Traditional Chinese Festivals-Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.

The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.

Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.

On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko.

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.

After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in".

Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.

Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.

Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.

The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.

Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.

The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.

China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.

source

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Impacts scrap market

Local governments in China are trying to better regulate the plastics recycling industry, sometimes at the expense of job losses and market disruption. In Wen'an, Heibei province, nearly 100,000 people are reportedly jobless from a recent crackdown.

Aiming to stop the pollution caused by washing and reprocessing plastic scrap and to improve the local environment, according to the Beijing News, Wen'an's government started in July what it called "the most forceful campaign" in July, not only shutting down recycling operations, but also blocking trucks that carry raw plastics waste from entering the town, known as "the capital of plastics scrap" in North China.

Unlike previous crackdowns, the report said, the new town officials are enforcing the ongoing campaign thoroughly and consistently. They dissemble and confiscate processing equipment, and even shut down power supply.

About 125 miles away, scrap collectors and brokers in Beijing saw their inventory rise and prices drop, with the exception of PET bottles, which are recycled in Beijing.

A trade group official told the Beijing News that Beijing generates 1,800 metric tons of plastic waste every day, the majority of it landfilled. The recyclable ones, estimated to be 200 to 300 metric tons, mostly end up in Wen'an.

But since the majority of plastics scrap that flow into Wen'an is imported, the current crackdown has also lead to pileup of imported plastic waste in nearby ports.


Source
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Chinese New Year Food

Chinese New Year Foods are very important to the Chinese people. All family members come together to eat at this time. Chinese New Year foods are not only delicious but it is traditional to eat certain foods over this festival, such as Chinese Dumplings, Fish, Spring Rolls, and Nian Gao.
Chinese Dumplings: Chinese Dumplings look like silver ingots. Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebration, the more money you can make in the New Year.   Almost all Chinese people can make dumplings; first mix the dough, second make the dough into wrappers by a rolling pin, third fill the wrappers with pork, beef, vegetable, fish or anything else that can be used as stuffing.
Fish: In Chinese, the word "Fish" sounds like "save more". Chinese People always like to save more money at the end of year because they think if they save more, they can make more in the next year.
Spring Roll: People like Spring Rolls because they are nutritious and delicious. Spring Rolls contain pork and vegetable. They can be easily taken on picnics. They get their name because they are traditionally eaten during the Chinese New Year Celebration.
Nian Gao: In Chinese, Nian Gao sounds like "getting higher year by year". In Chinese people's mind, the higher you are, the more prosperous your business is. Main ingredients of Nian Gao are sticky rice, sugar, Chestnuts, Chinese dates and lotus leaves.




source
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Chinese Food Recipe Information

Beef chow mein recipe (china)

1 (1 1/2 pound) beef rump steak
3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 1/2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon satay sauce
3 stalks celery
2 medium yellow onions
4 ounces fresh mushrooms
1 red or green bell pepper
4 ounces bean sprouts
12 ounces Chinese egg noodles
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon
Remove and discard fat from meat. Cut meat across the grain into thin slices. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sherry and the satay sauce in glass bowl. Mix in meat. Cover and let stand 1 hour.
Cut celery into 1/2-inch diagonal slices. Peel onions, cut into wedges and separate layers. Clean and slice mushrooms. Remove seeds from pepper and cut pepper into thin strips. Rinse sprouts and drain.
Cook noodles until tender according to package directions. Drain well. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon of the remaining soy sauce. Stir fry until noodles are light brown, 2 minutes. Place noodles on serving plate; keep warm.
Blend water, cornstarch, oyster sauce, bouillon, remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons sherry and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil in wok over high heat. Stir fry onion sin oil 1 minute. Add celery, mushrooms, pepper and sprouts. Stir fry 2 minutes. Remove vegetables from wok.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in wok over high heat. Add meat and stir fry until meat is brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in water mixture. Cover and cook 3 minutes. Return vegetables to wok. Cook and stir until hot throughout, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Spoon mixture over noodles.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Pet & Pet Products

A pet is an animal kept for enjoyment and companionship. Nowadays, pets are also kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics and attractive appearance. Keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around. Some of the popular pets are cat, dog, fish, small mammals, birds, reptiles & amphibians and equine.

