THE MARIMBA IS A PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT

THE MARIMBA IS A PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT The marimba is a musical instrument similar to the xylophone in appearance. It make a beautiful sound that i think sounds a little like across between a piano and a harp. The marimba is most commonly played in a larger ensemble, such as an orchestra or percussion group, but increasingly it's being played as a solo instrument. Some music has been composed and or arranged specifically for the marimba, and you can also play pieces written for other instrument (especially piano, violin and trumpet) on it. The marimba can be traced all the way back to Africa (hollow logs over holes in the ground), but the modern marimba shape and style actually came from Latin America. The bars on most marimbas today are made either from rare topical woods like rosewood, or else symethetic materials like kelon. The resonators are typically metal (aluminium or brass) and extend beneath the bars. Marimbas are played with mallets made specially for the purpose, usually holding one or two mallets in each hand (for a total of two or four). Most commonly these mallets have wood handles (commonly birch or rottan) with rubbe disk attached at one end and wrapped in yarn. Some mallets use acrylic or latex heads without yarn.

THE GHOST FESTIVAL IS A TRADITIONAL CHINESE HOLIDAY CELEBRATED ON THE 15TH DAY OF THE 7TH LUNAR MONTH.

The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. A solemn holiday, the Ghost Festival represents the connections between the living and the dead, earth and heaven, body and soul.
The entire seventh month of the Chinese calendar is called the Ghost Month, a month in which ghosts and spirits are believed to emerge out from the lower world to visit earth. The Ghost Festival is the climax of a series of the Ghost Month celebrations.
Activities of the festival include preparing ritual offerings of food, and burning ghost money (or paper money) to please the visiting ghosts and spirits as well as deities and ancestors. Other activities include burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies "giving directions to the lost ghosts."
Offerings for a Ghost Festival in Taiwan. Photo: Wm Jas.
The Ghost Festival has roots in the Buddhist festival of Ullambana, and also some from the Taoist culture. In the Tang Dynasty, Ullambana and traditional festivities were mixed and celebrated on one day. Thus, the Ghost Festival has special meaning for all Buddhists as one of their most important festivals.
The Buddhist origins of the festival can be traced back to a story that originally came from India, but later took on culturally Chinese overtones. This story, "Mu-lien Saves His Mother from Hell," is an account of a well-to-do merchant who gives up his trade to become a devout follower of Buddhism.
After the merchant attains enlightenment, he thinks of his father and mother, and wonders what happens to them. He travels over the known Buddhist universe, and finds his father in heaven. However, his mother has been sent to hell, and has taken on the form of a hungry ghost--it cannot eat because its throat is very thin and no food can pass, yet it always hungers because it has such a large belly. His mother was greedy with the money he left her. He had instructed her to kindly host any Buddhist monks that ever came her way, but instead she withheld her kindness and her money. It was for this reason she was sent to hell. Mu-lien eventually saves her from this plight by battling various demons and entreating the help of the Buddha.
Buddhists instituted a day after the traditional summer retreat (the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar--usually mid-to-late August) as a day of prayer and offering in which monks can pray and make sacrifices on behalf of dead ancestors or hungry ghosts. The family members of the deceased essentially pay for this service, and thus their patronage is a form of charity. The deceased ancestors are pacified and hungry ghosts can eat (the sacrificial foods). The Mu-lien story ends with this festival and the rescue of his mother from hell. She ends up being reborn as a pet dog in a well-off household.
« Chinese New Year
Ghost Festival
Tomb Sweeping Day »

AUSPICIOUS PATTERNS

PANCHANG PICTURE

LONGEVITY PICTURE

DOUBLE HAPPINESS PICTURE

AUSPICIOUS PATTERNS

In China, many auspicious patterns are popular. On the occasion of the New Year, festivals or festive days, people like to decorate their rooms and articles with such auspicious patterns, expressing their desire for a happy life and celebrations on a propitious time and festive day.

