Saturday - Chinese New Years Party

Drop in on the House of Tea through out the day today for some Chinese New Years festivities.  It starts with a Lion Dance performance around 1 pm.  A professional martial arts troupe performs this important duty, to bring good fortune to merchants and their customers through the new year.

A few things to watch for during the performance:

• the lion's head: this is a boldly decorated work of art, constructed of papier-maché, rods, wires and colored paper and fabric.  Each one is unique, and is the pride of the troupe's possessions. The mouth, eyes, and even ears are articulated; if the lion blinks at you, you must have caught his fancy!
• the tail: the lion dance is a two person affair: the poor guy in the back can't see a thing, but he certainly has to be a good dancer!  He keeps in rhythm with the head, and in more energetic performances, lifts the head dancer up on his shoulders and above, to reach more difficult positions
• the head of lettuce : more difficult positions; what for?  Why, to reach the head of lettuce, of course!  The lettuce represents money - a big wad of cash! -  thus fortune for the year, and is the goal of the lion.   The lettuce may be put on a string at the end of a stick, swung around to taunt the lion, or the merchant may hide it cleverly in the store or the front of the building.  A high, out-of-reach spot represents a challenge that any good lion can't refuse.  In larger performances, multiple lion dance troupes will compete to see who can get the lettuce.

Children love Chinese New Years, because of all the treats they may receive.  The red pocket or red envelope is traditionally how elders treat the young (technically, anyone unmarried and younger than they are, but usually reserved just for the children) with some money, usually in some symbolic amount, like 3 dollars, or 6 or 8.  Candy is prevalent during the new years: traditional Chinese candies are candied preserved fruits, like lotus seeds, lotus roots, carrot, ginger, coconut, and my favorite, watermelon.

To get their red pocket, children traditionally greet their elder with a fortuitous saying, such as the traditional Gung Hei Fat Choi! (Congratulations and Be Prosperous), Sun Yeen Fat Loi,  or other, creatively-phrased wishes.

We'll have candy throughout the day, so bring your children along for a special treat.  Bonus for any children in a traditional costume!

At 6 pm will will host a Mahjong Tournament.  Players may join one of our tables for several rounds of this fun, social game.  We'll play for chips to keep score, and the winner of each table will play a final set to determine the grand champion Té Mahjonger of the year!  For this tournament, we'll be following the Hong Kong "Old Style" rules, a description of which can be found here: Mahjong.  Also, the payouts at the higher scores will be halved, per typical tournaments (we'll provide a payout "cheat sheet" for details), to dampen the curve of exponential growth explained in the basic rules.  Any questions on the rules will be decided by the master, Connie!

Sunday - Closed

Sunday, February 18, is the first day of Chinese New Years this year (the year of the Pig).  We will be closed this Sunday, so that we may celebrate the new year with our family.  We normally close Monday, so we'll see you all Tuesday to start the new week ... and year!

Happy New Years,

from the staff of Té House of Tea
www.tehouseoftea.com