The did you knows with a twist

I've made an executive decision

Don't look at me like that, it's my blog, I can do what I want!!

I've been seeing lots of friends lately who run out of space on their blog...and since the little post-it note thingies count as pictures, I'm hesitant to use them because I don't want to have to start a new blog, or delete them, or pay, or yada yada yada

So, I will still do "Did You Know"...just not with post-its :)

Did you know...

That tomorrow is my day off????????? I'm not excited at all... :D

My quiet world at work is about to end....this winter it's just been me, Mr. Boss Man, and Mama Smurf sometimes and it's been soooo nice. However, I was informed today that today was the last day of my reprieve....so I'm glad I get a day to mentally prepare myself...

In honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year, I figured I'd do some facts on that :)

*The Chinese people age a year together. Tradition holds that on the seventh day of the new year, all people in China become a year older

So...what about birthdays? Do they age two years altogether?? I don't think I would approve of that...

*On the fifteenth and final day of the Chinese N.Y. celebrations, the Chinese Lantern Festival is observed. Almost all members of Chinese families walk the streets with lanterns, marking the end of festivities and gorge on traditional dishes

I'm all for 15 day long celebrations and food!!

*The "tsujiura senbei" is a kind of fortune cookie associated with New Year festivities at Shinto Shrines. It's unique name comes from the fact that it contains a tsujiura (I dare you to say that 5 times fast...) (a writing that tells one's fortunes) inside a senbei (Japanese crackers). This Japanese food is centures old.

If it's that old....maybe people shouldn't eat it...it might make them sick

*During the C.N.Y festival only married couples give "Ang Pow"s, red envelopes containing money to buy holiday treats, to their kids or relatives of their younger generations instead of giving presents. Following a popular superstition, the money in the red packets always totals up to an even numbered amount and never an odd numbered amount because the latter is usually associated with funeral money. Also, the money should never add up to anything with the number 4 in it, because 4 in Chinese sounds like the word 'death'.

Ummmm....I approve of the money...and I approve of the even amounts of money...but not adding up to anything with 4? That's kind of weird

*During the Xia Dynasty, the C.N.Y was traditionally said to have begun with month 1. In 221 BC, the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang changed the beginning of the year to month 10. But in 104 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty again established month 1 as the beginning of the year.

Too many changes...I'm getting dizzy...

*In ancient China, bamboo stems filled with gunpowder were burnt to create small explosions in the belief that the loud sound drove away evil spirits. The burning of firecrackers in modern-day China still maintains this age-old custom.

Forget evil spirits, that would just be fun!!

*Most people take at least a week off from work and visit their home towns or villages. Everything is closed for at least three days (New Year's Day and the two days afterwards) - even stores that normally stay open for 24 hours. Before and afterwards the roads, trains, and airports are packed with people trying to get home and back. 

I'm not a big fan of holiday traffic, but I would love a random week off!!

And, last but not least...

*You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television

Sounds like a perfectly good reason for me to sleep more!! :D

Night!!

p.s. facts found here and here