These patterns emerged in the Zhou Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, and then became popular among the Chinese people. Nowadays, they are still an indispensable part of Chinese life.

These auspicious patterns cover a wide range, and here are several commonly seen:
The pattern of DOUBLE HAPPINESS means that two happy events occur at the same time, representing extreme auspiciousness. People often use this pattern when celebrating their weddings.

After being embellished, the Chinese character of LONGEVITY became a symmetrical pattern.The pattern of GOOD FORTUNE and LONGEVITY is composed of the character of bats and longevity. Since the pronunciation of the bat is homophonic to that of good fortune, this pattern indicates good fortune and longevity.

The symmetrical pattern consisting of two POSSESSION means that there is POSSESSION when the pattern is upright or viewed upside down. In China's rural areas, the pattern is often pasted on utensisls for storing corns, meaning a bumper harvest and prosperity.

The pattern of the HEAD OF RUYI (an S-shaped wand or scepter, usually made of jade) symbolizes smoothness and good fortune.

The pattern of BAIJI (one hundred luck) is also called poanchang. It has no beginning and no end, and thus can be conceived as many knots, whose pronunciation of the Chinese character is homophonic to that of luck, symbolizing one hundred events are lucky and auspicious and also indicating happiness and longevity are continuous without end.

In the pattern of "FIVE GOOD-FORTUNES BOLDING LONGEVITY IN THE CENTER", five bats encircle a Chinese character. The five sectors of good fortune are lonevity, wealth and rank, health, morality, and a natural death

In the pattern of "FOUR RUYI ENCLOSING EACH OTHER", four ruyi are enclosed and connected with each other on four sides, symbolizing everything goes as one wishes.

The Dragon Boat Festival

THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a traditional Chinese folk festival-the Dragon Boat Festival, also called the "Festival of the Fifth Month". On that day, people eat zongzi(pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves) and hold dragon-boat races. It is said, these activities commemorate the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan in ancient China.

Qu Yuan lived in the State of Chu in the Warring States Period(475-221 BC). Among the states of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin, the State of Qin was the strongest, and it wished to annex the others to become even more powerful. Qu Yuan was DAFU. He maintained that Chu's politics should be reformed and that it should inite with other states to resist Qin. But his stand was opposed by crafty sycophants, who used malicious accusations to persuade the king of

Chu not to adopt the idea and to drive Qu Yuan from the capital. Despite being exiled, Qu Yuan was still concerned about the fate of the state. Later, when he heard the news that Qin had defeated the State of Chu, he was very grieved and felt that he had no power to save his motherland, and drowned himself in the Miluo River. It was the fifth day lunar month in 278 BC.

When people heard the news, they rowed their boats to try and find his corpse, but failed. In order not to let the fish and shrimps eat the corpse, people threw food into the river to feed them. Thereafter, on each fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people would throw food into the river. And later, people used reed leaves to wrap glutinous rice into pyramid-shaped dumplings (zongzi) for this purpose. Thus the custom of eating zongzi and staging dragon-boat race was formed.

The Zongzi is usually four-sided with pointed, rounded ends or pyramid shapes. Sometimes it is in the shape of a cone or cyclinder. The glutinous rice mixture as wrapped in leaves of wild rice, palm or bamboo. Bamboo-leaf zongzi is a specially of South China.

The Beijing style is the sweetest, with coarse bean pastes. Guandong zongzi is either sweet-tasting, with walnut, date or bean, or salty with filling ham, egg, meat, roast chicken.

THE STANDUP EGG

The Dragon Boat Day is usually in June, which is Horse month. Horse hour in astology is from 11:00 AM to 13:00PM. They said that you will be lucky for the coming year if you can make an egg standing up during Horse hour on the Dragon Boat Day.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF REFLEXOLOGY?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF REFLEXOLOGY?



