For most people, the mention of “Eeyore” summons images of the mopey yet lovable donkey from A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. However, if you hail from Austin, Texas, there is a good chance that you also think of the yearly festival named in honor of this comical fictional character. On Saturday, April 26^th, if you are lucky enough to be in Austin, you too can attend the 45^th annual Eeyore’s Birthday Party in Pease Park. This unique event is held the last weekend in April, weather permitting, and is not to be missed.

Eeyore’s Birthday began as a small birthday celebration for a UT professor in 1963. For a long time it was thought of as a hippie event with free-spirited fun, dancing, and drum circles. While it still retains some of this feel, the festival has grown into a huge event with wide appeal. It draws thousands of people from all over the city to eat local food, drink Texas beer, listen to live music, and dress in costume. All of the money made from concessions is donated to local charities-so, you can feel good about going back for that second turkey leg.

Kids can dance around the May pole, get their face painted, or participate in sack races and egg tosses. Adults who are young at heart can do the same! Dogs are allowed on leash and there will be a “live” Eeyore in attendance (a donkey from a local farm). The general atmosphere at this festival is very laid-back, light-hearted, and playful. It is a chance to dress in wild costumes (and trust me, you will see some pretty creative/outlandish ones), sit in the grass, and celebrate the advent of spring to central Texas. Prizes awarded for the best costumes, which are donated by Saxon Pub, Threadgills, and Shady Grove. Also, for you hippies out there, don’t worry. There will be drum circles.

Pease park is in a lovely center off of Lamar Blvd. There are several shuttles running from downtown to the park on the day of the festival and attendees are encouraged to ride, walk, or bike. The party will be from 11am to dark, with children events held from 11-4pm. And the best part…..admission is free!

Eeyore’s Birthday is a classic Austin celebration held in a beautiful setting. Whether you are a long-time resident or just visiting , it is a wonderful way to experience the city’s off-beat side as well as celebrate the arrival of spring. Enjoy!

What festivals mark the arrival of spring in your town?

Today begins the celebration of Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, and the Year of the Rat. Based on the cycles of the moon, Lunar New Year is traditionally focused on family and remembering ancestors. Famous folks born in the Year of the Rat include Mozart, Marlon Brando and Gwyneth Paltrow. Lunar New Year is celebrated many different ways, and if you decide to go out or stay in, there is something for you!
Check out Min’s blog for her plans for CNY – this year she is cooking the big dinner herself! Shar Scott from Planaganza has some great ideas on how to organize yourself to throw a Chinese New Year’s party of your own. Some of our travel blogger friends have written about their plans from around the world. Globetrotteri wishes us Happy New Year from Hualian, Tiawan; GoVisitHawaii has put together an excellent list of ideas for celebrating in Oahu; Peter from PulauPangkor talks about his plans in Kuala Kurau; and Beth Whitman of the SeattlePI has written about Tet (Vietnamese New Year) festivities planned in Seattle. (psst…I found all these blog posts using our new travel blog search tool!)

In Silicon Valley, my friend Cam Chan describes her plans for celebrating:

My family and I are planning to celebrate Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and Chinese New Year pretty much the same way that we have celebrated it since I moved to the Bay Area 10 years ago. I am Vietnamese and my husband is Chinese, so we try to incorporate a little of each tradition. I will purchase several banh tet (Vietnamese savory rice cakes that are traditionally eaten during Tet) and a tray of sweeten goodies (sugar coated ginger, melons, etc.) which we will graze on next week. We went to my in-laws’ in San Francisco for the traditional Chinese New Year dinner on New Year’s Eve. Grandma Chan cooked a 9 course meal made from scratch (yummy!).

The grandparents handed out red envelopes or lucky money to the kids (including us) and the grandkids (our children). We have officially entered adulthood in both the Chinese and Vietnamese traditions because we are married. Therefore, we will be expected to give out red envelopes to all those who are younger and unmarried. For us, this means that we are obligated to give money to Albert’s sister and our three children, though we do give out additional packets to the children of our friends also. We also plan to take our 3 year old to Grand Century Mall in San Jose to see the Dragon Dance next weekend. Our three month old twins will have to wait until next year to enjoy the festivities as the performance and festivities are usually very loud and crowded.

The San Francisco Bay Area is chock-a-block of celebrations for this festive holiday, check out some of these suggestions:

Vietnamese Spring Festival and Parade, San Jose, February 10
Lunar New Year Celebration at Children’s Discovery Museum, San Jose, February 16-17
Chinatown Community Street Fair, San Francisco, February 23-24

How are you celebrating this Year of the Rat? Did we miss your favorite festival? Let us know!!

