Hinamatsuri, Japanese Doll Festival

When I was 18 and living in Japan I spent 3 months living with a family who had 4 daughters.  Quite unusual in a county where the average fertility rate is estimated at 1.39 children per family.  I guess if you have 4 daughters the Hinamatsuri (Japanese Doll Festival) is going to be a big deal.  I so wish I had my all my photos here in Singapore so I could share the memory but alas you'll have to imagine it....
Picture one heavy set Australian teenager (in my defence ALL rotary exchange students put on weight while they are away) helping her petite and very beautiful 6 year old host sister put together a multi-tiered display of ornate (and breakable) dolls.  It was quite an amazing display and I spent much time examining it for the week or so that it was in the living room of the family home.  

The Hinamatsuri is a time to ask for good heath and well being for girls.  In most families who have girls there will be some kind of display and around the display girls will offer dedications of peach blossoms, rice cakes and such.   

The Festival falls on the 3rd March every year so Miss May and I might tried our hand at making our own dolls today....

Dr Seuss' Birthday, 2nd March

The Festival Of Purim

Wow - I missed it!  No worries, better late than never... "Happy Purim"!

The Purim Festival celebrated every year on the 14th Hebrew month of Adar (that's late February/early March) and is a major event on the Jewish calendar.   The story of Purim dates back to about 500 B.C. and tells of a young Jewish girl Ester who is plucked from obscurity, crowned Queen and goes on to save her people from the evil Haman, one of the Kings officials who wanted to banish them from the Empire.

Purim has been described as a Jewish "Halloween meets Carnival".... if you google images of Purim in Israel (as I admittedly did) you might be mistaken for thinking you where looking at images out of New Orleans or Rio!  People mascarade in the streets, dress up as the characters and re-enact the story or just dress up in something completely unrelated for the fun of it.   In the Synagogues and publicly the story is told and those gathered will hiss whenever the villans name is mentioned and cheer for the heroine, children receive presents and money and are encouraged to do good for the poor.

I came across The Story of Esther in "A Calendar of Festivals" which is one of the fabulous publications to come out of Barefoot Books.  Even so it was a little too long for a nearly 3 year old!  Here is the story adapted by a Jewish mother in Perth, Australia.... "The Story Of Esther" 

As part of the Carnival-like celebrations many Jewish children will make and wear their own masks to represent the characters from the story so we had a go today... Miss May Loves a Crown!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

The excitement is fever pitched amongst the Chinese kids at our condo tonight.  It is the beginning of a 14 day celebration to usher in the Luner New Year.  This weekend kiddies here in Singapore and throughout the world will be chowing down some pretty delicious grub, setting off fire crackers and most importantly receiving the all important Hong Baos or "Red Packets".  Hong Baos are generally given to children containing a monitory gift and there are quite a few rules around how to give Hong Baos.   Here tis' in a nutshell

- Money is generally just one single note
- The figure must be an even number
- Money must be new (ie not just any old crunched up note from the bottom of your wallet
-  Number 4 is extremely unlucky and should be avoided
- Packet must be red to denote good luck for the year to come
- Packets must not be opened in front of the giver

Goodness all these rules!

No body actually BUYS red packets from what I understand.  There is an abundance of red packets around at this time of year.  Banks hand them out, as do hotels, service stations and department stores.   Plenty of business' take a lot of pride in designing a custom red packet each year as part of their marketing strategy.

Old red packets are great for kids to craft with.  Check out these amazing red packet lanterns and origami fish on you tube...

We made our own lanterns today using bubble wrap. lego and mandarin's to stamp.  Thanks Miss S for sharing in all the glittery fun with us!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Valentines Day

The 14th February is of course Valentines Day.  I'm informed it is one of the most celebrated holidays world wide, and second only to New Years day.  Personally I feel it is little wonder a holiday which draws on symbols like cupids and love hearts is going to catch on!  

Valentines day is actually a Christian tradition in honour of the Christian Saint Valentinus, and is a key date on the Anglican Church's calendar, but in today's world it is all about chocolates, love letters and love hearts... right?

