Some tits and tats about the Chinese "culture" or "tradition".....

So.... apparently, everything that I "hear" of, that was said practised for many generations, is not necessarily originating from my ancestors in China. Dug up this article, during this remarkable festive season (yea, I am missing home alot - although it´s already 4 years that I haven´t gone home, but every year, Chinese New Year is the hardest to pass by), and I thought.... as a reading leisure or something to "update" your knowledge about the Chinese New Year festives.

Happy reading

Original Article  : Yee Sang? The Chinese in China haven´t heard of it (Clickable Link)

Yee Sang? The Chinese in China haven’t heard of it

February 20, 2015

Bernama's correspondent Niam Seet Wei jots in her diary from Beijing the differences in the Chinese New Year celebrations in China and Malaysia.

BEIJING: The much anticipated Lunar New Year is just two days away and food plays an integral part in this traditional festival for the Chinese around the world.

For the Chinese in Malaysia Yu Sang or Yee Sang, the Teochew-style raw fish salad originating from South China, is one of the common yet popular dishes served during the Chinese New Year (CNY).

The dish, made up of shredded colourful vegetables and raw fish is usually served as an appetiser before lunch or dinner and everyone will say loudly their auspicious wishes while tossing the yee sang so that their wishes would be heard and fulfilled.

Surprisingly, this signature CNY dish is only well-known in Malaysia and Singapore.

Northern China-coin wrapped inside dumplings

Le Gao, a 26-year from the northern Chinese city of Dalian had no idea about Yee Sang when I asked her.

“Tossing Yee Sang sounds interesting, but I have never heard about that,” she told Bernama.

Instead, Le said in Dalian the must-have dishes during Chinese New Year, particularly on the eve of the new year was dumplings, sticky rice dumplings, lettuce, dates, sticky rice cake and fish.

“We will randomly put a clean coin, usually a gold fifty-cent into some dumplings (jiaozi in Chinese),” she said, adding that whoever gets the dumplings with the coins symbolising good luck will enjoy a good year.

Besides dumplings, Le said the food served on the eve of CNY was symbolic.

For instance, the sticky rice cake symbolises growing taller or growing wealthier each year, fish means having more than enough money, lettuce symbolises rising fortune, while sticky rice dumplings mean earning big money every year.

Le’s family members would gather at home and eat dumplings from lunch until midnight while playing cards and watching television programmes together.

In central China, sweeping the floor is allowed

In Malaysia, one of the CNY taboos is sweeping the floor on the first day of the new year as the Chinese fear that good fortune will be swept away. However, this belief does not apply to people in central China’s Hubei Province.

“Of course we sweep the floor on the first day of the Chinese New Year, come on, it is a holiday, dozens of people are coming around and the floor gets dirty easily,” said 32 year-old Yang Jing.

Up to 50 paternal relatives visit Yang’s house during CNY.

“On the eve of CNY, we usually eat fish, spring rolls and lotus, of course wine will be served as well,” he said adding that in recent years the family had opted for Western-style wines instead of traditional wines.

“Nowadays, everything goes Western-style, we don’t even have reunion dinner or lunch at home, instead we dine in restaurants from eve until the third or fourth day of the Chinese New Year,” he added.

However, traditional practices such as setting off fireworks or firecrackers, decorating houses with red lanterns and red couplets, playing mahjong, as well as visiting temples were still being practiced among the people in Hubei.

Unmarried adults have to give Ang Pows

Receiving Ang Pows, or money in red packets is regarded one of the best things that anyone can anticipate during CNY. As for Chinese children it is like longing for their Christmas gifts.

For the Chinese in Malaysia, Ang Pows are usually given by married couples to unmarried friends and families as a symbol of good blessings while parents will give Ang Pows to their unmarried children.

However, this is not the case in Beijing, the capital city of China. Here adults who start working, regardless of whether they are married or not, have to give out Ang Pows to the younger generation without income in the family.

“Our parents will not give us Ang Pows after we start working, instead, we have to give them as a symbolic gesture of love and blessings,” said Zhang Zhe.

Zhang said like the Chinese from other provinces, Beijingers would eat auspicious food such as dumplings, sticky rice cake and fish during CNY.

“Usually, the locals will be visiting temple fairs during CNY,” Zhang added.

Temple fairs are one of the popular annual activities in China during the Chinese New Year. Dozens of temple fairs are held during the festival where hundreds of booths selling a wide range of snacks, food, handicrafts and antiques can be found.

– BERNAMA

Who Are We

Thursday January 22, 2015

Zechariah lived out a twofold identity as both priest and prophet. The grandon of the priest Iddo and the head priest of his family (Zechariah 1:1; Nehemiah 12:1,16), he was prophetically called to encourage the people of Judah with God´s words (Zechariah 1:13-17). In addition, he told them to repent (vv. 3-4), renew their efforts for God (8:12-13) and follow His ways (7:8-10).

The vital mission of Zechariah reveals a portion of the threefold mission of every believer in Jesus -  to be a prophet, priest and king. Tim Keller writes about this tri-fold purpose in his book Center Church : Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Here are the points Tim presents :

1. Every believer is a prophet. Joel 2:28-29 describes the time when the Holy Spirit would come on all believers and they would prophesy. This took place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13). And now all believers are called to prophesy - to clearly present GOd´s truth to others so they might repent and follow Him.

