With only a few days left in Ramadan, I wanted to give you an idea of what Ramadan is and why we observe the month. Ramadan is the 9th month and most sacred in the Islamic lunar calendar. Lunar months last between 29 to 30 days, depending on when the new moon is sighted. If the moon is not seen on the night of the 29th day, then Ramadan lasts for the full 30 days. Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset for up to 30 days. The young, elderly, sick, traveling, pregnant, breastfeeding are excused from fasting during this month. My family and I start the fast daily by waking up before daylight to have a light meal called Suhoor. Click to read more…

Lunar New Year (過年 Guo Nian)! Where should I begin?

“Nian” was a monster in our legend. “Nian” would sleep during the year and woke up to eat people on New Year’s Eve. People gathering together with their family to fight the monster and celebrate for their survival on the New Year’s Day. Over the years, people learned from the experiences that “Nain” does not like loud noise and colour bright red. People started to put red paper all around the house and making loud noise to keep the monster away. The strategies evolved into what we are familiar today. The different type of red/gold decorations and many firecrackers.

My grand parents (both of my father and mother sides) moved to Taiwan to escape from the Communist in between 1942-1943 because of the civil war. Our family tradition was based on what my grand parents’ memories…Click photo to read full blog