If you visit San Francisco Chinatown these days, you will find that the 2008 Chinese New Year animal is the Rat, as in the rat in Ratatouille, The Green Mile or Mousehunt (1997). There will be rats (live or not) in the homes of more than 1.3 billion people in 2008. (I received two pigs in year 2007!) Chinese New Year is the most significant holiday for Chinese people around the world, regardless of the origin of their ancestors, or their current locations. Feb. 6 2008 will be the last day of Year of Pig according to Chinese lunar calendar and Chinese will celebrate Rat Year 2008 that night!

Chinese New Year History

Today, we call Chinese New Year day “Spring Festival” (春节, chūnjié) which was officially set by Nanjing Temporary Government in 1912. Before 1912, the Chinese New Year eve was simply called “Nian”(年) (means “year”), and the first day was called “Yuán Dàn” (means “the first day/dawn”) which we now use to refer to Western New Year’s day – Jan. 1. The origin of Nian can be traced back to Zhou Dynasty (1066 B.C. – 256 B.C.) or even as early as 2600 B.C.

There are a few different versions of folk tales about the Chinese New Year history. One of the most famous legends is that Nian is an extremely cruel and ferocious beast, which the Chinese believe, eats every creature including human being. After years’ observation, people find out that every 365 days Nian comes out and eats people. Red color, the fire and loud noises were proved to be most effective in scaring Nian away. Since then, red-paper couplets are pasted on top and both sides of doors, torches are lit, and firecrackers are set off throughout the night. Early the next morning, as feelings of triumph and renewal fill the air at successfully keeping Nian away for another year, the most popular greeting heard is Gōngxǐ (means “congratulations). So, maybe you also know why color red is the color of China.

Another slightly different version is that Nian is too dangerous and people don’t know if they can survive through the next day, so it becomes extremely important that all family members must come together on New Year Eve. The parents will prepare a feast with the best food they can afford for dinner. After dinner, the family will stay up until midnight, praying for safety. A third less well-known version is that a young guy whose name is “Wan Nian” (means “ten thousand years”) invented the lunar calendar and thus the King named the calendar “Nian” after his first name.

The first two legends actually explain how Chinese people celebrate the New Year. But since China is such a big country, the tradition is very different from region to region .

Chinese New Year Food

New Year Eve dinner is the most important event in celebrating the new year. I remember my mother spending days preparing the dinner and snacks when I was young. We have several must-have foods on Chinese New Year eve. Generally speaking, people in North China eat dumplings (called Jiǎozi, 饺子) which are made of wheat flour, stuffed with minced pork and vegetable and taste salty; people in the South eat a kind of round sweet dumpling (called tāngyuán, 汤圆) which is made of sticky rice flour and stuffed with black sesame paste or peanut paste. People in the Middle, along Yangzi River eat rice cake (called “niángāo”, 年糕) which are be in various styles and flavors.

Today a new trend is that more and more families don’t eat home-made dinner, but go to restaurants for the feasts. I agree with this trend so that my mother, the best chef of the world, can take a day off!

Chinese New Year Activities

CNY holiday is the longest one in China – 7 days. Since it is the only chance for many city immigrants to go back home and meet with families and relatives, many companies, especially self-owned (as opposed to state-owned) will grant a much longer holiday to their employees, from ten days to two weeks. But most MNCs just stick to the law. What do people do in such a long holiday?

• Bàinián (means “greeting the new year”): Visiting friends and relatives in their home. This the most fun part for kids since married grown-ups will give them some money (called Yāsuìqián in North, Lìshì in South) in a small red-paper envelope to protect the kids whom are the most vulnerable target for vicious Nian beast. It is more an obligation than a good will today. This is a Chinese version of Halloween “All Treats – No Tricks” game for Cantonese kids (Hong Kong and Guangzhou area). They will come to you saying “Gōngxǐfācái” (as the characters in the right image) , and you must then give them a Lìshì.

• Go to temple fairs or flower markets or firework shows or parades：Temple fairs are held at various ancient temples in North China. It is a kind of mass gathering that integrates religious worship (for Buddhist and Taoist), entertainment and commerce, (check here for images about temple fairs). Cantonese people go to flower markets instead.

• Travel: More and more people in the cities take leisure trips to escape the cities. As the United States has become the most popular outbound travel destination for China as of December 11 2007, it is certain that you will see more Chinese people in big cities like San Francisco or attractions like the Grand Canyon this year.

• Do nothing but relax: Shanghai is the tourist hotspot for Chinese people. Shopping district like Nanjingdong Road is always fully packed with tourists in holidays. So a few people choose to stay at home to avoid crowd.

What are your plans for Chinese New Year 2008? Does your family celebrate by going out or staying in? Or, have you had the opportunity to experience the celebration of Chinese New Year where you live? We would love to hear your stories!