Sunday 22 February 2015

三羊开泰

Singapore - Floating Platform @ Marina Bay (River Hongbao 2015)

新加坡  滨海浮动舞台(春到河畔2015)



今年新加坡庆祝建国50周年,所以春到河畔也以此为主题。



所有装饰都很复古。




今年春到河畔的重头戏是中国新疆杂技团的“高空王子”阿迪力·吾休尔与搭档“高空骄子“阿布来提·麦君的高空走钢索表演。







恭贺大家羊年,三羊开泰,喜气羊羊,羊蹄奋进,羊春白雪,羊柳依依,得意羊羊!


贺喜大家羊年喜气羊羊,满面羊光灿烂,爱情羊眉吐气,事业羊羊得意,晦气羊长而去,万事羊关大道!


最后再祝大家:

羊年咩咩喜羊羊,羊羊得意工作干。
羊眉吐气万事悠,羊精蓄锐心情欢。
赚的羊财花不完,大羊块块摞成山。
幸福生活耍羊气,愿你羊年耀辉煌!

大家一起发啊!

Thursday 19 February 2015

Apology Accepted

Singapore

Remember the ridiculous service that I had during last year Christmas Eve?

After a long wait, finally Cathay Pacific replied.


Miss Melinda Narguet, Customer Relations Executive, called personally from Australia.

She explained how Cathay Pacific took this matter seriously.

She apologised for the mishandled situation.


Glad that this matter has come to an end.

Let's move forward and put all the bad experience behind.

Apology accepted.

Sunday 15 February 2015

年货市场

Singapore - Chinatown & Bugis

新加坡 - 牛车水 及 武吉士


每年在农历新年之前,新加坡人都会去牛车水(唐人街)逛年货市场。


早年也只有牛车水才有大型的年货市场摆卖年货。


渐渐地这风气也就演变成新加坡人和游客感染农历新年气氛的必逛年货市场。


还有个有趣的现象就是,有间肉干店每年靠近农历新年时就一定会有一堆人前去排队买肉干。


现在很多邻里也有各自的年货市场。(上下图为武吉士年货市场)


人流量还是不及牛车水的人潮多。


知道为什么过年要吃瓜子吗?(寓意钱多、财多、子孙多)

那又为什么要吃花生呢?(花生又称长生果,所以有健康、长寿的意思)


新年为什么要贴春联?(春联的前身是桃符,有镇邪、辟邪的作用)

新年贴剪纸又有什么意义?(剪纸也叫窗花,通常在扫尘之后进行,衬托出喜庆的节日气氛)

新年倒贴“福”字为何庄?(“福”字指福气、幸福,倒贴表示“福气、幸福已到”的含义)

Saturday 14 February 2015

Happy 2nd Birthday 2岁生日快乐

Singapore

新加坡

North-South-Dong-Xi is TWO years old!

Thank god that North-South-Dong-Xi is still here.

Although 2 years seem like a small number.

It actually equals to 730 days.

What has been done in the past 17,520 hours?

North-South-Dong-Xi has a little improvement.

It achieves from 13 articles in 2013 to 18 articles in 2014.

Let's hope that records can be replaced in the years to come.

Wish that North-South-Dong-Xi has more interesting things to share.

Once again, hope that readers can leave comment after reading so that North-South-Dong-Xi can improve on it.

As what was said last year, hope that North-South-Dong-Xi has years to keep everyone company.

~*Happy 2nd Birthday North-South-Dong-Xi*~


《North-South-东-西》两岁了!

谢天谢地《North-South-东-西》还在。

虽然 2年看似个小数字。

它其实等于 730天。

那过去的 17,520小时里又做了些什么?

《North-South-东-西》是有小进步。

它从 2013年的 13篇文章增加到 2014年的 18篇文章。

希望这记录可以逐年被取代。

愿《North-South-东-西》会有更多有趣的东西跟大家分享。

再次希望读者们可以在读后点评,那《North-South-东-西》才有进步的空间。

就像去年所说的,希望在未来的时间里《North-South-东-西》可以一直陪伴大家。

~*《North-South-东-西》2岁生日快乐*~

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine’s Day, also known as Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a custom developed in early modern England and spread throughout the Anglosphere in the 19th century.

February 14 each year, Valentine's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a holiday in most of them.

Let's see how some of these countries celebrate their Valentine’s Day.


In China, the so-called “Chinese Valentine’s Day” is the Qixi Festival (七夕节), celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar.

In Chinese culture, “The Night of Sevens” (七夕), the Cowherd star (牛郎星) and the Weaver Maid star (织女星) are normally separated by the Milky Way (银河) but are allowed to meet by crossing the Magpie Bridge (鹊桥) on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar.

