In the Oriental or Asian countries, people are very superstitious. They believe in spirits and ghosts. In Thailand, there is a spirit house in almost every single house there. A little house is for the spirit of  the land where the house sits on. The family makes a food  offering to  the spirit house daily. They believe that the spirit will keep them safe and protect them. The spirit house has to  be put  up right and has to be straight and level. If they do any damage to the spirit house, they have to make  a food offering and apologize right away. Of course they have to repair it  right away. If they don’t do that, they believe the spirit will come to see them at night and will break their neck. The spirit will kill them instead of protecting them.

Thai people believe in fortune telling. At the temples, they have bamboo sticks to tell their fortune. There are many flat bamboo sticks with numbers on them. They are about 12 inches in length inside the round bamboo container. Thai people make a wish and shake the bamboo container until one of the bamboo sticks falls out of the container. They look at the stick to see what the number is. Once they find out about the number, they go to the wall of the temple to see what  fortune is written. There are hundreds of written fortunes on the wall. You just match the number on the stick and written fortune paper. After that, they make a donation to the temple so that their wish will come true.  Some Thai people go to the palm reader to seek their fortune. The palm reader has their booth set out side the temple. They really believe the palm reader even if they have to pay the money for it. Some people go to see  the man or woman which has been possessed by some spirit. It is the same way  in the movie ” Ghost ” in USA. They ask about their loved ones that passed away or what their future  is that lies  ahead. I didn’t know if they really had been possessed or not. I was very young at that time. Their voice had changed so much and was  different from their own voice. Sometimes it was a man’s voice and sometimes it was woman’s voice. I just observed and kept it to myself.

There is a true ghost story in Thailand. The story of Mae Nak Phra Khanong is  well known in Thailand. This story is based on actual events that took place during the 19th century. The story is about a beautiful young woman named Mae Nak ( Miss Nak ), who lived by the Phra Khanong canal in Bangkok, and her husband, Mak.

With Nak pregnant, Mak is called off to war, and is severely injured. While he is being nursed, both Nak and the child she is carrying die during childbirth. When Mak eventually returns home, he is cast under a spell and finds his loving wife and his new child waiting for him. Neighbors, who try to tell Mak of the death of his wife and to warn him that he is living with her ghost, meet with grisly ends.

One day, while Nak is preparing a meal, she drops a lime down to the cellar. In her haste, she extends her arm to pick the lime from the upper floor through the floor’s hole, not knowing that Mak saw the whole event. Terrified, Mak realizes she is a ghost, and tries to find a way to  be free without her becoming aware.

At night, Mak lies to Nak by saying that he needs to go to the rest room. He then breaks a little hole in an earthen jar which is filled with water, so that Nak will think that he is urinating, and runs away into the night.

After discovering Mak is leaving, Nak pursues him. Mak sees his wife’s ghost, he runs to the temple of Wat Mahabut, where Nak cannot enter the holy area. In grief and despair Nak terrorizes the people of Phra Khanong, venting her anger towards them for helping Mak to leave her. Eventually, Nak’s ghost is bound by a powerful exorcist. After confining her within an earthen jar, he throws it into the canal.

Mae Nak’s story is popular because her true love and devotion for Mak inspires many people. There is a shrine dedicated to Mae Nak at Wat Mahabut. The shrine is located by Phra Khanong canal, at Wat Mahabut, a large temple down a small soisoi ( side road ) off Sukhumvit soi 77, also known as On Nut Road. I did visit and gave  respect to her on my last vacation in Thailand.

My parents told me that there are so many unknown things in the world. Some are very powerful. It is better off for us not to go challenge them, no matter you believe it or not. The story of Mae Nak, you should pray for her and wish for her and her family to rest in peace. If you believe in after life, you should pray for her and her husband to be able to see each other again, and have an ever lasting love together to eternity.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this article. I see you later. Bye for now.

When I first came to this small town where I live now, I was surprised to find out that the children here didn’t know how to play SOCCER at all. I came from Thailand and almost every kid there played soccer. When the  World Cup Soccer tournament started, Thai people dropped what they were doing. They watched all the matches. All over the world, people watched the most  popular sport SOCCER, but not here in this small town, where football is the dominant sport and baseball is second. So I decided to do something about this matter. I got together with the local YMCA and a nice gentleman ( ex-professional Baltimore Colt player ) to organize a soccer league. We set up two days for a basic soccer clinic. I coached both 100 volunteer adults and 500 children how to play soccer, coaching and refereeing. It was a big challenge for me at that time because they didn’t know anything about soccer and it was such a very large crowd. I had to use a bull horn to instruct them. The clinic went smoothly and so did the first season of soccer. The children had a lot of fun and their parents were cheering for their kids. They were so proud of their boys and girls.

