January 24, 2023

The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

 


Periwinkle stood by the Teleportation Tunnel waiting for her boyfriend Stinky's arrival.  She checked her furs in the mirror and made sure her whiskers looked nice.  With a loud WOOSH, he came tumbling out of the tunnel.  Periwinkle rushed up to him and they shared whisker kisses and paw pats.  Stinky asked how her fursib Raz was doing and Periwinkle said he was doing okay on his meds and had his ultrasound appointment scheduled for Thursday.  Stinky told her that his whole family was sending purrs and prayers for an excellent report for Raz.

Once again, Stinky asked if they were going to see manatees and Periwinkle told him the weather was still a bit warm but she hoped next time there would be manatees for them to see.  "We have something special to do today," said Periwinkle and she handed him a headband which he immediately put on.

Periwinkle said they were going to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rabbit.  She went on to explain a little more.  "Legend states that the Chinese New Year stemmed from an ancient battle against the Nian (/nyen/, which sounds the same as 'year' in Chinese), a terrifying beast that showed up every Lunar New Year's Eve to eat people and livestock. To scare away the monster, people displayed red paper, burned bamboo, lit candles, and wore red clothes. These traditions have been continued until the present time.  It is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the Chinese lunisolar calendar.  

She added "Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival. The first 7 days are a public holiday, from January 21st to January 27th in 2023."

"It's also lucky to wear Red which is why we both have red headbands.  Decorating your door is a fun way to celebrate.


They both were impurressed with a traditional Chinese door.



Lion dances and dragon dances are widely seen in China and Chinatowns in many Western countries during the Lunar New Year. They are performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year or event. 




Stinky quickly looked up some facts about Chinese New Year on his phone and surprised Periwinkle with some facts. "January 24th is the day of the Rat. People will leave some grains and crackers in corners to share their harvest with the rats. They will then go to sleep early in order to not disturb the “wedding.” This way, the rats will not disturb them during the year either." Both agreed they might enjoy chasing rats but didn't want to bring any bad luck.


They looked at some videos showing traditional Chinese Gala entertainment too.





"This sure is fun.  I really didn't know anything about the Chinese Lunar New Year" said Stinky.  Periwinkle said she didn't either.  They both agreed that they often learned a lot on their Adventures.

Since it was getting late and Stinky had to return home, they shared a snack with Periwinkle's fursibs and downloaded coloring pages to do for their moms.



After some whisker kisses and paw pats, Stinky hopped back into the Teleportation Tunnel and headed home.  Periwinkle went to find her fursibs and to find a nice sun puddle to nap in.



16 comments:

Lynn and Precious said...

Raz and Preiwinkle and Stinky , this is just a best Chinese New Year story. Thanks a bunch of purrs. Precious

easyweimaraner said...

happy year of the bunny... and man you are brave to be so close to the dragons...

Mickey's Musings said...

How cool for Chinese New Year.
Thank you for explaining the story behind the celebration :)
I like your hats!
Purrs, Julie

Pam and Teddy said...

What a wonderful adventure today - my Mom told me all about Chinese New Year because she lived in the Far East for a couple of years and they REALLY know how to celebrate there!!!!! You two sure learned a lot and had a lot of fun didn't you.........Happy Year Of the WABBIT!

Hugs, Teddy

My Mind's Eye said...

Periwinkle and Stinky
OMCs should you two tire of being world travelers, I'm 100% positive you'd be da very best travel planners and tour guides
Hugs Cecilia

Sandee said...

The purrfect adventure. How fun and I wish I could have tagged along. Well done.

Thank you for joining the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.

Have a fabulous Happy Tuesday. Scritches all around and a hug to your moms. ♥

da tabbies o trout towne said...

happee mew yeer guyz…we hope ewe all iz doin soooper grate and yur stay in trubullz 😺🐟❤️πŸ‡

Kitties Blue said...

Periwinkle, that was so much fun. The videos were mesmerizing according to my mom. I remember last year when we celebrated the Year of the Tiger. I think we should make celebrating Chinese New Year an annual event for us. Thanks for this festive adventure. With all my love and whisker kisses, Stinky πŸ’–πŸ˜»πŸ°πŸŽ‰

Marvelous Marv said...

What a ton of fun you guys had! We sure enjoy all the festivities at our house, but it would be nice to get out and about. Happy Year of the Rabbit! Keep bein awesome guys! Purrs Marv

messymimi said...

I'm glad you had a good time and learned a lot, that's always a bonus when the learning is fun.

Brian's Home Blog said...

That was a fun adventure you two and Happy New Year to everyone!!!

pilch92 said...

That was a fun date. Happy Year of the Rabbit. XO

The Oceanside Animals said...

Chaplin: "That's a lot of red all right! If red is lucky, there should be plenty of luck to go around there!"
Charlee: "I'm a little worried about that giant rabbit. What if it decides it wants to eat something other than carrots?"

Tommy and Teaghan said...

So many fun facts to learn about Chinese New Year! Happy year of the Rabbit.

meowmeowmans said...

What a wonderful and educational outing you two had! Happy Year of the Rabbit!

Meezer's Mews & Terrieristical Woofs said...

That was fun!! I learned a few things, too!

Some of the big cities in Canada have Chinatowns, and yes, they do know how to celebrate!