lantern festival

Chinese New Year is the longest holiday I have ever experienced. Saturday night I boiled these glutinous balls made from rice flour, filled with black sesame paste, that I bought frozen at Jenny Lou's. They symbolize family unity. Olivia and Mary came running in the kitchen. They were excited because they had talked about tang yuan at school.

"You made tang yuan!"

Tang yuan are traditionally eaten on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, the first full moon. They call it the Lantern Festival. I thought it was Saturday. I was celebrating the last night of fireworks.

"I am ready for the sound of no fireworks." I told Bethany.

"That's not a sound." she said.

Sunday was Lantern Festival. I drove Sam and Ben to the Priesthood Preview meeting at Leman Lake. I parked outside the compound gate because I hate taking our enormous van into that place with its narrow streets.

It was snowing. We walked in for about five minutes and had accumulated quite a bit of snow on our heads by the time got to our friends' house. When the meeting ended, the fireworks had begun. I should have remembered that the locals set up their fireworks-shop right outside the compound gates. There was our van ten feet from a whizzing box of dynamite. We ran laughing through the sulfur and smoke.

"Save the van!"

The fireworks continued through the night. According to our friend, it was the last night to shoot them off legally.

What I wish were a sunny, warm morning could also be beautiful, if I could find it within me to enjoy this last stretch of winter. March first means we are one day closer to Spring, even if it did snow. Caitlin is on her way to preschool.

Monday afternoon I walked with Kyle's Chinese class to the Baixinzhuang village next to ISB, for language practice. They each brought thirty kuai to spend. Kyle bought cherry tomatoes and Sprite.