2. Every believer is a priest. Peter wrote that believers in Jesus are "royal priests" (1 Peter 2:9). Following the example of Jesus our "great High Priest" (Hebrews 4:14-16), we´re to minister to others in loving and sympathetic ways.

3. Every believer is a king. Scripture reveals that we reign with Jesus as both kings and priests (Ephesians 2:6; Revelation 1:5-6). And all believers should therefore battle against the world, the flesh and the devil, while also speaking the truth in love to fellow believers (Ephesians 4:15).

Zechariah was careful to reveal God´s words during his time on earth. As prophets, priests and kings established in Jesus, may we do the same during ours! - Tom Felten

Read
Zechariah 1:1-17
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo :
"The Lord was very angry with your forefathers. Therefore tell the people : This is what the Lord Almighty says : 'Return to me,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'and I will return to you', says the Lord Almighty. Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed : This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers?"
"Then they repented and said, 'The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.' "
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
During the night I had a vision - and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
I asked, "What are these, my lord?"
The angel who was talking with me answered, "I will show you what they are."
Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth."
And they reported to the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace."
Then the angel of the Lord said, "Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?" So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
Then the angel who was speaking to me said, "Proclaim this word : This is what the Lord Almighty says : 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.'"
"Therefore, this is what the Lord says : ' I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the Lord Almighty.
"Proclaim further : This is what the Lord Almighty says: ' My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.' "

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God´s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God´s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will

Question to Ponder
How does it affect you to realise that you´re a prophet, priest and king in God´s eyes?
Which of these three roles do you need to grow in? 
How will you do so?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue

Everlasting Splendours

Saturday December 20, 2014

C.S. Lewis grasped the essence of humanity and captured it in these choice words found in The Weight of Glory : "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal." He then wrote the poignant, biblically accurate fact that each of us will either become an "immortal horror" or an "everlasting splendour."

In the early years of his life, Jesus' half-brother Jude couldn´t grasp the fact that his oldest brother was indeed divine, let alone that He was an everlasting splendour. Apparently after Jesus' death and resurrection, however, Jude came to believe that Jesus is the Saviour of the world (Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:5), and he began to spread His message.

In the book that carries his name, Jude - now an old man - warned his readers of the dangers of false teachers and their treacherous message. But he then concluded the book by calling all true believers to grasp who they are in Jesus : (1) possessors of the "most holy faith"; (2) vessels filled with "the power of the Holy Spirit"; (3) recipients of "the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ" and the "eternal life" found in Him; (4) children who have received "God´s love" (Jude 1:20-21).

It's vital that we remind other believers in Jesus and receive reminders from them that God has made us His everlasting splendours. The world, with its false views and faith-belittling ways, will keep telling us that we´re simply "immortal horrors". And that´s why we must constantly "build each other up" in our faith, helping and rescuing one another when our faith wavers (vv. 20, 22-23).

You, as a believer in Jesus, are an everlasting splendour who one day will be in Jesus' "glorious presence" (v.24). Build up another believer with those truths today! - Tom Felten

Read
Jude 1:20-25
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God´s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy -- to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master´s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God´s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Colossians 2:10
and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Question to Ponder
What false views have been clouding your true identity in Jesus?
How can you better encourage believers in Him, helping them see that they´re "everlasting splendours"?

** Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Dec 2014 - Feb 2015 issue

You´re Beautiful

Sunday November 30, 2014

Ashley Munroe wrote the message " You´re beautiful" on nearly 2000 notes and then placed one on each locker in her secondary school. Via surveillance cameras, school authorities say Ashley distributing the notes. The principal assumed she was causing trouble and suspended her. Several hundred students, however, signed a petition to help Ashley avoid punishment. Perhaps her best reward was hearing from a girl who had planned to commit suicide that day but did not because of Ashley´s message.

Hezekiah used words to encourage Israelites under his command as they faced an attack by the Assyrians. He began by saying, "Be strong and courageous" Don´t be afraid or discouraged" (2 Chronicles 32:7). Keep in mind that the Assyrian army, led by King Sennacherib, had pulverised their opponents in the past and expected to do so again (v. 17).

The attackers may have had more experience, larger numbers and superior strength, but they did not have divine support. Hezekiah told the Israelites : "There is a power far greater on our side! ..... [the Assyrians] are merely men" (vv. 7-8). In reality the battle was not between two physical armies, but between the flesh and blood of the Assyrians and the invisible influence of God Almighty.

King Hezekiah helped his people to see that they could meet the most vicious enemy with bravery because God was in their corner. The same is true for us as God´s people today. We may not struggle with ruthless warriors, but we may battle illness, discrimination or spiteful people. God is on our side, and He speaks straight to our hearts with messages of encouragement : I made you. I´ll carry your burden. I delight in you. - Jennifer Benson Schuldt.

Read
2 Chronicles 32:2-22
When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. A large force of men assembled, and they blocked all springs and the stream that flowed through the land. "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?" they said. Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.
He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words : "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there :

"This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says : On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? When Hezekiah says, 'The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,' he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god´s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it'?

Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand? Who of all the gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!"

Sennacherib´s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. The king also wrote letters insulting the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him : "Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand." Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world - the work of men´s hands.

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword.

So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all the others. He took care of them on every side.

Romans 15:4-5

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.

Question to Ponder

What words might you use to support someone who is overly critical of himself or herself?

How has God encouraged you during a difficult time?

Through people, His Word, His Holy Spirit?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) Sept - Nov 2014 issue