Happy Chinese New Year!


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Monday marks the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, China’s biggest and most ceremonious holiday. Here’s what you ought to know about the holiday:

1. It’s about family. Unlike the New Year celebration per the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year is not a time for drunken revelry and sequined hats. On Sunday night — Chinese New Year’s Eve — the streets of Hong Kong were quiet as locals gathered in their houses for “reunion dinners” with family members who’ve returned home.

2. The world’s greatest annual migration of people. Fortune recently called it “the greatest travel nightmare of 2016.” In China, Hong Kong and other countries with a significant Chinese population, the New Year is celebrated as a public holiday — schools and offices close during this time — and so a massive number of people take advantage of the opportunity to travel — either heading home to be with loved ones or going on holiday. 

3. You’ll be seeing red. To the Chinese, red represents good fortune, and so around the New Year the color can be seen everywhere in Chinese cities: red lanterns hang in doorways; red paper cutouts adorn windows. And a staple of the holiday: red envelopes, called hongbao in Mandarin, or lai see in Cantonese, are filled with cash and given by married people to children, unmarried relatives and friends, and employees. The sum is typically an even number, and it shouldn’t contain the number four, which is considered unlucky because it sounds like the Chinese word for death.

4. We’re entering the Year of the Monkey. The Chinese calendar assigns each new year an animal per a rotating zodiac of 12: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Last year was the Year of the Goat; this year is the Year of the Monkey. People born in the Year of the Monkey are characterized as intelligent, witty, curious and playful. The years 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004 were also assigned as the Year of the Monkey.

5. It’s now celebrated around the world. China has seen a significant diaspora, and cities that have received a large number of Chinese immigrants over the years are now holding their own celebrations for the New Year. In New York City, for instance, all public schools are closed on Monday to commemorate the holiday. The Lunar New Year festivities are also observed by Vietnamese and Koreans, as well as Tibetans, whose first day of celebration falls on Tuesday.

Photograph source: Shutter stock; Content source: http://time.com/4211680/chinese-new-year-lunar-monkey/

100 Baby Names You've Never Heard of but Are Going to Want to Use


Every baby is special and unique, but the list of the country's most popular names — Sophia, Emma, Jackson, and Aiden, to name a few — reveal that many babies are crawling around sporting the same name. We looked further into the United States Social Security Administration's (long) list of popular baby names and picked out the most unique of the bunch for you to consider for your one-of-a-kind baby.

Read through for 100 unusual baby names you've never heard of, but are definitely going to want to put to use!

Read more online: http://www.popsugar.com/moms/Unique-Baby-Names-39682579

Am I a Terrible Parent If I Let My Kid Play With My Phone?


As a new mom, I’m constantly bombarded with warnings of hidden dangers that lurk around every corner: Careful where you plug in that baby monitor, the cord is a potential strangulation hazard! Stay away from blankets; they can lead to suffocation during sleep! Don’t even think about blinking while giving your baby a bath or she might drown! Now, there’s a new threat in town, and this one might be the hardest one of all to avoid. 

Read more online: http://www.vogue.com/13364743/screen-time-rules-for-kids/