虎年快乐！Happy New Year
Today marks the first day of the year of the metal Tiger! We get to celebrate a double holiday this year with Valentine's Day falling on the same day. While Japan celebrated the year of the Tiger on January first, China keeps to the tradition of celebrating New Years based on the lunar calendar. The celebration of the new year spans two weeks and is marked by an incredible silence as many people head home to be with their families. Anyways that was my experience in Beijing 2005. While fireworks do go off on the new year to scare off those pesky ghosts, most of the holiday is spent eating with family and visiting temples. Many shops close and I found it hard to find a bite to eat at some times. Here is to wishing you all a prosperous new year in the Year of the Tiger!