Memoirs of Beijing

2011 is about to end and if you’re like me who likes to plan ahead on where to go for the next year, read further on next year’s list of Chinese holidays. 

• New Year:  January 1 to January 3 (Sunday to Tuesday).  Work on December 31 (Saturday).
• Chinese New Year:  January 22 to 28 (Sunday to Saturday).  Work on January 21 (Saturday) and January 29 (Sunday).
• Tomb Sweeping Day: April 2 to 4 (Monday to Wednesday).  Work on March 31 (Saturday) and April 1 (Monday)
• Labor Day:  April 29 to May 1 (Sunday to Tuesday).  Work on April 28 (Saturday)
• Dragon Boat Festival:  June 22 to 24 (Friday to Sunday)
• Mid-Autumn Festival: September 30 (Sunday).
• National Day:  October 1 to 7 (Monday to Sunday).  Work on September 29 (Saturday).

That’s it!  Hope you can plan the year ahead.  I’m pretty sure I won’t be going anywhere for National Day as my brother and sister in law will be coming.  As for the other holidays, I still don’t know.  I might not opt to travel much as I think I overdid it this year.  Happy Holidays!

To all my friends, family, colleagues and readers who have Chinese ancestry, I would like to greet you a Happy Chinese New Year!  Gong Xi Fa Cai!  Kung Hei Fat Choy!  恭禧發財! 

Wishing you all the best and luck in the year of the Rabbit!  May the calmness of the rabbit brings peace throughout the world. 

A new year means new Starbucks merchandise to celebrate Chinese New Year which falls on February 3 and Valentines Day.  Have a look on what’s new in Starbucks China as they celebrate “A Cup of Prosperity” to coincide the Year of the Rabbit.

Bearista

This year’s CNY bearista is dressed as a rabbit with the Chinese character of rabbit as a scroll.  I believe this is the male bearista. 

The Valentines bearista is definitely the female bearista.  She’s dressed in a pink coat, chequered skirt, rose headdress and a red mink hand warmer.

Both bearistas are sold @ RMB 128 each.  The Valentines bearista sells faster than the CNY bearista.

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Chinese New Year holiday is a bit quiet for Beijing standards.  My Harbin experience went down the drain as I wasn’t able to get a train ticket back and I’ve been a prat for making plans without taking into consideration my travel buddy who also would like to go there.  Anyway, did you know that…

WIDOW YEAR

As I was having lunch with my friend last month, I was telling her about my friend who’s getting married.  She then mentioned that this year is not a good year to get married. 

The reason?  This year is a Widow Year.

Chinese has a superstition that if the Chinese New Year falls after the start of Spring which happened in early February, the year is considered as a bad year for marriage.  You wouldn’t want to be a widow don’t you?

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Chinese New Year is just around the corner and what better way to give gifts to your loved ones is to buy Starbucks merchandise.   The coming Chinese New Year is the Year of the Ox.  Merchandise shaped like an Ox are sprouting up everywhere.  Some of them ridiculously expensive while others are dirt cheap.  Not to be left in the dust with the other shops, Starbucks came out with the Chinese New Year merchandise.

Some of them are the coin bank which is shaped like an Ox.  According to my cousin, my aunt have been collecting this coin banks for the past two years already.  She already purchased the latest one which is an Ox.  It seems like Starbucks merchandise collection runs in their family.  Another Ox merchandise is the mug.  It’s quite cute actually though I can’t remember how much it cost.  There’s also a small tumbler with the Ox design which they don’t have on the website.

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