Chinese New Year

Today is the Chinese New Year’s Eve. People all around China are traveling to their hometown to celebrate this holiday with their family. People from the countryside have worked in the cities on construction sites, in supermarkets, restaurants, barber shops and various other service jobs. They have worked hard and saved all year long. Now they can go home wearing nice new clothes and neatly cut hair to see their family and friends in their hometown. Banks are crowded with people withdrawing money to carry with them to some remote area of China. Bus stations, train stations and airports are crowded with travelers. Some people had to stand in line three to four hours to buy tickets.

Tonight, January 25th, families are gathered together to eat a big meal of pork, fish and chicken dishes. Fireworks are exploding everywhere. The children are all dressed in new clothes playing with fireworks. Every kid gets a red envelop of cash money as a New Year gift. At 8:00 pm tonight, about one billion Chinese people will watch the New Year dancing and singing performance on TV. At midnight fireworks will light up the sky all over China.

This New Year celebration continues for the next seven days. People visit relatives and friends to eat a meal together. People are off work and students have no school. As a nation it is time to take a break from a whole year of hard work.

Pray for us as we spend time with friends during the holiday!