Money Tree

I threw a Chinese New Year party last night. All my guests seemed to have a nice time...eat, drink, man, woman... except my best friend, Suba, missed the party because she's sick and was not well enough to show up.

I had ordered some flowers for the party a few days ago and they didn't turn out to be something I wanted when they arrived at the florist, so I just changed my plan and decided to go with a branch that looks like a bald bonzai tree. I stuck it into a pot filled with soil and covered it with some pebbles. It turn out to be pretty cool under my two paper lanterns. Half way into the party, Will suddenly remembered this tradition he learnt while he was in Hong Kong last year, and said, "I need a dollar note for the money tree." He got a buck and tied it into a bow on the branch. Apparently it's for prosperity.

Even though I'm Chinese and celebrate Chinese New Year all my life, my family never really follow closely to the tradition that has anything to do with prosperity or wealth because we're Catholics. To us, New Year celebration is thanksgiving and family reunion. Of course, after Will tied the first dollar bill on the tree, all my guests turned to me and asked me to explain about the tradition. I was puzzled but hey, it's money, so I guess I LIKE this tradition. Yes, everyone should tie money on the money tree for prosperity. In fact, next year I'll have an outdoor party. I have a bigger tree outside!

Everyone started pulling out money and made all kinds of origami to decorate the tree. It was hilarious! I haven't counted the total on the tree yet because I want to keep them up there for the whole fifteen days of the celebration. However, I did spot a few $5 notes and one $20 bill! Wow! Thank you, guys! It was quite a properous night for me. Thanks, Will. I'm definitely doing this again next year.