A few years later, we made a big change from a fun league to a competitive league. We tried to give our children  a chance to advance their skills and to know where they stand in comparison to children in other cities. One of the teams was an 8 yr. old division that my son played on. They had a first scrimmage of the season. They lost 13 to 1. The coach was yelling at them and told them that they were no good. The kids felt so sad and did not enjoy playing the game. They lost their self esteem. I went to talk to their coach and let them know that it was not a proper way to educate the children. They need some guidance and positive encouragement. They asked me if I knew anything about soccer. I told them yes. They wanted me to take over the team.  From that moment on, I coached that team and completely turned the team around. Two years later at the age of 10, the team entered a competitive tournament in the town bigger than ours by about 3 times. We won first place and a big championship cup. We  not only won the championship, but we won every single game by a shut out. Two years later at the age of 12, we repeated it again. We won the tournament in the city that  was ten times bigger than ours. We won every game by a shut out, and no one scored a single goal on us. The children did very well and their parents were so proud of them. I was very happy that the kids’ parents put a great trust in me and gave me an opportunity to educate them.

The reason for our success was hard work, respect, discipline and focus. I taught them to respect their parents and teammates. For their parents, I wanted them to say yes m’am or no sir and  to always show respect to the elderly. I taught them to show their love by action such as by doing some house chores without being asked. If you saw your dad doing yard work, don’t just  ask him, “May I help you dad?” You need to go in there and help him or take over the yard work. That’s what I call showing your love and respect. They need to show their love while they are still alive.  I taught them to work hard by jogging a few miles a day and to keep increasing the mileage. They did very well by disciplining themselves and practiced hard all the time. I taught them to stay focused on whatever they were doing, no matter if it was on the field or off the field. That’s how they were so successful on the soccer field. Some of them got good scholarships, and some of them played professional soccer and football. They are all enjoying good lives and have good families now. They told me that they will teach their children the way I taught them. They are paying it forward.

Bangkok is a great city to visit. It has a lot of history and beautiful architecture, but Bangkok is just like any large cities in the world. It has a dark side also. When I was a little kid, I had to get along with the neighborhood kids and had to join their gangs. That was for  good protection. If you were not part of your neighborhood group, who was going to protect you from the gang in the next block? They would  harass you or beat you up when you walked by. They cut up clothes hangars and bent them in a u-shape for their ammunitions. The rubber band was our weapon and was shot with u-shaped wire by putting the rubber band between two fingers. I tell you what.  It hurt so bad when you got hit. I am very lucky to still have both of my eyes. When I was about 10 yrs.old, I decided not to take any part of my neighborhood gang. I got harassed all the time both in my neighborhood and in the school. They slapped me on the back of my head. Thai people don’t like anyone to touch their head. I got so mad when they kept bullying me like that. I decided to do something about it. I asked my dad for some money to buy a punching bag. I told him that I needed to do some exercise. He gave me the money for the punching bag. After I bought the bag, I started practicing Thai kick boxing on my own. I punched and kicked the punching bag everyday after school for about four months. One day at school, one of the bad boys that liked to slap my head came to me to slap me as usual. I told him to stop. He said that he was not going to stop and what am I going to do about it. I told him to find out on Wednesday movie night at the school auditorium. I told him to fight one on one and not to bring anybody else. We both agreed to it. On Wednesday night, I showed up for my school movie night. I had been looking for him and asking many students about him. The word did spread that he and I were going to have a fight that night. To my surprise, he  chickened out. There was no fight on that night.  The next day he showed up for school, and he was nice to me and never bullied me again.  I did fight a few times to defend myself during that age. What I am trying to tell you is that every country  has some bad sections of town somewhere so always be aware of the places you visit.

