The year of the rat

today was quite a nice day =)

started the day by going for Mass..it would be the first time im going for an auspiscious CNY Mass celebration...was so interesting to see the chinese tradition incorporated into the Catholic Mass..
imagine joysticks being carried into the church, then after mass, there were the offerings for the altar, the "pai neen' of the altar and to the congregation..Here are some pictures of the altar..*beautiful no?*

here's the chinese altar with the flowers and the wine (too small to notice)

here's a close up shot..

here's below the altar table...

And..This is the view of the whole altar..

Then came my mum's favourite part.. =P LION DANCE! im always fascinated by the way they sliced the fruits they "swallowed".

to me, i was brought up to be thankful for what i've got. and the best way to show your gratitude and the best way to start a day is with the Lord- no, dont get me wrong by thinking im all pious and all..Im just saying that, considering how far i've felt from my religion lately, its nice to feel Him close once again.at least for that moment.

after which came back to the house where my uncle's family was already waiting. had lunch. i always find it nice to have the whole family sitting down together for a meal. i guess thats another thing i was brought up with too.-family meals were always important. anyway, after which, we had few rounds of card games.

which leads me to--here. =)

blogging about my day. hope the rest of the day will be okay too.

Love, Mandy.