You might have sensed a little cynicism in my words, but actually since becoming a mum my ill feeling for valentines days has subsided and the new, mellow me has come to think of it is a great excuse to inject a little more love into the world!  Miss May and I recently joined a weekly playgroup called Mucky Pups here in Singapore and the teacher ran a great session with the kids this week which included some songs adapted for the occasion and some neat little art projects.  We just loved getting all "pink-paint and glittered up"... as soon as we returned home we took it a step further and made a sweet garland to hang in the house.

We'll be on a little vacation on Valentines day with much loved friends who will all be receiving valentines cards from Miss May... or perhaps a Love Bug... who knows.... stay tuned!

PS here are a couple of nice little resources I've found online...

Very sweet LOVE BUG printables from Dandee ...

Graffiti Art... from Modern Parents Messy Kids

... and here you'll find the traditional story of Saint Valentinus set out for kids... it's a little ... sad!  So we'll skip it this year in favour of this little story which was adapted from Indian folk tale, The Prince's Valentine.  It just goes to show there can be more to valentines day than Hallmark, Hershey's and hearts!

Love 'you'se' all (sorry I had a little Oz moment... )

Chinese New Year

Snake made of yellow lanterns which
runs the length of China Town in Singapore

Chinese New Year is a special time for Children in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and around the world!  It's all about welcoming in the Chinese Luna New Year, pineapple tarts, red packets, firecrackers, mandarins and FOOD.   This year we welcome the year of the snake.

The Chinese Zodiac is a source of interest for adults and kids alike.  I have several non-Chinese friends who live and breathe their Chinese Zodiac, and for my Chinese friends although less relevant to them than perhaps the previous generation, the Zodiac is still referenced for big decisions (wedding dates is an obvious example).

Miss May is not to interested in the Zodiac but older kids love the process of discovering their animal and the personality traits that supposedly come with bring a particular animal.

There are some great reference sights where you can look up your Chinese Zodiac animal and read about... yourself (?) ... your older kids will love this too!

http://www.china-family-adventure.com/chinese-zodiac.html

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/peopleplaces/chinese-horoscopes/

Given it is the year of the snake we kicked off our playdate with friends last week by making toilet paper roll SNAKES... the kids decorated and adults did the cutting!  It is pretty straightforward but if you want some instructions checkout... La Jolla Mom

If you are expecting a new baby this year then keep in mind your little one will be a SNAKE... according to the Travel China Guide.... "gracious morality and great wisdom. They are usually financially secure and do not have to worry about money. They have tremendous sympathy for others and would like to take actions to help their fellow human beings. They are determined to accomplished their goals and hate to fail. Although they look calm on the surface, they are intense and passionate. They have a rich source of inspiration and understand themselves well. They are people of great perception. Women under the sign of the snake do well in housework but are irritable." (does this mean that men do not do well but are laid-back ... I wonder!)

All good fun!

Australia Day ... "Lamo" Fest!

If you are living or traveling overseas you might stumble across holidays and festivals which are not only fun and exotic but highly symbolic and reveal a lot about the people of that country.  Perhaps you didn't even know these festivals or holidays existed before you lobbed in your adopted country.  I remember celebrating the Bon Festival in Japan which involved visiting the tombs of my host family's deceased relatives, cleaning the tombs then eating sweets grave side.   I'm also reminded of watching awesome fireworks in Boston on Independence Day, and in Thailand watching hundreds of Lanterns float into the air at a Buddhist festival.  But what of Australia Day?  It's the country of my birth, it's the place I love to visit and will be always be my favourite place in the world, but I have to admit I'm never quite sure how to celebrate it... beyond beer and a BBQ.

I'm sure plenty of Australian's would disagree or at least tell me that BBQ and beer is the quintessential way to celebrate Australia day, so get on and enjoy it!

For those of you perhaps less familiar with the Australia day origins, here tis in a nut shell....

