Spring Festival an opportunity to experience traditions
Although I had lived in China for many years, I had not encountered firecrackers on any significant scale until the start of the Year of the Monkey in Qingdao at midnight in January 2014. I was enjoying a quiet evening in an Irish-themed cafe bar when the staff asked me to come outside. Suddenly the city seemed to explode! Everywhere firecrackers were going off —the larger and louder, the better! I had never experienced anything like it before, except maybe in action movies on television. So vibrant were the explosions I phoned back to my parents in Scotland and had them listen. In keeping with tradition, I was invited back inside to share great piles of steaming dumplings prepared for this auspicious occasion. The dumpling shape, said to resemble a Chinese tael, is reputed to deliver wealth and treasures over the coming year.
