Every year sometime in January or February, St. Joseph’s Home has the aroma of Chinese food and the sound of Chinese music floating throughout our Home. This year was no different. On February 6th we celebrated Chinese New Year. We were treated to a delicious meal. The egg rolls, Chinese vegetables, rice, fortune cookies, and cake were expertly made by our own employees, AJJ, and Sr. Mary Timothy and her wonderful dietary staff. While eating, we were able to watch on a large screen, pictures of China, and read trivia questions. 2013 is the Year of the Snake.
To our surprise and perhaps horror of some of us, a long “snake” (a black hose with stripes) was slithering across an entire wall. Residents were asked to estimate its length, which was 72 feet. At the end of the snake, we were able to shake its rattler made from a maraca! There were also eleven small snakes placed around the auditorium. Looking carefully around the room, we tried to locate all eleven. After dinner, a Chinese Dragon made an appearance. Making its debut, our new dragon is 15 feet long and needs to be manned by five people.
We also welcomed the Little Sisters from St. Mary’s Home in Chicago, who joined in the celebration. A special surprise was the arrival of Sr. Malia Cecilia, a postulant, who is spending six weeks at St. Mary’s working alongside the Little Sisters. Sr. Malia Cecilia is from the Islands of Tonga, in the South Pacific. Our own Sr. Soana, who is also from the Islands, was delighted to welcome Sister and introduce her to us. Amazingly, the relatively small population in the Kingdom of Tonga has been a birthplace of three vocations to the Little Sisters. Another postulant, Sr. Maria Makaita, is also from Tonga.
The afternoon festivities ended as we tried out our newly found good fortune, playing bingo!
新年快 (Happy New Year)