We waited for great anticipation for Chinese New Year. We'd heard so many wonderful things. Fireworks. Parades. Dragon dances. Good food. Fun traveling. Red envelopes. It sounded intriguing to us. Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica says about the origin of the holiday: " The origins of the Chinese New Year are steeped in legend. One legend is that thousands of years ago a monster named Nian (“Year”) would attack villagers at the beginning of each new year. The monster was afraid of loud noises, bright lights, and the color red, so those things were used to chase the beast away." As it turns out, the holiday was quite uneventful for us. We don't have family here to celebrate it with and that is the focus--time off work to spend with family. For a country who works ALL of the time, it is a very welcome break. The eve of the New Year is the most important to them. They look forward to this like we do Christmas Eve. They gather with family an...