If you think the big sister in the title of this post is me then you are quite mistaken. The big sister I’m referring to is Amy’s older sister Connie who had her own pre-CNY celebrations tonight in her new flat at St John’s Wood.

I’ve never known a culture so immersed in superstitions and lucky numbers and such as the Chinese. Its kind of fascinating but also kind of scary if you get caught up in it and let it start running your life! I’m sure you could write entire books about these things! Just tonight a couple of things popped up.

Eight, as many people now know about the Chinese, is a much favoured number. Its meanings include prosperity, wealth, and fortune. For example, according to wikipedia, the Olympics being held in Beijing are scheduled to open on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 p.m. I’m not sure if it was planned but in total there were an auspicious number of us – eight! Probably conincidence but still …

Secondly there was the red envelope. I guess this is less of a superstition than a tradition to give red envelopes (filled with money) given during holidays or special occasions. Typically you give it to the little kids and at CNY it gets given by the married to the unmarried (a benefit of being single!) Its kind of a sweet thought even if the monetary value can be a token amount.