The Year of the Pig

Bring on the BACON!  Since arriving in Thailand, bacon has been a steady staple in our fridge after an entire year without it.  Throughout Indonesia, a predominately Muslim country, pork was obsolete, and we missed our BLTs and bacon and eggs.  (Honestly, how can one be expected to survive without such vital rations??)   So, it was a bit fortuitous that we finally found ourselves in Thailand, land of infinite pork, to celebrate the ringing in of the 2019 Chinese New Year, coincidentally, a year of the pig.

This New Year’s celebration, our first ever, was going to be special.  A fellow Antares owner, Eric, and his wife Cora, have lived in Phuket for ten years but are originally from Hong Kong.  They are amazing resources regarding all things Phuket and have helped us source boat parts and services specific to our boat.  More importantly, though, is the friendship that has grown between us in such a short amount of time.  It was a thrill to be invited to their home for a glimpse into an authentic Chinese New Year celebration.    

Dinner with Eric and Cora

The Chinese New Year is celebrated throughout SE Asia wherever Chinese families have immigrated, and marks the beginning of the Lunar Year.  For over 4,000 years, families have been gathering to mark the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring.  It is a time to symbolically and literally clear away the past and prepare for an abundant coming year.  These two themes permeate the traditions surrounding the Chinese New Year.  In America, we have the 12 Days of Christmas, and in China, they designate 15 days of deliberate activities that help to move from clearing out/cleaning the past towards stocking up and enjoying abundance for the future.  We were especially excited to find out that New Year’s Eve is similar to America’s Thanksgiving in that it is traditional to engorge yourselves on insane amounts of delicious cultural foods.   

There are no resolutions made, perhaps, but many tidings of good luck, joy, and prosperity lavishly adorn nearly every holiday decoration in the brushstrokes of Chinese characters.  Cora gave me a mini-lesson about the language she grew up learning.  Did you know that the written language is called ‘Chinese’, but the official spoken language of China is Mandarin, with most regions consisting of varying dialects?  I never knew!  

She also gave me a glimpse into the symbolism of certain characters.  In many ways, Chinese is like a text message written with emojis - pictures representing ideas all strung together in a specific order to express a specific thought.  The Chinese script is not made up of letters, but symbols.  In English, we use 26 letters to formulate every single word we know, but there are 100,000+ Chinese characters!  Literacy teachers in China have their work cut out for them!!  Here’s a simple explanation of the Chinese characters and how they are used to communicate ideas.  

In the spoken language, intonation drastically changes the meaning of the same word.  Cora told me of four separate intonations that are applied to words in order to use them within different contexts.  So simply learning to pronounce a word in Mandarin isn’t enough, you also need to know which intonation to use.  For example, the word ‘wen’ can mean ‘ask’ with one intonation, but it can mean ‘kiss’ when pronounced just a bit differently!  If you’re so inclined, here’s another site where you can learn more about the complexities of China’s language. 

Once my mind was chucked full of new information regarding the language, it was time to focus on yet another authentic Chinese learning experience - the New Year’s feast!  Eric had spent two days preparing the customary foods for the celebration, and each dish was new to us.  The starter, a corn chowder, was a hit with the kids, who made sure to ask for the recipe!  Perhaps the yellow/gold color symbolized the wealth that the coming year would bring?  The dining table was strewn with plates of culinary delight - minced duck with lettuce wraps, chop suey with fish balls, sautéed mushrooms for the vegetarians in the group, and a baked chicken dish full of even more fresh veggies! 

Eric's Amazing Chinese Feast!

There certainly was abundance on our table to ring in the New Year!  As we ate (and ate, and ate!) we shared stories of our travels and learned even more about the Chinese culture.  And just when we thought we couldn’t eat another bite, Eric and the kids presented dessert - sweet dumplings with sesame paste filling!  It was the perfect ending to a beautiful meal.  

Eric and kids in 'galley' getting dessert ready

Delectable Dumplings for Dessert!

As the conversation continued, the kids decided it was time for bed.  They curled up on the couches in the sitting room and promptly fell fast asleep, too tired and full to stay up until midnight!  Soon, though, Mark and I felt our beds beckoning us as well, so we nudged the kids awake and hugged Eric and Cora goodnight, thanking them for sharing their Chinese New Year traditions with us.   

They had one last surprise for us, though.  Cora quietly slipped a red envelope into each child’s hands before we walked away.  

“Only to open tomorrow on New Year’s Day!” she specifically instructed.  

The whole way home they both held tightly to the envelopes, excitedly wondering about what was hiding inside.  The gifting of the red envelope, I learned, is a widely practiced tradition among family, friends, and just about anyone in your life as a way to give and receive good fortune!  Most commonly, though, it is a way to give a special monetary gift to a child during the New Year gatherings.  When we returned to the boat, they each set their envelopes up in their cabins where they’d be sure to see them when they first woke up.  

Sure enough, at sunrise on Chinese New Year, the kids tore open their red envelopes and found a crisp Thai baht note.  True to their individual personalities, Michael was already scheming how many pieces of candy he could buy that very day, while Elizabeth decided she’d add it to her savings to ensure a prosperous year ahead, I presume!

2019 - Year of the Pig was off to a great start, spent with new friends, new experiences, new culture, new places to explore, and new things to learn.  From our family to yours we send you wishes of joy, happiness, good fortune and a fridge full of bacon in honor of this year’s animal!  Happy 2019!

Eric and Mark sailing aboard Field Trip

Eric and Mark at a celebration after the new year at Yacht Haven, Phuket.