Chinese New Year

It can be difficult living in a foreign country. The language, laws, landscape and customs are all different and can sometimes be frustrating when one doesn't know what is going on. Fortunately, much of that is forgotten when a foreigner gets to celebrate another country's holiday. This past weekend, the kids and I hopped on a train headed for Yokohama to partake in some of the Chinese New Year Festivities in Chinatown.

I fell in love with the lions! We waited two hours but were able to watch in the perfect spot front and centre!The lions definitely stole the show- they were funny, rambunctious and acted like fluffy dogs to the crowds amazement. Many people confuse the New Year Lion Dance and the Dragon Dance... The Lion Dance is only done with two people under the costume while a Dragon Dance is done with multiple people under the costume in a line. At one point during the show, the white and pink lion walked right up to my daughter and she gave him a big hug! Culturally, it is believed that when the Lion dances aggressively, it wards off evil spirits.

 The kids learned that the New Year is one of the Chinese most important traditional holidays. It is a time of new beginnings or cleansing and many will take this time to cleanse out their house. Red also carries significant meaning with messages of good fortune, wealth, happiness and longevity.Seeing this in person rather than reading it out of a book helped my two right brained visual learners grasp just how important this holiday was to both the Chinese and the Japanese people.

It is events like these that not only make me thankful that we are living in Japan but also that as homeschoolers, we have this amazing opportunity to explore and appreciate this beautiful country's culture!