Happy New Year Steemians!
Today is the first day of 2018 of the Lunar Calendar, in the year of the Dog. 狗年吉祥! Lots of luck for the year of the Dog!
Being here in Australia, I would say that the Chinese/Lunar New Year festivities do not even compare to the celebrations held in Hong Kong or China, two Asian countries where I'd been lucky enough to experience the "real deal" for myself.
My most memorable Chinese New Year experience was back in 2009. Hubby A (boyfriend, at the time) and I spent Chinese New Year in Beijing. New Year's Eve was surprisingly quiet though. I guess everyone was home celebrating with their loved ones. We were out at Wangfujing Snack Street and it was like a ghost town until midnight when the sky was lit up with fireworks, mostly from store-bought ones. (We even bought fireworks ourselves and lit some up a few nights later!).
The next day, New Year's Day, we spent the morning with Hubby A's cousin, who took us to Baiyun Temple to experience the local traditions and customs at the temple fair.
This is me, burning incense and praying for good luck.
It was so amazing to partake in the welcoming of the new year in Beijing. One day, I would love for my kids to experience the true traditions of Chinese New Year in China or Hong Kong.