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In Greece, Valentine’s Day or Ημέρα του Αγίου Βαλεντίνου in Greek tradition was not associated with romantic love.

In the Eastern Orthodox church there is another Saint who protects people who are in love, Hyacinth of Caesarea (feast day 3 July), but in contemporary Greece, this tradition has mostly been superseded by the “globalised” form of Valentine’s Day.

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In India, in antiquity, there was a tradition of adoring Kamadeva, the lord of love; exemplified by the erotic carvings in the Khajuraho Group of Monuments and by the writing of the Kamasutra treaty of lovemaking.

This tradition was lost around the Middle Ages, when Kamadeva was no longer celebrated, and public displays of sexual affection became frowned upon.

In the state of West Bengal, Saraswati Puja, a festival observed in early spring where Saraswati, the goddess of learning is worshipped; has often been seen as a Bengali version of Valentine’s Day; especially among the urban middle-class youth.

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In Japan, the romantic “date night” associated to Valentine’s Day is celebrated on Christmas Eve.

In Japan, a slightly different version of a holiday based on a lovers’ story called Tanabata (七夕) has been celebrated for centuries, on July 7 of the Gregorian calendar.

As of the February 14, Valentine's Day, many women feel obliged to give chocolates to all male co-workers, except when the day falls on a Sunday, a holiday.

This is known as giri-choko (義理チョコ), giri means obligation and choko means chocolate, with unpopular co-workers receiving only chō-giri-choko (ultra-obligatory) cheap chocolate.

This contrasts with honmei-choko (本命チョコ), honmei means favourite, chocolate given to a loved one.

Friends, especially girls, may exchange chocolate referred to as tomo-choko (友チョコ), tomo means friend.

In the 1980s the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association launched a successful campaign to make March 14 "White Day" (reply day), where men are expected to return the favour to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine’s Day, calling it "White Day" for the colour of the chocolates being offered.

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In some Latin American countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico and Puerto Rico, as well as others) Valentine’s Day is known as “Día del Amor y la Amistad” (Day of Love and Friendship).

It is also common to see people perform acts of appreciation for their friends.

In Guatemala, it is known as the “Día del Cariño” (Affection Day).

In Brazil, the "Dia dos Namorados" (Lovers’ Day or Boyfriends’/Girlfriends’ Day) is celebrated on June 12, probably because that is the day before Saint Anthony’s Day, known there as the marriage saint, when traditionally many single women perform popular rituals, called simpatias, in order to find a good husband or boyfriend.

Couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards and flower bouquets.

In most of Latin America the "Día del Amor y la Amistad" and the "Amigo secreto" (Secret friend) are quite popular and are usually celebrated together on the 14 February (except Colombia, where it is celebrated on the third Saturday in September).

The "Amigo secreto" consists of randomly assigning to each participant a recipient who is to be given an anonymous gift (similar to the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa).

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In Romania, in order to counter the perceived denaturation of national culture, "Dragobete", a spring festival celebrated in parts of Southern Romania, has been rekindled as the traditional Romanian holiday for lovers.

Its date used to vary depending on the geographical area, however nowadays it is commonly observed on February 24.

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In Denmark and Norway, although February 14 is known as Valentinsdag, it is not celebrated to a large extent, some people take time to eat a romantic dinner with their partner, to send a card to a secret love or give a red rose to their loved one.

In Sweden, it is called "Alla hjärtans dag" (All Hearts’ Day) and was launched in the 1960s by the flower industry’s commercial interests, and due to the influence of American culture.

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In South Korea, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day).

On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on February 14 or March 14, go to a Chinese-Korean restaurant to eat jajangmyeon (자장면) means black noodles and lament their ‘single life’.

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In Israel, the Jewish tradition of Tu B’Av has been revived and transformed into the Jewish equivalent of Valentine’s Day.

It is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Av (usually in late August).

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In Wales, many people celebrate "Dydd Santes Dwynwen" (St Dwynwen’s Day) on January 25 instead of (or as well as) Valentine’s Day.

The day commemorates St Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers.

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In Iran, the Sepandarmazgan, or Esfandegan, is a festival where people express love towards their mothers and wives, and it is also a celebration of earth in ancient Persian culture.

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In Estonia, Valentine’s Day is called Sõbrapäev.

In Finland, Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä which means Friend’s Day.

In the Philippines, Valentine’s Day is called Araw ng mga Puso which means Hearts Day.

In Portugal, Valentine's Day is more commonly referred to as “Dia dos Namorados” which means Lover’s Day/Day of the Enamoured.

In Spain, Valentine’s Day is known as “San Valentín” and is celebrated the same way as in the UK, except in Catalonia.

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While most of the people around the world are celebrating the month of love, do note that not all countries welcome Valentine's Day.

Countries like Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia ban this festival as it is considered a Christian holiday.