In general terms the benefits of reflexology have to do with the reduction of stress. Because the feet and hands help set the tension level for the rest of the body they are an easy way to interrupt the stress signal and reset homeostasis, the body's equilibrium.

Here are some conditions which can benefit from reflexology therapy:
1. Blood circulation: varicous veins, hemorroids, high blood pressure.
2. Digestive system: stomach upsets, stomach bloating, irritasecurity_tsyndrome, colitis, diarrhea, ulcers.
3. Nervous system: sleep disorder, depression, lack of concentration or energy, memory loss.
4. Articulations: muscular aches and pains, arthritis, sciatica.
5. General: weight gain, skin problems, asthma, migraine, acceleration of ageing process.

REFLEXOLOGY- good health through foot massage

Reflexology promotes relaxation and well being. This ancient therapy is known to promote the body's own healing powers. It is suitable for any age grops, from babies to seniors. Reflexology is more than a foot massage, it's a natural healing therapy which is highly effective in dealing with many complaints.

Reflexology is based on the principle that the foot, divided in reflex zones, is a mirror image of the body. Each reflex zone corresponds to a part of the body. Specific manipulation and pressure of these zones reduces and eliminates blockages in corresponding glands, organs and other parts of the body.

Thanks to reflexology, you have at your feet a natural healing therapy to get you back on your feet on It should not be a replacement to medical help. Pleases use it wisely. We care about your safety.

Please email: hoongxin@hotmail.com

CHINESE TEA

CHINESE TEA

Chinese people like to dring tea, and often entertain friends and guests with it. The tealeaf is a necessity in the life of Chinese people.

Tea plants originated in China, although the ancient Chinese first used them for medicinal purposes before developing tea as a drink some 2,000 years ago. Later, they gradually learnt to grow tea plants and use the leaves to make various types of tea.

As regards the method of making tea, the Chinese variety can be classified into green tea, black tea, oolong tea scented tea, tuo tea (bowl-chapes compressed mass of tea leaves), and brick tea, each consisting of many types.

Green tea is not fermented. Famous green tea includes LONGJING TEA from the region of West Lake in Hangzhou, BILUOCHUN TEA from Jiangsu, MAOFENG TEA from the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui Province, and Liu'an Guapian tea from Liu'an County of Anhui Province.

Black tea is fermented, and is brilliant red. Famous Chinese black tea is keemun tea of Anhui Province, and Dian black tea (Yunnan black tea) of Yunnan Province.

Oolong tea is half fermented, its tealeaves being loose and thick, and the tea is golden yellow. The best oolong tea is bohea produced in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province.

Scented tea is peculiar to China, which is made by smoking tea leaves with fragrant flowers. The most famous one is jasmine tea produced in Fujian Province.

Tuo tea (bowl-shaped compressed mass of tea leaves), produced in Yunnan and Sichuan, is compressed like around steamed bun.

Brick tea is shaped like a brick, and is a favorite of the Mongolian and Tibetan ethnic groups.

Drinking tea can quench one's thirst, dispel fatigue, help digestion and prevent some diseases. Drinking tea for a long period is quite beneficial to people's health.

Jasmine tea health is responsible for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol level, regulating aging reducing stress, preventing certain cancers and strengthening the immune system among other positive impacts.

HOME MAKE ICE CREAM

HOME MAKE ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS:

1 litre Dutch Lady full cream milk.

400 gm Nestle coffee-mate.

200 gm castor brown sugar.

METHOD:

1. Make sure all the utensils are completely dry.

2. Mix coffee-mate and castor brown sugar. Take the milk from the refrigerator pour it at

once. Beat it in the high speed for about 20 minutes. Keep it a dry container put it in the

freezer for over night.

3. Next morning is ready to serve.

NOTE: If you liked chocolate flavour then you used chocolate milk. If you liked strawberry flavour then you used strawberry milk. Then if you liked coffer flavour you have to used plain milk add one quarter teaspoon instant coffer powder in the