Chinese Ghost Holidays

Today is Halloween!! Yeah!!
But I am not going to talk about Halloween. Instead, I am going to talk about the "Chinese Halloween," the Ghost Holidays (or Ghost Festivals, I am not really sure about the translation).
There are four Ghost Holidays in China. One is in April. Others are in March, July, and October in lunar year.
The first one is on March 3rd in lunar year. It is not a nationwide Ghost Holiday. Only people from Southeastern China celebrate it. People believe ghosts will come to human world at that night, so, they set off firecrackers in front of their houses to scare the ghosts away.
The second one is on April 4th. We call it Qingming Festival. It is a national Festival. We go to cemeteries to visit our departed family members or friends. An interesting thing is we use paper to make spirit money and golds, and burn them. So, our departed family members and friends can receive them.

Here are two versions of spirit money. First is used by Chinese in America, and the second is the regular one used by Chinese people. The "person" on the spirit money is Yama, the king of Hell in China, just like Hades in the western world.
The third Ghost Holiday is July 15th in lunar year. We call it Zhongyuan Festival. People believe the gate of Hell will open on that day. So we think July in lunar year is an unlucky month. People usually make lotus-lanterns on this day, and put them on rivers. If the lanterns do not sink into the river, then the person who put this lantern will be lucky.

The last one is October 1st in lunar year. Chinese worship their ancestors on this day. People write their words down on a piece of special paper, and burn it. So, the ancestors can receive their words.
Most of Chinese are familiar with the first three festivals, but do not know the last one. Because of the globalization, many Chinese abandoned some ancient traditions and holidays. But, I think we should know our traditional holidays even though we do not celebrate them anymore.

It's So Hard to Get Into A New Culture

I don't know if I write my title correctly. I try to say "adjust to a new culture", but "adjust" is not enough to express my idea. What I mean by "get into" is adjusting super super well.
I am the best example to show how hard to get into a new culture. This is my third year in America. However, I am still a "Chinese" Chinese, not a "American" Chinese. My mom always asks me why I don't hang out with American friends. Well, I hang out with American friends sometimes, but I always find I have nothing to say. It's awkward. I try to be humor, but my American friends cannot understand my humorous. Sometimes, they suddenly begin to laugh, but I totally have no idea about what is so funny. We don't have many common topics to talk because of the culture differences.
Moreover, sometimes I just say something I should not say, or ask a question I should not ask to my American friends. Something is fine to say in China, but it is rude to say in America. For example, it is fine to say "if my teacher gives me two more papers to write, I will kill him or her" in China. Every Chinese can understand it's a joke. But if I say this in America, my teacher will call 911. Once, I said this to my American friend in my calculus class in high school. She was scared and told me never say this again seriously. I was so embarrassed.
OK, let's talk about one of the biggest topic for American people, football. Chinese don't play American football. I watched the football games in my high school, and I watched Superbowl, but, to be honest, I still have no idea about what is going on. I just cannot understand it. So, when my American friends talk about football, the only thing I can do is listening. Additionally, American people are party animals to me. I am not mean to be rude, but it is exactly how I feel. Most Chinese people don't go to parties much. We think the weekends are for families. We usually visit our grandparents during the weekends. When I lived with my host family during the last two years, I just could not stand they had parties almost every weekend till midnight.
It is so hard for me to become an "American" Chinese, as my mom wishes, but I promise I am trying.

Stop And Take A Break

This was a really beautiful dusk.
After a busy day, my roommate and I just finished our dinner in D2, and because of the amazing sunset and the view, we decided to go for a walk. We picked a random direction and just walked along the side way. We did not know where we were going at all.
The sunshine made everything turned to gold. And here was the breeze. It felt gentle and soft. I could touch it, smell it, and even taste it. The yellow and red leaves overspread the side way, and they told us this was already the autumn. We passed several buildings, and we saw a small bridge stood over a limpid stream. Then, we followed the stream, and walked across a lawn. Surprisingly, we found that small cabin, which was hiding behind a small hill. It looked like the cabin in fairy tales. Many bushes and flowers grew around it. It was so mysterious. I was so excited. I just forgot all the annoying stuffs I had to do. It reminded me what my professor said in the morning class. He said: "I love lost on purpose, because I can find many inspirations. And it is the best way for me to take a break."

We all are living busy lives in colleges. We rush to across the campus for classes. We are too busy to have lunch and dinner. We are too busy to know what happens around us. We are too busy to take a break. Because of the busy lives, we ignore the "gifts" that lives give to us. Many of us didn't know there were white blossoms around the Burruss Hall few weeks ago. Many of us don't know which direction is east, and which is west. I think we should hold our paces a little bit to take a break. Then we will find many interesting and awesome things exist really close to us. Maybe, then, we will find the answers of the questions stuck in our minds, or find some inspirations.