Chinese New Year
A week long celebration with many festivities marking the turn of the lunar calendar.
Originally we had planned to find more relaxing circumstances over the Chinese new year, maybe Langkawi or even Bali. But we quickly learned that our previous escapades had diminished our resources enough that we decided it might be best to stick around, after all we would. have missed out on a very local and cultural experience.
First we attended the flower market in Victoria Park at Causeway Bay. The flower markets start a couple of weeks before the new year in preparation of the new year. They are alive with colour and buzzing with activities. While most vendors are indeed selling flowers you'll also find some food stalls and a few toys for the kids.
Be sure to do your research into the cultural meaning of each kind of flower and colour for they all have different purposes. Some are for wisdom, while others are for fortune and of course there are those for long life.
Once you have your flowers picked out and purchased you can relax and take in some of the other festivities that take place over the week long celebration. We attended the new year's parade.
Lastly we headed out of town to Tai Po and the wishing tree. People come from all over during festivals to throw their joss papering the wishing tree. We wrote down our wishes and threw them in to the branches of the wishing tree. It is said that the higher the branch your wish lands on, the better the chance for it to come true. Well, honestly, if you can get it to land on a branch the first time then I think you're doing pretty good. If it falls from the tree without landing on a branch them you you really have to put your eagle eyes on to track your wish as it falls through the throngs of other wishers and their own wishes being woodshed up into the branches.