Bangkok is the best place to eat. The city never sleeps. There is always good food to eat even at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. Have you ever  heard about hawker places in Singapore. In Bangkok, they have hawkers in the shopping center on the penthouse of the Mall.  The Thai government is trying to make the city looking better and also  make sure it is clean and healthy for the consumer. Thai food is gaining popularity around the world right now. It is a lot different from the Chinese or American  or European food. Thai food  consists of herbs, spices and curry. Some Thai foods are very spicy and some are not. When you order Thai food, you need to let them know how spicy you want it. They will prepare according to your taste. Most people know Pad Thai very well. It is a traditional dish in most  Thai restaurants around the world. My Papa’ (Dad) always bought Pad Thai for Mama’ and me on the way home from work. Sometimes he bought Lad Na. Lad Na is another well known dish. It is like the Beef and Broccoli stir fry in soy sauce and poured on top of stir fried noodles.  Papa’ bought Thai deserts sometimes like Ka Nom Jeeb, Foi Tong, Kawneeo Sangkaya, etc.

I grew up with my loving parents.  Especially my Mama was always kind and sincerely gave warm love to everybody.  I have been touched by her and I came up with these three phrases :  Doing good deeds, Speaking good words, Showing goodwill.  I told my children about these words.  They love it and will teach their future generations.  I would like all my visitors to pass my good words to the people you know and practice with it.  It is getting to be a long article now.  I will write some more next time.  Bye for now

Mana

Besides the Thai silk factory in Chiang Mai, there are two more  interesting places to visit.  ( There are so many things to see and do in Chiang Mai, but I just want to recommend only two places ).  One is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, dating back to the year 1383. It is 3520 feet above sea level, accessible via a steep naga staircase comprising around 300 steps.  The Temple has a huge Golden Chedi, within which lie some Holy Buddha Relics.  On the Temple grounds, you can smell many fragrant flowers and  there is a breath taking view of Chiang Mai.  Any visit to this city is not complete without stopping by this Temple.

Kantoke Dinner Show is another tourist attraction, combining great food with cultural entertainment.  The low tables on which the food is served are called Kantoke in Thai.  Diners sit on the floor, propped up by cushions where they can sample a variety of unique Northern Dishes.  Accompanying the traditional food is a performance of traditional Lanna ( Northern Thai ) music and dance.  Kantoke Dinner Show will be one of your unforgettable experiences.  At night  in Chiang Mai, there is a night bazaar.  This is a good place for shopping.  Merchants bring out their goods and set them up to sell on the  sidewalk.  The price is cheap but don’t forget to bargain.  You can make it an even better price.  There are so many things to do and see in Chiang Mai. Let me mention some to you:- orchid farms, silverware factory, painting umbrellas, shrimp farms, elephant trekking, river raft at Mai Ping River, etc.  I almost forgot to mention that the most beautiful girls in Thailand are from Chiang Mai.

Well let’s go down to the southern part of Thailand.  There are many romantic and  beautiful beaches in Thailand.  Some of them made it to the silver screen around the world.  One of them is the James Bond Island in the movie – The Man with the Golden Gun.  The other is Pi Pi Island which is where the movie  Paradise took place.  The main character is Leonardo  DeCaprio.  Phuket Island is ranked among the top five beaches in the world.  All the above beaches that I mentioned are very nice with white soft sands, crystal clear water and are very clean.  The price of a bungalow on the beach front is a very reasonable  price that is about the same as what a nice hotel room costs in the U.S.A.  The food is very good and cheap.  If you like night life, all of these beaches have all kinds of music and a lot of good times to give.  They also have a night bazaar there.

The other day I ran into somebody and they asked me,  “Where are you from?”  I told them that I came from Thailand. ” I see, you are from Taiwan.”  No! no! I am from Thailand, I told him.   It is the country that Siamese cats come from, also Siamese twins, Thai kick boxing, the most beautiful fish fighting, Cat Eyes stone, etc.  Today some people are still confused between Taiwan and Thailand.  I really can’t see it, but it does happen.

I love traveling to many different countries. I like to learn and see many cultures and traditions. I took vacations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Cancun, Bahamas, Mainland China, etc., but I found Thai culture is the most nice and polite of them all. If you all have a chance to visit Thailand, you will see what I am saying.  Like the old Chinese say, “You read to learn from the books for 10 years, but you still can not compare it to seeing it yourself   just one time.”

