1 . Tips for Hiding the Afikomen on Passover (逾越节)

Hiding the afikomen — a broken piece of pancake — is often a beloved part of the Passover Dinner among families, giving children a game of searching. Here is best advice for hiding the afikomen.

    1     Who hides the afikomen and the physical boundaries that limit the hiding spots are key basic regulations that your family should consider together. Each family may do it a bit differently but once the basic regulations are in place, everyone has a better time with it.

Make it a little more interesting. Finding the afikomen often comes with a reward or a small gift. Sometimes it is a toy, money or a game — in some families it is a big gift, some just a kiss.     2    

Find a hiding spot. While there’s technically only one afikomen at the dinner, families might also choose to change tradition to give larger groups of kids a better chance of success. Some families may find a way to hide a few.     3     It allows either all the kids to find one, or at least more than just one kid.

Trick their eyes. Leaving the afikomen out in the open might seem a little too easy, but it can present a surprising challenge.     4     But the general thinking is that people are so used to seeing what they expect they will never see here.

Increase the difficulty. The serious hiders skip easy-to-see spots for more intensive, nearly impossible places, for example, in a drawer, under all the kids’ art projects or in the bathroom under four out of seven towels. So kids have to work hard for it.     5    

2 . In China, tea has become an important part of everyday life for thousands of years. As the tea-processing methods and tea culture have evolved over the years, tea sets have also changed to meet the practical and cultural needs.

During the Tang Dynasty(618~907AD), tea leaves were traded across the country and Asia. For the convenience of transportation and storage, tea leaves were pressed into bricks. To prepare tea, drinkers had to cut them into small pieces and boil them in heat-resistant teapots.

By the Song Dynasty(960-1279), drinkers started to turn the hard bricks into powders (粉末) that could be whipped (搅打) in a cup with boiled water. This whipped tea is most commonly associated with Japanese tea ceremonies today.

By the 1500s, tea bricks gave way to the form of rolled leaves. This innovation led to the invention and use of teapots as we know them today. These teapots originally came from the Yi Xing region of China and were soon copied throughout the world. Then Japanese teapot-makers moved the handle from the side to the top of the teapots.

Tea finally reached Europe in the 1600s, along with the necessary tea sets made in Japan and China. As English teapot-makers began to adapt the tea sets to their country men’s tastes, they eventually added a handle to the tea bowl because of the English habit of drinking hot black tea, which was consumed at higher temperatures. The size of teacups also grew to accommodate milk and sugar in their tea.

By the early 1900s, innovations in tea drinking became an American affair. The most revolutionary one was the tea bag, which was accidentally commercialized by Thomas Sullivan. He had been sending customers tea wrapped in silk bags. Rather than take the leaves out of the bags, as Sullivan intended, the customers put the bags into their teapots instead. Not only did the tea bags push the teapot back to the sidelines of tea service, they were also too large for teacups and led to the modern practice of drinking tea from mugs.

3 . You’ve heard the phrase “home for the holidays”, but I would like to introduce a new phrase: hygge for the holidays. A hygge holiday is all about peaceful, quiet and cozy(温暖舒适的) surroundings. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Holiday hygge is easy and comforting. Most people are already doing at least some of these simple hygge holidays without even knowing it.

Hygge is a Danish word originally coming from an old Norwegian word meaning well-being and protection from the outside harm. It’s known that winters in Denmark are severe and last long. The concept of hygge has been used by Danish people to keep themselves mentally positive in the dark winter season and fill their homes with comfort and love.

Hygge is a very important word to Danish people, often used to describe what their culture is all about and it is not necessarily a thing, something you can buy, but rather more of something you feel. Hygge really is a reflection of one aspect of Danish living, and, happily, in the last five years the concept of hygge has made its way to the US and many other countries. I mean what’s not to like about nurturing(培育)peace and quiet and coziness?

Here are some more descriptive words for hygge: comfort, familiarity, friendship, laughter, and even seasonal homemade food and drinks. While it is possible to achieve hygge any time of the year with hygge activities-an outdoor BBQ with friends and a movie under the stars with family are good examples of summertime hygge, it is most commonly associated with the colder months because of its ability to lift one’s spirits during dark winter months.

Hygge is the most suitable for the November and December holiday season because it’s all about peaceful and cozy surroundings that fill you with contentment. There is indeed something you can do to bring holiday hygge into your home this season.

