bank, throw tangerines (with their name and contacts on it) into the river, and hopefully their message could go to their destined partner in life! Once again, the Chinese tangerines play a big role in this festive day!
　　
　　Learn more about this wonderful festival HERE and HERE!

我的红包 My "Ang Bao"

Auntie Irene 给的红包，右边的是我的，Julia 的是那封大的
Ang Bao from Auntie Irene, the one on the right is mine, the bigger one is for Julia
　　哈哈！我拿到一封真正的红包，是新加坡的 Auntie Irene 给的，好幸福呀！谢谢 Auntie Irene！
　　I'm so glad to receive a real "Ang Bao" from Auntie Irene. Thank you Auntie Irene, that's so sweet of you!

新年礼物 My New Year Gift

　　Julia 大人发现我很喜欢垫高头睡觉，特地幇我做了这套床和枕头，好好睡哦！

　　我还有另外一份新年礼物～一个新的便盆，很漂亮罢！

　　Julia found out that I love sleeping with something supporting my head, so she made me a bed with a pillow and now I spend most of my time sleeping on it. Sweet dreams...

　　I got my New Year "Ang Bao" too, a brand new litter tray, isn't it beautiful?

恭賀新禧

　　明天就是农历新年，在这里向诸位大叔大婶，大哥大姐，小弟小妹拜年了。

　　Best wishes to all who celebrate Chinese New Year tomorrow!
　　

A Prosperous Year 新年旺旺

 

　　家里这两棵黄梨可真会应景，赶在新年前结了果！黄梨黄梨，“旺來旺來”，祝大家新年旺旺，好景连年！

　　Pineapple “黄梨”(pronounce "onn-lai" in "Hokkien" - a Chinese dialect)，which means "Here Comes the Prosperity". These pineapple plants in our yard managed to bear fruit before Chinese New Year, I assume that this is a good sign for the coming year. LOL!

The Chinese Tangerine

This is a tangerine "桔" (pronounce "ji"), a must have item for Chinese New Year. It shares the same pronunciation with the word "吉", which means "auspicious". We wish that every year comes with an auspicious beginning and the luck will continue throughout the year.
I specially dedicate this BIG "吉" to poor Sherry Rogers who's hurt her thumb. Hopefully this can console her a bit. Best Regards.

祝大家　吉祥如意，万事顺心，添寿添金，大吉大利！

IF: Tales and Legends - The Story of the Chinese Zodiac 鼠年故事

The Story of the Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese zodiac has twelve signs, here's the story of why the year of the Rat is the first year in the cycle.

Once upon a time, the Emperor announced a contest, a race for all the animals. The first twelve animals to cross the finish line will have a year named in their honor.

At that time, Cat and Rat were best friends. When they heard about the great news, they agreed they should both enter the race. The day of the race arrived. All the animals gathered at the starting line and with a "BANG!" the race began.

With fantastic speed, Rat and Cat grabbed the lead, scurrying through prickly bushes and running over grassy meadows until they came upon a vast river. The current was so strong that they could not swim across. Just as they were thinking of what to do, the sturdy Ox came upon them. Immediately the Rat came up with a brilliant idea.

"Ox, since your eyesight is very poor, let's help each other. Cat and I will get on your back and direct you across the river." The Ox agreed with the plan. He was very strong and had no trouble swimming across the river.

As the party neared the other side, The Cat crouched on the Ox’s head and swished his tail. The Rat could see that his friend was getting ready to leap onto the bank ahead of them and take the first prize. Even though they were best friends, Rat wanted to be first more than ANYTHING in the world. Without hesitating, Rat pushed Cat off Ox into the fast moving river. Then he jumped off the ox's head and got through the finish line first.

Therefore, the Emperor declared the rat as the first zodiac animal, the tired Ox as second, followed by the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and the sluggish Pig as the last.

This is why there is no year named after the Cat. And if you’ve ever wondered why cats hate rats so much - now you know!

Wishing all of you a very Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai!


鼠年故事
　　“万千禽兽尊为子，十二生肖独占先”。十二生肖中为何有鼠无猫，为何鼠占首位。

　　玉皇大帝为了排十二种动物先后，举办了一场竞赛，依越过终点线的先后排定名次。

　　猫与鼠本是最好的朋友。当他们听说了这一个好消息，就決定一起参加比赛。

　　比赛开始了，老鼠和猫皮披荆斩棘，一路领先，直到他们被一条波涛汹涌的大河挡住了去路。正当他们一筹莫展时，健壮的牛大哥也到了。老鼠立即想出一个好点子。

　　"牛大哥，您的视力不好，我们可以同心協力，请让猫和我在您的背部指引您过河"。牛同意了这个计划，横渡这条大河对强壮的他来说一点问题也沒有。

　　接近对岸了，猫蹲在牛的头部，尾巴搖得嗖嗖响，准备一跃上岸。老鼠看到他的朋友摩拳擦掌准备拔得头筹，他开始担心了。雖然他们是最好的朋友，但是成为第一却比什么都重要。老鼠当机立断用力把猫推下湍急的河流，然后他自己跳下牛的头部率先抵达终点。

　　因此，玉帝宣布老鼠为首位十二生肖动物，疲累的牛得了第二名，其次是虎，兔，龙，蛇，马，羊，猴，鸡和狗，慢吞吞的猪得了最后一名。

　　这就是为什么十二生肖中沒有猫。猫和老鼠也从此成了冤家！

　　祝大家新年快乐，鼠年行大运，恭喜发财！