Goodbye for now,

Mana

I have been telling you about the time that I grew up in Thailand.  It sounds so terrible like the third world country.  That was yesterday, today Thailand is very modern and has one of the strongest economies in Asia.  Bangkok is the capital city and used to be called Venice of the East,  because Bangkok used to have a lot of canals ( Klong in Thai language).  They traveled by boats in canals and rivers like in Venice, Italy,  but today they have to fill them in to make more roads to accommodate heavy traffic.  Thailand is trying to improve the traffic congestion by building more roads, more freeways, sky trains and subways.  Even though they are doing this,  they still have an active floating market.  It is one of the must see tourist attractions ( I highly recommend it).  Floating Market is an open-market where the merchants bring their products to sell on their boats.  They sell just about anything.  You can buy all kind of fruits, vegetables, chickens, clothing, etc.  If you are hungry, you can order a dish of stir fry noodles to eat.  It is a very enjoyable place.  The floating market is located at Damnorn Saduak, just outside of  Bangkok.  You can get there by boat or by car.  I recommend that you ride the boat there.  This way, you can see both sides of Chao Phaya River of Bangkok and also you can go shopping easier once you get there.

Thai people are friendly people, nice and polite.  They are always smiling, maybe that is why they call Thailand-The Land of Smiles.  Tourists love to visit Thailand because they feel welcome.  It is easy to communicate with Thai people because the majority of them speak English.  Thai people love to speak to them too because they want to practice their English also.  There are many interesting places to see and visit.  I recommend two places to see.  One of them is Wat Pha Klew ( Wat means Temple ).  This temple has an Emerald Buddha and has a good history behind it.  The temple is one of the most fascinating architectural sights.  The temple wall is full of a Thai Epic mural.  The painting is so good in detail. This painting on the wall has been repainted since it was constructed about 200-300 years ago ( older than U.S.A.).  The other place to visit is the Royal Grand Palace which is located next to Wat Pha Klew.  This Royal Grand Palace is the welcome place for the high rank foreign visitor nowadays.  When you visit Bangkok, you should take a dinner cruise along Chao Phaya River.  The food on the cruise is excellent and  has a reasonable price.  The shrimps are as big as the lobsters.  There is a tour guide on the cruise to tell you the history of each building or temple in English.  It is a very enjoyable cruise.  There are many things to see and do in Bangkok.  What I just told you are only a few suggestions.

Next you should make a trip to the northern part of Thailand-Chiengmai.  Chiengmai is one of the provinces that has a lot of Thai hand crafted products.  They have many hand crafted teak wood pieces of  furniture.  It is a very detailed hand craft, very delicate and beautiful. Teak wood is a very hard wood and heavy.  This hand crafted teak wood furniture  will last for many generations to come.  By the way the price of the furniture is very reasonable compared to American or European prices.  The most beautiful Thai silk is from Chiengmai also.  You should visit a Thai silk factory when you go there.  They do have men tailor made suits  and women tailor made dresses at the Thai silk factory.  What ever you want to purchase, you need to bargain the price.  Don’t buy the merchandise at the price they tell you on the first quote.  Always bargain and start at half of what they ask for.  For instance, if they start asking for a price of $10, bargain them for $5.  It is the way that Thai people buy and sell.  Wow! I did not realize how long this article was.  Well let me tell you some more next time.

Mana

I would like to tell you about my drinking at early age.  In Thailand they didn’t have the liquor law like in America.  The legal age in U.S. is 21 yrs. old.  Papa’ gave me some money to buy a bottle of whiskey in the neighborhood.  I was only seven years old.  They sold it to me.  When I was four years old, I was running late for my school bus that morning.  Mama’ was calling me  because the school bus had arrived.  Hurry up the school bus is waiting, she said.  I ran to her to say goodbye and I grabbed her drink.  I drank it in one swallow and ran to catch the school bus.  Next thing I know, my Mama’ ran after me and checked to see if I am o.k. or not.  She told the teacher on the bus to keep an eye on me because I just drank her whole glass of whiskey.  Mama’ always drank  a glass of Chinese tea with her meal.  But this morning she felt like she needed a shot of whiskey.  I tell you what all the teachers at my school kept asking me how I felt all day.