Date: 26th January.
Commemorates: The arrival of the "first fleet" in Sydney (basically boatloads of prisoners for whom there was no room in the jails of London)!  Yes we are a nation of convicts and proud of it.  Also marks the colonisation of Australia to the British.  Of course time has seen many subsequent waves of people arriving to the shores of Australia from all over the world so Australia day is now an all in "cultural extravaganza" which is billed as celebrating all the diversity of people and cultures you find in modern Australia.
How to celebrate Australia Day: I think it's fair to say that a BBQ is on the cards for many Australian families on 26th January.  However, what will be sizzling on those BBQ's will vary wildly (kebabs? sausages? yakitori?  chicken satay?)....
The First Australians: Australia's Indigenous people have generally considered Australia day a black mark on their own history.  The Indigenous people endured many years of inequality and hardship and to this day many refer to Australia day as Invasion day.

 Miss May and I decided to mark the occasion by baking.  There are a few deserts that I have always considered "Australian", pavlova, lamingtons being the most obvious but apparently the New Zealanders have claimed both!  Anyway we made lamingtons with a bunch of friends and this was the result.

THE STORY GOES... Sir Lamington who was the Governor Of Queensland at the turn of the century, demanded sweets one night for unexpected guests.  With little time to prepare his Chef (who was frenchman Arnand Gallad... not Australian at all) used left over sponge cake, dipped it in chocolate sauce and rolled it around in coconut.... VOILA!

Interestingly coconut was little known back then.  Apparently Gallad's wife was from Taihiti and so was familia with coconut!  Anyway the kids loved it!

If you are after a great Australian picture book you really cant go past Possum Magic by the Mem Fox. It is a great story for kids and features the much loved Lamington!

Happy Australia Day (I know this post is late but one need not wait for next Australia Day to enjoy making Lamo's at home... get on it, they're delish!)

Christmas is Christmas... no matter where you are!

It occurred to me in mid November that Mark and I had only once, in our ten year union gone to the trouble of having a Christmas tree in the house.  Neither of us have even lived in the same state as our  respective families since leaving University and given we have always traveled to be with family on Christmas day it just never seemed worth the trouble..... then Miss May arrived.  The table was flipped and suddenly having the biggest and best christmas tree and all the associated 'hoo-ha' in the lead up to Christmas was essential.  How else will our daughter grow to feel part of the culture of her parents if we don't make the effort?  So in our home Christmas was the word and for six weeks we covered a lot of territory!  Here is a summary...

Choosing the biggest and best (and freaking expensive...) Christmas tree!

Visiting the Singapore Botanical Gardens to see the lights at dusk...

Christmas lights on Orchard road... so crowded!!!

Homemade Advent Calendar... clearly mummy did this project but inside we had 25 little christmas related activities rather than sweets (not so much because I'm a stickler for healthy options - I just dont think daddy could have resisted...)

Home-Made Wrapping Paper ... we used glitter paint which was probably more exiting for Mummy than Miss May)

With the help of some enterprising mums at our condo we held our first ever Christmas fair.   It was a great day and included stalls by some local designers and vendors (check out the lovely stuff from the lovely Emma at www.emmalaue.com and beautiful wears out of Bali from Coco and Ginger (http://cocoandgingersingapore.com/).  We organised a range of Christmas activities for the kids and were lucky enough to have a guest appearance by Santa himself.  Santa luckily remembered his shorts and t-shirt for the sticky Singapore weather! 

Thank you all the other Mummies, and one Daddy in particular (you know who you are), who helped out.

Home Made ornaments were a huge hit.  We tried both the Salt Dough recipe and the White Clay recipe... both were easy to make and fun to decorate.   We took plenty home as gifts for Nanna and Grandma for their own Christmas trees too.  Checkout The Imagination Tree for instructions of how to make.

Our homemade snow-globe was interesting... jar, water, glitter and a store-bought ornament... problem was our angle looked a little worse for wear after a couple of days submerged in water.. 

We traveled back to Australia with Miss May just before Christmas and spent a fabulous 2 weeks with family and friends.  By the time we returned Singapore had stripped itself of Christmas and Chinese New Year decorations were everywhere.  So stay posted for our Chinese New Year post!