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You are here: Home / Arts / Pretty Rocking Horses Chinese New Year 2014

Pretty Rocking Horses Chinese New Year 2014

January 30, 2014 By Janet Williams 3 Comments

Google celebrates Chinese New Year with an animated Doodle on its search page today. Oh, I do love the rocking horse!

A happy rosy-cheeked oriental girl moves backwards and forwards on a wooden rocking horse.

Behind her, a young man with a new haircut is carrying Chinese lanterns and fire crackers. What a joyous scene.

Do you want to know what I received this Chinese New Year?

Google Doodle: Celebrating Chinese New Year 2014
Google Doodle: Celebrating Chinese New Year 2014

Last Sunday, my friend Hazel gave me a gift at church, with the Chinese characters translated into English as: “Wishing you wealth year after year. Love, Hēi zī ěr“. How not spiritual. How materialistic. (How un-Christian!) And I really love Hazel’s creativity!

Hazel did her homework well. She told me that “You always wish Chinese people to have lots and lots of money.” My friend Hazel is always right.

"Wishing you wealth year after year" by Hazel.
“Wishing you wealth year after year” by Hazel.

In the pretty gift bag, Hazel gave me a noisy toy called Monkey Drum, a two-headed drum which is played by quickly turning the wrist so that the beads strike the drum heads.

My friend Hazel gave me a Monkey drum for the New Year.
My friend Hazel gave me a Monkey drum for the New Year.

What do the Chinese New Year cards look like?

Hazel had searched all card stores in the south but could not find any Chinese New Year card.  Someone even told her “There is no such thing as a Chinese New Year card.” However, Hazel persevered. She later went through a lot of trouble to create the Chinese message for me. As her own computer could not read Chinese, Hazel borrowed an iPad, and got her English text translated on Google Translate into Chinese, then printed the message out.

However, now Hazel knows where to buy Chinese New Year cards from Southampton to Winchester through my research.

My sister sent me a card on behalf of my big family from Malaysia and Singapore. The cherry-blossom card carries the character 春(chūn), meaning Spring. The Lunar New Year is also called the Spring Festival.

Cherry-blossom: My family sent me this Chinese New Year card this year.
Cherry-blossom: My family sent me this Chinese New Year card this year.

My friend Brenda from Southampton is an origami fan, and also a member of the prestigious British Origami Association. Every year Brenda sends me a hand-made origami Chinese New Year card. She sent me this New Year card with a dynamic galloping horse, which she learnt from the origami book called Origami for Harmony and Happiness by Steve and Megumi Biddle.

My friend Brenda made me this stunning origami horse.
My friend Brenda made me this stunning galloping origami horse.

My teenage student Emma-Jane drew this picture of horse for me.

My student Emma-Jane drew me a horse.
My student Emma-Jane drew me a horse.

Finally I want to show you the New Year cards I made this year.

I learned how to fold this charming rocking horse created by José Tomás Buitrago through Leyla Torres on her video tutorial. Though this origami horse seems easy to fold, it carries a ‘sink fold’ at the bottom, so if you are a beginner, you will need a lot of patience.

I made this cute pink rocking horse.
I made this cute pink rocking horse.

I later made many rocking horses and made some New Year cards to send to my family in the Far East.

I made many pretty rocking horses.
I made many floral rocking horses.
My many pretty rocking horse New Year card.
My pretty rocking horse New Year cards.

Happy New Year to you all! May your Year of the Horse be blessed with love, happiness, good health, and, as my friend Hazel wishes us all, wealth.

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Tags: arts and crafts, Chandler's Ford, Chinese, Chinese New Year, community, crafts, culture, education, good neighbours, hobby, how-to, languages, memory, origami, tradition

About Janet Williams

I created Chandler's Ford Today. I use this website to share our passions and inspiring stories, to build a connected community. We inform, educate and enlighten. We share resources.

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Comments

  1. Nick Coleman says

    January 31, 2014 at 7:43 am

    Beautiful work Janet, but how do you find the time not only making all those pretty rocking horses but writing this blog, teaching your students, researching local stories? Amazing. I wish you wealth, good health and happiness for Chinese New Year.

    Reply
    • Janet says

      January 31, 2014 at 7:52 am

      Hi Nick,

      Thank you, Nick!
      How do you run a business, volunteer for Chalemelon Theatre Company, act, promote, and do all these? I wish you, your family and all Chameleons a happy and rewarding Chinese New Year. Thank you for bringing joy to the community.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Southampton Chinese New Year Celebration: Sunday 22nd February 2015 West Quay says:
    January 20, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    […] Pretty Rocking Horses Chinese New Year 2014 […]

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