Bangkok is one of the best entertaining cities in the world.  Most of the military service men decided to stay in Bangkok instead of coming home to U.S..  They really like the easy life and fun time.  Thai people always smile and are happy.  Americans call Thailand the land of smiles.  Thai people always Sanook ( means Happy Fun in Thai ).  There are many night clubs, massage parlors and bars in Bangkok.  It is very easy for Thai teenagers to get in because there is no one to check their i.d..  It is a very bad influence for Thai teenagers, but it is one of the big tourism businesses of Thailand.  Some foreign businesses prefer to have a business conference in Bangkok.  I know because one of my brothers always partied a lot with his friends.  I will tell you more about Bangkok and other cities in Thailand later.  Let me tell you more about my drinking at an early age.   One day when I was eleven years old, I went with my Papa’ to the U.S. commercial liner.  He went to see the captain and first engineer to have them sign the invoice.  The captain gave my Papa’ two cases of beer for a job well done.  My Papa’ accepted with delight and told me to take them home.  Papa’ told me to put some beer in refrigerator to keep them cold and to have them some day when he comes home from work.  Three weeks later, he asked me to get some beer from the refrigerator. ” What beers are you talking about?”  I asked.  He said that we got them from the U.S. ship a few week ago.  That is the beer, well they are gone, I said.  What do you mean gone?  I told him that I drank them all.  He was shocked and told me not to do it again.  I told him that I just wanted to try it first to see what it tasted like.  The next thing I knew, I finished them all.  He told me that it is o.k. to try it when Mama’ or him is there.  He didn’t want me to get into trouble and to get hooked on it.  That is my drinking story at an early age.  I will tell you about Thailand later on.  Goodbye for now.

Mana

I love and respect my Papa’ ( father or dad ) a lot.  When I was a little boy and woke up in the middle of the night.  I saw my Papa’ at his desk using English to Chinese  dictionary to read his English book.  My Papa’ had completed only third grade.  My grandparents had eleven children and my Papa’ was the  fifth child.  My grandfather was a carpenter and he did not make much money to feed his family.  My Papa’ ran away from home when he was eleven years old, so that his brothers and sisters would have more to eat.  Maybe that is why my Papa’ sent me over here to have a better education.  I will have a good life later on.  He ran away from home to my grandfather’s ( my Mama’ s dad ) shipyard.  My grandfather had a kind heart, he took care of a lot of the runaway children.  He put them to work as a trainee to learn how to be a welder, carpenter, lathe operator, mechanic, etc.  He provided a dormitory for them to sleep and had an old cook to prepare meals for them.  They learned and earned some money.  My Papa’ was one of them.  He was the most hard working and aggressive boy.  He didn’t learn just one skill.  When he completed the training to be a mechanic,  he asked to go to another department to learn another skill.  All the children moved on to be promoted to be the master of the skill they had learned because they made more money.  My Papa’ wanted to stay on as a trainee to learn the other skills.  Many years went by, he finished all the training in every department.  My grandfather had been observing my Papa’ all along.  My grandfather knew that my Papa’ was a hard worker, intelligent, had a nice personality, and  cared for his family.  My grandfather promoted him to be the manager of the shipyard.  The English book that he read at night was about how to repair the commercial liner or ship.  He tried to keep himself up with the new tech.

One day when I was a little boy, Papa’ came home from work.  He saw me watching our new black and white television with rabbit ears.  He asked me if  I finished my homework? Yes sir, I told him.  Did you do all your chores around the house? Yes sir, I did.  You don’t have anything else to do?  No sir.  In that case, you follow me to the ship yard.  When we got to the ship yard, he told me to walk around the place.  I did as he told.  I got back to him.  He asked me what I would like to be a welder, a mechanic or whatever I like to work after school.  Well Papa’, you didn’t tell me that, please let me walk again one more round.  After I finished my observation in every department,  I decided to be a welder.  Papa’, I would like to learn how to be a welder, it looked interesting to put two pieces of metal to become one.  You will report to the welding foreman that you are going to start working there tomorrow as a trainee.  I tell you what.  It is not easy at all in the beginning.  I burned my eyes because my welding hood did not cover my eyes fast enough.  You have to have a good coordination of your neck and your hand.  Before you stroke the welding rod, you need to snap your head to bring your welding hood down.  It took me a few days to accomplish it, but that caused my eyes to burn and start watering.  It hurt  very bad, so don’t watch the welding without a welding hood.

I was the youngest ever at the shipyard.  There is one incident I  would like to share with you.  One morning the house phone rang at 2 a.m., Papa’ woke me up and told me to get dressed to go to work.  He told me that two ships had an accident by head on collision.  One of them was a Panamanian ship severely damaged.  I went with Papa’ on that ship.  The head of the ship had a big hole but only a small boy like me could go to it easier.  They put the big steel plate to seal the head of the ship with me inside to weld by myself.  Outside, they got three welders to weld.  It took 3 days and 2 nights to finish the job with no sleep.   Papa’ told all of his staff at the shipyard that if my son can perform this kind of job, you all can do it too.  Papa’ was very proud of me.

