Getting Ready for Chinese New Years

Chinese New Years begins Feb. 3 and is a 3 day holiday in HK.  I'm not sure if all three days are considered red days or not.  Most small shops will be closed and probably the markets too.  Apparently the big factories on the mainland close for three weeks so people can travel home for their yearly holiday.  Restaurants stay open as this will be their busy time as whole families go out to eat and celebrate.  The big grocery stores stay open longer hours to accommodate the people making special dishes.   For us school is done on Jan. 28 and starts again on Feb.8.

The entrance to Sky Tower

Our lobby in tower 7.

Dragon, firecrackers, drums, pots of gold, and flowers in the main entrance.

It's the year of the rabbit!!

Some of the decorations you can buy.  Most everything is red and gold.  The blue thing in the next picture is a clothes dryer rack with red tassels hanging from it.  This little store is about 2 blocks away and always has interesting things in it.  You can hardly get inside because it's packed from ceiling to floor.  I bought some decorations there and paid for them on the street.  All the stores along the streets are very tiny and it's amazing the amount of stuff that's in them.

All this stuff is on the outside of the store on the sidewalk!  The store itself is probably only 10x12.

The security desk in our lobby.

I had to buy some red things to decorate with!  These are candy dishes.  The pillows and dishes are everywhere.   There are special bags of candy in all the stores but some have very strange ingredients and don't seem that they would be very tasty to the western palate so l filled the tray with small Snickers and Dairy Milk bars.  The other one l put nuts in.  Not very adventurous but it all seems to be disappearing!!

Entrance to our tower.  Lanterns are all over now, and at the end of the 15 days of the holiday there is a Spring lantern festival with lanterns in all sorts of shapes which l'd like to see.  The orange or kumquat bushes like the one below are everywhere now to.  They are still adding decorations around our complex.  Everyday brings something new added.  When they finish l'll take some more pictures.

People buy these Narcissus plants for the new year.  They are also called Water Fairy Flower.  Flowers are a big deal here at New Years.  Apparently the Flower Market in Mong Kok is crammed with people and l read somewhere that fights break out sometimes as people want the biggest possible plant to show their prosperity!!  It's all about money here!  Kung Hei Fat Choi or "respectful wishes, get rich"
This is the most heard greeting for Chinese New Years, so Kung Hei Fat Choi to you all!