7 Quick Takes: Chinese New Year (of the Pig)
1/ Turnip cake, red packets, flower markets, spring cleaning, red clothing, family, holidays and who even knew? I spent the whole of my Cape Town life clueless that so much festivity took place across the waters during this time of year: Chinese New Year. Its the biggest holiday time of year here and includes three consecutive days of public holidays. They don't mess around! Its the only time of the year that the majority of the city goes into shutdown mode, especially on day one. There is a whole lot of meaning and 'good luck' beliefs behind much of what happens, but we are quickly learning to enjoy the break it brings and some of the fun elements. We are far from celebrating it in any appropriately traditional way, but for those who have no idea what this time of year looks like, this is a bit of a snapshot of our last few days. 2/ The first two days of Chinese New Year are spent visiting family. Traditionally, the first day is for visiting paternal relat...