Well I better say goodbye for now.  I will tell you some more later next time.

Mana

What would you do if you want to drink a glass of frozen margarita today?  It is a very simple thing to make it nowadays, but it was not when I grew up.  You have a blender to help you making it.  In the past, we had to buy a big rock of ice and then you shaved the ice by hand.  This is one example to show how difficult our life was.  Mama’ got up early in the morning to go to the open market.  Mama’ started fire with wooden sticks and newspaper to burn the charcoal on the stove. She put five cups of rice in the cooking pot.  She measured water with her index finger about one and one half inch above the rice.  She let the rice cook while she cut up the meat and vegetables on the hard and heavy cutting block.  When the water was boiling down to the same level with the rice,  she reduced the heat by taking some red hot charcoals out to another stove for stir fry cooking and also for boiling water.  She boiled water to make a big pot of Chinese tea and for washing clothes.  Mama’ washed our clothes by hand and hanged on the cloth lines.  I picked them up when I came home from my school.  Mama’ gave me three bahts (about 15 cents in American currency) for my daily allowance. This was my lunch and drink.  I walked two miles to my high school everyday.  The choice of public transportation at that times were SAM RAW ( human labor tricycles ), ROD RANG ( electric tram ), bus and taxi.  SAM RAW and ROD RANG had been banned in Bangkok.  SAM RAW had been replaced by TUK TUK ( motor tricycles ), because SAM RAW was too slow.  Bangkok was growing fast and modern.  I will get lost in Bangkok if I travel alone by myself.  Bangkok today has Free way, Sky train, Sub way and Sky Scrapers.  Back to my high school day, I had to wear the school uniform, white short sleeves shirt and blue knee high short.  On my left side of the shirt above my shirt packet is my first name and my high school identification number.  Both of them are hand embroidery stitches and my mama’ did them for me.  I got five white school shirts to wear to school, the same as my two brothers.  Mama’ did them all by hand.  The sewing machine operated by foot pedal,  the pedal spun the wheel, and the wheel got the belt to make the sewing machine moving for stitches.  Life in general consumed a lot of time in making things.  I forgot to tell you when mama’ and I prepared the meal in the kitchen.  Mama’ had to have a wet stone right beside her when she was cutting up the meat.  They didn’t have the knife sharpening, we used the wet stone to sharp the knife with.  Some of the Chinese dishes required ground meat, mama’ cut up meat in small pieces, then she beat them up with pestle and stone.  She beat it until the meat was fine and ground.  I write this post because I  realize how much my mama’ was giving such an unconditional love to her family.  We should be happy and cherish what we have now.  You don’t miss them until they are gone.

I appreciate the comments that I have received. Please share with me about your own life if you have grown up like me. Good-bye for now.

Mana

Chinese culture is a very unique and nice one.  Every culture is very interesting to learn.  I was born and grew up with Chinese life and traditions.  I would like to tell you about Chinese traditions when I grew up.  Some of the traditions I like and some of them I don’t agree with.  In America, most children are always looking for Christmas holiday.  At that time, they are expecting their wishes to come true.  They want to see what they get inside of their presents.  They ask Santa Claus for their wishes.  For Chinese children around the world, they wait for Chinese New Year to come.  On Chinese New year, their families will help each other to clean the whole house, they believe to get rid of the bad luck.  Their mother will prepare all delicious meals.  My Mama’ always prepare a lot of authentic good Chinese food.  We always have the whole table full of Chinese food, my mouth is watering now.  Chinese children are not only looking for the great meal of the year.  They are looking for a lot of red envelope, inside the red envelope is money.  Red envelope ( Ang Pao in Hokkien and Lai See in Cantonese ) is a monetary gift which is given during holidays of special occasions.  The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.  Red envelopes are typically given to the unmarried by the married.  All Chinese children are feeling rich on Lunar Chinese New Year.  They get the red envelopes from the grand parents, their uncles, aunts, etc.  The sound of drum, the dragon dance, the tiger dance, and the sound of fire crackers everywhere.  This is the sound of happiness by all the Chinese.

