Photos: New Year

So I feel like even though everyone knows I work as an online editor, most people still probably don’t know exactly what that means. What, exactly, do I do? Well, I thought this was a good example. Today, among other things, I made this slideshow of celebrations of the new Lunar New Year from around the world. Check em out.

And while you’re at it, check out this nicely done New York Times video of celebrations in Beijing to get a little taste of exactly what the festive spirit feels like here this week.

Cold Weather; Hot Hotpot

With love from Beijing:

恭喜发财！

I’m off to Beijing for a week to ring in the Year of the Dragon. Happy (Chinese) New Year, everyone! Wishing you all prosperity and good fortune!

Lanterns

Indulge me a bit. I love Chinese lanterns, and we even had spectacular weather today from which to photograph it.

OK, click through for more lantern photos. I won’t subject the home page to so many of them…

Decorating Doors

Chinese New Year season is upon us: orange trees are everywhere, as are red and gold decor and dragons (this year will be the year of the dragon).

And like a good citizen, I’ve decorated my door accordingly in preparation. (Why? Read here the story of the legend of the monster Nian, and why red door decorations are used for Chinese New Year still today.)

The sign in the middle is the Chinese character fu (福), which means “good luck,” more or less. It’s traditionally hung in the middle of the door upside-down because the Chinese word for “upside-down” rhymes with the Chinese word for “arrive;” thus by hanging it upside down, you’re inviting good luck to arrive.*

*Or so I’ve been told. I’m obviously no scholar of Chinese.