Back in December 2003 it was the season of putting up the Christmas decorations and Hong Kong is no exception!
This will be my first Christmas in Hong Kong and to tell the truth I didn’t think it would be celebrated much since Chinese people have the Chinese New Year tradition. I guess it’s a Western thing that’s been brought over, much like Halloween!
Last year I was in China celebrating the Chinese New Year. I didn’t realise there were two things you had to do – give money and wear something red. The giving of money (via small red envelopes) is something children usually participate in, however I thought I’d give it a try. When I opened up my envelope though I was shocked to find only 2RMB, where the person I gave my money envelope to had in at least 20RMB!
The colour red symbolises luck as well as having many other meanings. I was told that I needed to wear this colour, preferably under my clothes. Looking around the shops, I noticed many red coloured items – bras, socks, pants…. I chose the pants and wore them throughout the New Year. What stuck in my mind at the time though was that millions of people all over China were wearing the same colour pants as me!
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Hello! My name is Giles Dawe.