Perhaps some of you may already know that I am a true blue Oriental/Chinese girl at heart. I've always been fascinated by the Chinese culture and perpetually grew up in a Chi-na environment. As my parents were both illiterate in English, they taught me Chinese poems,idioms and stories. From a tender age, I was in touch with many Chinese myths and legends of how Chinese festivals, traditions and practices came about. I was learning the "San Zi Jing" before I could read my ABCs!

"San Zi Jing" by the way, is a long scroll of different chinese morals written in syallables of threes, the most famous being its first two lines: Ren Zhi Chu, Xing Ben Shan. It is a Confucian teaching of his belief that humans are kind by nature.

I am glad that I still continue my pursuit of learning the Chinese culture till today. Reading Chinese literature works remains a passion of mine, much of which is influenced by the fact that I spent my secondary school and junior college days studying Chinese literature, a subject which I took with great interest. I still find reading Chinese newspapers as interesting as reading TODAY.

Sadly in today's urban society, much of the rich Chinese culture is lost in local Chinese youths. Most of us are not enriched with the knowledge of our rich heritage, some can't even speak proper Chinese, a fact which saddens me.

Nonetheless, I still take great joy is watching and participating in anything related to my rich heritage, especially when it comes to celebrations. Celebrating Chinese festivals was a grand affair when I was young, all my aunts, uncles and cousins would gather together at my grandmother's house to do the necessary preparations.

My office happens to be situated opposite a Chinese temple and I was pleasantly shocked to see the commotion when I headed to work one day. It seems that the temple is celebrating its birthday and devotees are busy thanking the gods. Such an event naturally calls for elaborate celebrations and I spent some time exploring the sights of the temple. Here are some for you to enjoy.

Looking forward to CNY,
Proud to be a Chinese Girl