From Grits to Chopsticks

This time of year in China features quite a few special days.  September 5th was “Spirit Day,” a day when some people believe that ghosts of their relatives emerge from hell and visit the living.  People remember this holiday by burning paper items to send to their departed relatives:Most of the sidewalks are covered with ashes:People come with large bags of fake money to burn:

All ages are involved:On September 10th, we celebrated “Teacher’s Day,” a time when those of us in the teaching profession get some extra attention.  Our school had a number of games for teachers, including this one where a group of teachers reclined upon one another and tried to stay off the ground for 60 seconds: I opted for less painful games, like blindfold fishing for a water bottle:

I also had the easy job of being carried by a team of teachers to a balloon popping station (click Teacher Day for video):

Tickets given for successful completion of games can be exchanged for exciting prizes:On September 18th, the entire nation remembers the start of the Japanese invasion in 1931.  At 10:00AM, air raid sirens sound for several minutes (click Sirens to listen), prompting uninformed expats to wonder if something bad is about to happen.

The big holiday begins next week.  Because of this year’s lunar calendar cycle, Chinese National Day (October 1st) will merge with Mid-Autumn Festival (October 4th), proving a full “Golden Week” of holidays.  For us, the main feature of the holiday week is receiving a variety of moon cakes (large, medium, and small):If you visit us during MidAutumn Festival, we will be happy to share ours with you!