The Sauk Centre herald., 1939-04-27
Celebrated Chinese New
Year On February Is, 1899

1 through dangerous country. There
is one hint to all travellers when
New Years time comes around:
don't travel!
| Chinese New Years Day: True
| to Chinese form we found steam
ing plates of Chao Tse's on the
breakfast table this morning. The
cook had stayed up all night to
prepare them and the other food
which we are to eat today, and
then the contest began. Everyone,
provided with his saucer of vinegar
mixed with a little bean sauce be-
gan the delicate process of extract
ing slippery steaming, dough-wrap-
ped chao tse's from the large bowl,
making a hurried flight to saucer,
dunking the greasy fellow into the
vinegar-sauce, then conveying him
poSt-haste to the deep cavern
known to man. A symphony of
'slurps' followed the successful
journey. If unsuccessful, said
dough-coated lad probably squeezed
himself out of the clutch of bam-
boo chopsticks and splashed with
delight into the saucer spraying
chin, tie, shirt, coat front with the
brown stain of his bath water.
Luckily, 1 had no casualties this
morning making over 25 trips to
supply base and back; didn't keep
track of the others but from the
'slurps' about me knew that guam
titles were being consumed.
Upon reaching the dining hall
this morning we were all greeted
with much Kung Hsi, Kung Hsi'ing
and the Chinese salute of fists to-
gether and a series of bows. Kung
Hsi is the equivalent of Happy New
Year, but means courteous greet
ing Another greeting common on
this day is Fa Tsai, which literally
means make some more money
Following breakfast the newly wed
couple, the military leader of the
school and his new wife, were made
to Chi Kung, or kowtow, to one of
our representatives, who, symbol
/ cally collected all of their good
wishes in the skirt of his coat and
distributed them to all of us.
Going from place to place we
merely stepped in to say Kung Hsi
and then moving on amid bevy of
bows and polite sayings. In some
of the houses we were invited to
drink tea, sit and eat dainty little
cakes, candy, peanuts, and tanger.
ines. OF course, the salted water
melon seeds were in evidence at
nearly every house.
New Years is not without its
color. For today the ladies and
girls don their brightest costumes
of silken trousers, silken gown, en-
broidered shoes, and powdered
faces, rouged cheeks, as well as
colored nails. Men for the most
part step forth with freshly shaved
heads, clean clothes, baths in some
cases, and a smooth shaven face.
(Although this latter is not diff
ficult procedure in China) Aside
from personal dress the doors and
gates of the home are usually dec
Grated with colored pictures of an
cient warriors which are pasted on
each panel, their job to keep out all
undesirable spirits of sickness and
pestilence. Red paper strips above
and along the sides of the door bear
characteristic New Years sayings.
What a feast we had for our
dinner! Lotus roots, my favorite
cold yaoata a blp pnrk dreaded and
cooked in honey, duck and chicken
swimming in their broth, several
vegetables, tripe, and manto, the
Chinese bread, a sweet dish, which
is made of eight different fruits
baked in rice.
All this past week the people
have been feasting and eating good
things. They do only the minimum
of work leaving off all heavy work
unless their economic circumstances
impel them to get on the move
again. They meet to talk, play
cards, gamble or smoke pipe after
pipe of their native tobacco in their
long-stemmed pipes. A knot of
children of all ages may be seen in
nearly every courtyard about a big
swing which has been constructed
expressly for this time of the year.
The double oxen yokes which are
slung over the upper cross-bar of
wood thus serving as a moving
fulcrum for the swing ropes, creak
and grown under the weight of