The wedding tea ceremony is one of the beautiful and touching traditions.  The bride and groom are wearing red wardrobes.  The red color symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.  The bride and groom have to light candles, incense and offer foods for their ancestors ( most of them are written name tablets ).  They have to be on their knees and bow three times to be accept into the families and show their respects also.  Then the bride and groom serve each other a cup of tea and bow to each other to show their commitment and respect to each other.  After that the bride and groom are to be kneeling down in front of groom’ parents.  They serve a cup of tea to groom mother and father and ask them to accept a cup of tea.  They will say ” Mama’ yum cha and Papa’ yum cha “.  Once the parents take the cup of tea and drink, it means they are accept the bride into their families.  They will then give the bride and groom the red envelope and jeweleries as the gift.  The bride and groom bow three times and accept the gifts.  This Chinese wedding tea ceremony is still going on today.  It has been carry on thousand of years.

The Chinese parents love to have a son more than a daughter.  They want their sons to carry on their last names and for the daughters will belong to other families once they married.  When the Chinese families have a first borned daughter, they will keep trying to have a son to carry their last name.  That is why the Chinese government permit only one child per family.  They already have high population problem, other wise those families will keep having children to have a son.  I can understand this tradition, but I can not understand about their feeling toward their daughters.  They give their daughters to another families like a piece of furniture.  If they die, they will not leave anything for their daughter at all.  They think their daughter carry somebody else last names, they are not their family anymore.  What  a tragedy!  You treat your own flesh and blood that way.  I don’t agree with this Chinese traditions at all.  My grandfather did not leave anything for my Mama’ at all when he passed away.  Same thing happened to my sister, my Papa’ did not give my sister anything at all.  It is sad!  I will not do that to my daughter.  I will give her love, support and when I die she will inherit some of my belongings.  This is some of Chinese traditions I want to share with you today.

Hope you enjoy this post, I see you later.

Mana

When I was growing up, my Mama’ taught me not to waste anything including food.  My parents always encouraged us to eat a lot, but do not waste the food.  Rice was one of them, if we were still hungry, do get a  second serving but just get only what you can finish.  Mama’ explained to me that rice farmers worked very hard to grow rice and they were low income people.  They used  their blood, sweat and tears to grow rice.  All the Chinese family will tell their children the same, because rice is playing a big part of Chinese culture.  Mama’ did not waste anything at all, she saved all the Chinese newspapers so that we could use them to start the charcoal to cook.  I was growing up with the left over food.  When we finished the meal and had left over, Mama’ always saved them in refrigerator.  She would add one or two more new dishes to go with the left over.  When we had a lot of left over rice, she would make a fried rice dish.  In case you did not know that this is the history of fried rice- the left over meal.

Mama’ showed me to love and care about the other people.  She got a busy schedule at home, but she always made the time to visit our relatives on both side of the family.  She would buy oranges or tangerines to give to our relatives.  Mama’ told me that we should  not wait until they got sick to see them.  You should make the effort to see them while they are healthy and cherish the time of happiness with them.  My Mama’ is a loving and caring person.  She was always giving, not taking.  She was a kind of person that anyone will feel love  and care whenever they meet her.  One day, she took me to the thai temple to worship.  She gave money to a few beggars in front of the temple.  I said to her ” Mama’ don’ t give the money to the young beggar, he is young and strong enough to find job and make money.  I think that he is a fake to make an easy money.”  Mama’ said to me that ” we are here to do a good deed, we are not here to judge people.  You don’t really know about him.  He might fall in a hardship right now.  Look at his clothes how dirty it is.  Do you think people will hire him the way he look?  Of course not, they probably scold him and beat him up with a stick.  You always help the other people if they need the help.”  I will never forget what she taught me.

At home, I saw how much my Mama’ really love my Papa’.  She didn’t have to tell anyone about that, it showed.  When Papa’ came home from work, she would  greet him with a smiling face and asked how the day go.  She would bring him something to drink and took his socks and shoes off.  At the dinning table, she put food on his rice bowl from different dishes with her chopsticks.  She said to him that I want you to taste this dish to see if you like it.  When Papa’ ate it, she would give him more without his asking.  She served the meal to him with love.  When Papa’ worked around the house.  She always wiped his face with a cold towel.  She always took care of him.  Today some Oriental ladies are still doing it.  You can see this kind of love only in ancient Chinese movie.  In today society we should give more unconditional love and understanding of each other.

Goodbye for now,

Mana