Year of the Dragon – Day Six & Seven

Day Six

Day six is all about recovery and rest. Friends are able to visit each other and cleansing foods are eaten.

Day Seven

On day seven according to Chinese customs it is every person’s birthday. Happy birthday to you! There are two dishes which you need to eat on this day – longevity noodles and raw fish.

The tale goes that the more noodles you eat the longer you will live – raw fish will give you more money in the coming year. It is highly recommended that you try and find a noodle house that can give you long noodles with no breaks – this is considered very good luck so slurp away!

Check out our recipe for Raw Fish Salad here.

Today’s Horoscope: Snake
Make hay as the sun shines on you, dear Snake people. Your career will zoom high starting the first quarter of 2012. High chances of a promotion or a hike in salary is expected at work. This will not come without additional responsibilities. Health issues of self and of family will continuously keep you tied and shall drain a lot of your mental peace. Snake Chinese horoscope for the new year 2012 says that there will be times when you will be tempted of doing acts against your will. You are advised to refrain from such acts, no matter what benefits they give you in the short term.

Fact of the day – All about Chopsticks

Attention of Using Chopsticks
Never stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl, lay them on your dish instead. Otherwise, it is deemed extremely impolite to the host and seniors present. The reason for this is that when somebody dies, the shrine to them contains a bowl of sand or rice with two sticks of incense stuck upright in it. So if you stick your chopsticks in the rice bowl, it looks like the shrine and is equivalent to wishing death upon a person at the table.

How to Place Chopsticks
The truth of using chopsticks is holding one chopstick in place while pivoting the other one to pick up a morsel. How to position the chopsticks is the course you have to learn. First, place the first chopstick so that thicker part rests at the base of your thumb and the thinner part rests on the lower side of your middle firmly trapped in place. At least two or three inches of chopstick of the thinner end should extend beyond your fingertip. Next, position the other chopstick so that it is held against the side of your index finger and by the end of your thumb. Check whether the ends of the chopsticks are even. If not, then tap the thinner parts on the plate to make them even.

Word of the Day:
“nǐ néng bāngzhù wǒ ma” – Can you help me?
Like to know how to pronounce it? Click here!