How Caring for a Pet Can Make You Happier and Healthier

The key to enjoying the healthiest and most satisfying relationship with a pet is realistically choosing one whose needs are most compatible with your lifestyle. It’s easy to fall in love with a cute puppy or kitten you might encounter, but the realities of pet responsibilities may present unforeseen challenges. Determining what type of pet is right for you is the first step to settling into a fulfilling life with a fuzzy new friend

Pet Products

Same like us, animals also like to stay in good designed home, wear beautiful dresses, and play with toys. Their accessories help them to look complete and stay happy. Pet accessories include toy accessories, training accessories, car and traveling accessories and all the miscellaneous products for them that they may need. The jewelery and key chains, food bowls and mugs, pet caskets and portraits, memorials and signs are as much enjoyed by pets.

Some of the other accessories include:

• Apparel
• Dog Carriers
• Summer & Outdoors accessories
• Dog Collars & Harnesses
• Furniture
• Grooming & Spa
• Pet Dining

Choose only high quality, chemical-free, organic, all-natural and eco-friendly accessories for your pets. Holistic pet foods and supplements will keep your pet healthy and their coats shiny and in good condition. Apart, pet toys are a must to keep your pet entertained during the long journeys. Balls that bounce a lot will do well too.

Among the more popular items that will help make pet care even easier for you are the latest health supplements for pets. These handy items make it much more practical to promote higher levels of health within your pets. Instead of opting for some of the zany pet wellness products out there, you can save yourself a great deal of money by looking into some more sensible options. These more sensible options include pet health supplements. They help you address a number of different health issues which are more commonly found in pets. These health products also include a number of handy dental products which promote clean and healthy teeth and gums through tasty treats that your pets actually look forward to.

Creating personalized per accessories

You can create pet accessories for your beloved pet using your own idea and creativity. Something like adding your pets name to their dish or a food mat creates your pets own little spot in your home. Personalizing a frame for your favorite pet photo to display along with your other family photos can add a little whimsical feel to your photo collection. A personalized pet tag not only can give you a pleasure and it can also be a very helpful tool to reunite you and your pet, if accidentally your pet is separated from you and your family.

Furniture

A brief History

Indian craftsmanship has always enjoyed a fame that has invited both respect and reverence from the earliest days. Local tradition and culture contributed immensely in the development of ornamental wood work for palaces, temples, houses, etc, however, it was unable to generate any effective furniture of the kind that we are used to. Eating on the floors, resting on string beds with wooden posts, etc, was among the few reasons that suppressed furniture development in our country. However, the main thrust was given by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English, who stimulated the development of furniture to meet their requirements. The Indian craftsmen adapted foreign design while inducing an indigenous flavor of craftsmanship in them.

India, a country known for the availability of eighty varieties of wood for wood work, has an old custom of furniture making. Following English tradition, who cultivated teak as a royal tree for shipping industry, soon assumed tremendous popularity for quality wood work.

Royal and rich households have always remained the traditional buyers of the furniture, and even now, royal palaces based across the four corners of India, feature some of the marvellous examples of indigenous wood work.

Traditional Furniture and its significance in contemporary times

Words such as splendid, elegant, elaborate and luxurious capture the flamboyance of traditional style furniture. Characterized by rich wood tones and old-world craftsmanship, traditional furniture groupings are known to lend a royal touch to their surroundings. It comprise of a lot of carvings, woodworking and workmanship, which Is why they are generally more expensive.

Today, the crafts and craftspeople have a dynamic role to play, not only as a part of our cultural and tradition, but as part of our economic future as well. Exported around the world where ever antique and ornamental furniture is appreciated, the traditional furniture forms the focal point of furniture industry. Owing to its aesthetic beauty and designs, traditional attributes of art and design have established a reputation of India’s traditional future globally.

Modern Furniture and its significance in contemporary times

Furniture is basically household equipment designed and developed to match the varying tastes and trends of the furniture industry. With contrasting style directions and diversity in home décor, it has become significant that fashion trends have been dictating the ways we decorate our homes. Now-a-days, more and more people are getting inclined towards mixing furniture trends for decorating homes by blending contemporary furniture with antique pieces and exotic art works.

Whether they are looking for modern furniture or accessories, many people prefer to go for items that exhibit their sense of style. This casual living trend has witnessed a surge in modern furniture becoming multi-functional in this domain. However, light woods such as oak, cherry, birch, etc, still dominates the modern make up of furniture today. In addition, varnished solid fronts with veneered bodies and stainless steel and aluminum have been combined with colored fiberglass and satin glass to give an aesthetic look to the home décor.

Modern furniture, from a design perspective, is about taking furniture to a new level of comfort, simplicity and aesthetic beauty. It is that part of the design history, that has exhibited the progress of mankind since the first homes and cities were built. This modern movement has brought new, innovative, non-traditional looks and material that has created an atmosphere of sophistication and sleekness.