Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, marking the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations. (Yes this was back in February, I'm super behind on posts).

The day's main activity is watching lanterns. Throughout the Han Dynasty, Buddhism flourished in China. The legend goes that an emperor heard how Buddhist monks would watch sarira, or the remains from the cremation of Buddha's body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The emperor ordered lanterns to be lit in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a grand festival and expanded to the whole of China.

During the Lantern Festival, lanterns of various shapes and sizes are displayed in the streets, parks and temples. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns. In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in the shape of animals or are red to symbolize good fortune.

Matthew and I decided to partake in the Lantern Festival near our apartment in Xujiahui Park. The park was crowded with people looking at the large lantern displays, as well as children carrying their personal lanterns.

 

After wandering through the crowds, we made our way back to the apartment for a bowl of tāng yuán, small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour filled with rose petals, sesame, bean paste, jujube paste, walnuts, dried fruit, or sugar. Tāng yuán in Chinese has a similar pronunciation with tuán yuán, meaning reunion. So people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for the family for the next year.

Or you just eat them because they taste good.

D2D Holiday Gift Guide

It's the most wonderful time of the year and we at D2D (see that, I gave myself a nickname) wanted to give you a cheat sheet for presents to give your loved ones this holiday season. So here are our top five Shanghai gifts to spoil your loved ones with.

1) A tea set from Spin Ceramics

I featured this store earlier in the week because frankly, I'm obsessed with it. I've made three trips here in the last two weeks and have a long wish list just for myself. Their tea sets are high quality as well as affordable and would make the perfect gift for the tea lover in your life.

2) A set of pearls

I owe you a full post on the Pearl Market at some point in the near future. Just know that you can score a set of pearls here for 80-100 rmb (depending on your bargaining skills). That's $13-16 USD for genuine fresh water pearls. Cathy at G-012 is my personal favorite.

3) A hand hammered wok

Matt bought one of these woks when visiting Shanghai in 2011 and we have treasured it ever since. I thought the shop was long gone but Nancy over at jamjnr was able to recently visit the workshop. Any foodie will simply melt when opening one of these babies.

 

4) A Shanghai Calendar Girl Advertisement 

Used in the 1920's and 30's to sell cigarettes, gum, and perfume, these advertisements featured perfectly coifed, modern, beautiful women. Though the ads were meant to sell products, the pictures themselves were works of art. You can find prints for the art or history lover in your family at the Dongtai Antique Market or the Shanghai Propaganda Museum.

5) A pair of Feiyues

These iconic Shanghai shoes sell for 60 rmb (less than $10 USD) and come in various colors. Matthew and I can often be seen wearing these retro kicks around Shanghai. A pair of these shoes will make your family and friends feel like Shanghai insiders.

I hope I've inspired you to gift a few Shanghai themed presents to your loved ones this holiday season. We will be taking a break from blogging for the next two weeks to celebrate and spend time with our families and friends. We look forward to seeing you all in 2014. From our computer to yours, we wish you all a happy holiday!

Xīn nián kuài lè

Happy New Year and welcome to the year of the snake! At first, I thought Chinese New Year was going to be my new favorite holiday. Because you're pretty much required to eat dumplings and set off fireworks. For the equivalent of $20 USD we purchased some exploding bombs that I was terrified would blow off our fingers.

And for the first few hours, it was my new favorite holiday. But the fireworks didn't end at midnight. Or 3am. Or even 6am. I've been listening to fireworks burst for the past 12 hours and both the cat and I have fried nerves. So while I enjoyed the first few hours of Chinese New Year, I think I'll be booking a flight to somewhere tropical next year.

Happy Easter

Sunday marked our first holiday outside of the states, as well as the official two month point of living in Shanghai. To celebrate, we went to brunch at Boxing Cat Brewery, a Southern restaurant that served up shrimp and grits, cornbread, stuffed french toast, and loads of other tasty treats and then exchanged Easter baskets with each other. Thankfully, we were not without chocolate as my mother recently shipped me some much needed hygiene essentials and managed to sneak a few Kit Kats (my favorite) and Cadbury Eggs (Matthew's crack of choice) into the box as well.

My family got together early on Easter (while Matthew and I stayed up late) so that I could video chat with all of them. Here is a quick screen shot I grabbed during the chat. I cannot stop smiling when I look at this photo. I have the most adorable family.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday, no matter where you celebrated it!