4 . The 19th Asian Games, also known as the Hangzhou Asian Games, was scheduled to be held from September 10 to 25, 2022 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. As with any major sporting event, the Hangzhou Asian Games has its own official mascot (吉祥物). The mascot, named “Smart Triplets,” was shown on September 9, 2019.

The design of the Smart Triplets was inspired by culture, history and nature of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is known for its beautiful scenery and rich cultural history. The inspiration for the Smart Triplets came from the three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Hangzhou: West Lake, the Grand Canal, and Mount Putuo. The mascot designers also drew inspiration from the Qianjiang New City area, which is the main venue or the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The Smart Triplets are a group of three young pandas, each with its own unique personality and skillset. The first panda, called “Ping Ping”, represents the passion and energy of sports. The second panda, “Cheng Cheng”, symbolize s the intelligence and innovation of Hangzhou as a technology hub. The third panda, “Fu Fu”, represents the harmony between humans and nature, which is an important value in Hangzhou’s culture.

Each panda has its own color scheme and special outfit. Ping Ping’s outfit consists of a sleeveless shirt and shorts in yellow, the color of sports events. Cheng Cheng wears a pink outfit with a bowtie and suspenders, which are commonly seen in the tech industry. Fu Fu wears a light green outfit with a straw hat, which represents the harmony between humans and nature.

In general, the public response to the Smart Triplets has been positive. Many people appreciate the design and concept as well as their message of friendship, innovation and harmony.

5 . Rookery Bay Festival of Birds

January 1-31

Join Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and partners in January for the2023 Festival of Birds. All month long, festival participants can enjoy expert speaker presentations and virtual live adventures online. This 19th annual event is hybrid, so you can join Rookery Bay Research Reserve from wherever you are! A festival pass is required and it includes free admission to the Environmental Learning Center all month long!

Virtual lectures

● Brown Pelican Biology by Rochelle Streker(1/6,2:00—2:45 pm)

● Audubon Florida’s Rooftop Nesting Program by Rebekah Snyder(1/7,2:00—2:45 pm)

● Birds Need Natural Climate Solutions by Renee Wilson(1/13,2:00——2:45 pm)

●The Race to Save Seabirds Around the Globe by Ada m DiNuovo(1/19,2:00—2:45 pm)

● Birding Coast to Coast: The Life of a Big Year Birder by David McQuade(1/27,5:30—7:00 pm)

Live from the Field (1/11, 1/19 and 1/26, 11 :00   11 : 45 am). Join Rookery BayResearch Reserve staff behind the scenes to observe how species and habitats in the Reserve are monitored and conserved for future generations.

Included with your Festival of Birds pass- $ 50

● Children’s Book Author Signing

● Bird Banding Demonstration

● Eco-Tours: boat tours at Rookery Bay Research Reserve

● Access to 24 trips to Area Hotspots (additional fees may apply): Big Cypress NaturePreserve, Bunche Beach Preserve, Clam Pass Park, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, DonnaFiala Eagle Lakes Community Park, Harns Marsh, Rookery Bay Research Reserve, and Tigertail Beach.

Notice: If you purchase your festival pass and use your unique festival code to register, you will receive a 10% discount.

7 . Also called the Garden Island, Kauai is the oldest island in the Hawaiian region. As its name implies, it prides itself in being covered with the color green, thanks to well-kept preserves of forests. But the island and its locals aren’t shy of providing events to residents and visitors alike.

Koloa Plantation Days

Held for 10 days every July, Koloa Plantation Days in Old Koloa Town focuses on the history of the area as a former sugar plantation. You can look through local art while listening to Hawaiian music, or pick up some local food specialties and check out an exhibit about the town’s history.

Waimea Town Celebration

The west side of Kauai comes alive during Waimea Town Celebration, a nine-day festival held every February in the historic town of Waimea. Films and performances celebrating the culture of Hawaii occur throughout the event, so you can sit in an air-conditioned theater to relax while experiencing some local culture.

Lei Day

On the first of May each year, Hawaiians celebrate Lei Day on the day traditionally known as May Day. The Kauai Museum celebrates this yearly event with lei-making lessons, food stands, live entertainment and a lei contest. If you’re not into making your own lei, there are leis available for you to buy at the museum, so you can join even if your flower-necklace skills aren’t good enough.

Prince Kuhio Celebration

March 26 is Prince Kuhio Day, a statewide holiday honoring the Hawaiian prince who helped preserve local cultural practices and protect the rights of native Hawaiians. Kauai residents celebrate it for up to two weeks. Events in some towns include historical tours, cultural displays, canoe races and drumming performances.