February 23, 2025

Chinese New Year in Auckland

We attended the lantern festival celebrating Chinese New Year.

Auckland is a major melting pot.  The city hosts a large Asian population.

The familiarity of such scenes made us feel very much at home, as though we were back in Jinan, China.

These beautiful, colorful displays bring back glorious memories.

Tree lights are among my favorite displays.

In Asia we celebrated during the winter season.  The early darkness accentuated each display.  However, in Auckland we are on Daylight Savings Time and the warm summer air doesn’t feel much like the cold New Year celebrations we know.

This looks much more like a Christmas display.

Ahh!  The familiarity of the Chinese Panda.

We enjoyed each display knowing they would be much more brilliant in the night darkness.  We opted not to stay late enough to witness the glowing lights.  We want to be home before bedtime.

This display is for our grandson, Hans.  Should it be renamed, “Chinasaur”?

We’ve never seen a Chinese sea turtle.

This is the year of the snake. 

We watched some of the performances.  Chinese opera still sounds the same.  I found myself pulling on my ears as I listened to those screeching tones.  Actually, the familiarity felt wonderful.

I will miss my morning walks on the beach.  Imagine watching the sun rise over the ocean every morning.  Yes, I do look like I just climbed out of bed.

Rick looks so distinguished as we wait for the bus to arrive.