Happy early Chinese New Year!! The actual day is on Monday. This year is the year of the dragon. It goes in a cycle for what animal it is every year. Haha sorry I'm too lazy to explain it in detail (plus I don't even know all the details anyway :P).
My grandma and granduncle came to visit and just arrived yesterday night. They brought some super tiny Chinese New Year chocolates that I thought they were really cute so I posted anot
her picture! x) The shape they're in is what ancient Chinese gold pieces looked like; gold represents wealth so that's why you might see a whole bunch of decorations shaped like that at Chinese places.
Other cultural practices during the new year include giving out red packets to the children, lighting lanterns and firecrackers, eating 粘糕/sweet rice cakes, eating various candied fruits, and eating a lot more other stuff (lots of food!). This is also a time when people visit relatives and socialize. It's just really festive in general! :)
This is "La Galette des Rois," or the "King Cake" that I made for my French class! It's supposed to be round but the dough was a little small so it was hard to shape into a circle. :P
Anyway, the reason I'm making this for my French class is because every year, during the month of January, it's part of the French culture to eat this cake to celebrate the Epiphany. (Well actually because it's extra credit. ;P) The Epiphany is when the Biblical kings travel to Bethlehem to see baby Christ Jesus after He was born.
This cake is sold in bakeries all over France every January. It's made of two flaky puff pastry layers with a dense frangipane filling on the inside. (Frangipane is a filling made or flavored like almonds.) Hidden somewhere inside is also "la fève," usually a little porcelain figure or bean. The person with the piece of cake with "la fève" in it gets to be the king/queen, and is awarded a paper crown. Also, the "la fève" can be anything; sometimes, it's even a little cartoon figure!
Can't wait to eat it in class tomorrow hehehe. ;)
Happy early Chinese New Year!! The actual day is on Monday. This year is the year of the dragon. It goes in a cycle for what animal it is every year. Haha sorry I'm too lazy to explain it in detail (plus I don't even know all the details anyway :P).
her picture! x) The shape they're in is what ancient Chinese gold pieces looked like; gold represents wealth so that's why you might see a whole bunch of decorations shaped like that at Chinese places.
