Yesterday ended the 15 day celebration of Chinese New Year. The last night of the celebration is marked by sending out floating lanterns and of course more fireworks! I'm not so sure how safe a tradition is with paper lanterns and fireworks all filling the same night sky at midnight, but they've done it for quite some time so it must be alright. But more on firework safety later. This was definitely the biggest (and loudest) night of the entire celebration. I can't say I completely understand the concept of having two weeks off from work and school and then having your biggest night of festivities the night before life starts again, but believe me there was no shortage of people participating in the fun. We celebrated by attending a big local festival.
There were lots and lots of lighted inflatables, lanterns, and floats. There were dances, parades, and performances. It was probably the most crowded place that I have ever been! There were soooo many people!
Anytime we would stop to look at something or take a picture for ourselves, a crowd would very quickly form around Bella. People gathered all around asking for pictures or to hold her. One could have easily thought she was a ride or attraction at the festival. We probably should have charged, we could have made a pretty good dent in a plane ticket for a grandparent visit. haha (kidding of course).
Like any good festival, there were lots of special treats. Philip even found some cotton candy! The pictures below are some of the ones we found most interesting. First, they melted down rock candy. Then they would pour the melted candy out of a spoon into these beautiful shapes. Then the hardened candy would be eaten off a stick. Isn't this peacock amazing!
Next, a picture of blown glass candy. Using methods similar to blown glass, this woman blows into a hot liquid form of cotton candy until it hardens into these detailed shapes.
More on the end of Chinese New Year and firework safety (or the lack of) coming tomorrow...
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