Last look at the CNY decorations, plants, hangings, door handle hanging, and origami rabbits

 

Decoration at a nursery school. Patterned paper folded into an origami rabbit for the year of the rabbit (zodiac sign). Decorations in black felt tip pen drawn on to show a rabbit's face by the child. They eyes are back circles with the centre of the circle left clear showing the paper. Plus three lines each side for whiskers.Rabbits like cats have whiskers the width of their bodies to ascertian whether they can get into holes and through gaps.

 Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Door handle decoration. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The eyes on this rabbit are drawn dofferently. Two black circles filled in like discs, and a black circl around touching th bottom of the disc.an

Plant pot with plant used to hand goodwill greetings. One of the popular signs says Prosperity. Sometimes the signs are hung upside down to stop the luck falling out!

Some of the Singaporeans are very superstitious. One of my friends complained that a member of staff gave notice on the grounds that she thought she had upset the house ghost and it was angry with her.

I told my friend, "I'm an expert on ghosts. You have to have your house at the right temperature. They don't like comfortably warm houses. They like icy cold places. Turn down their air conditioning and the ghost won't like it.

I thought about hedgehogs, which are nocturnal, and the sick ones are up in the daytime, and try to hide from you.

I added, "Besides, most ghosts are nocturnal. Only the sick ones are up in the daytime. You can easily tell it to go back to bed. Most guides have suffered misfortunes and are scared of people."

Notice the other symbols of Chinese New Year, such as spring flowers. The festival is also called Spring Festival. Another symbol is red lanterns. A third name is Lantern Festival for the last day, the 15th day.

Kosher crackers and kosher Ice Cream? What is kosher ice cream? With Pork Or Without Pork? Where do you get it? Who cares about it? UK, USA.

Baskin Robbins, Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex, UK, sells kosher ice creams. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Next door is Tesco Express which sells kosher food and kosher wine.

Tesco Express branches, and larger branches of Tesco, as well as other supermarkets in the UK, sell items with kosher labels such as these crackers (matzos) by Rakusens. Photo by Angela Lansbury

Here is the kosher symbol from rakusens crackers. You can buy kosher goods in Tesco in Hatch End, for friends or family or yourself, or a gift. But many people don't realise that next door to Tesco in Baskin Robbins you can buy kosher ice cream.

 I was in Baskin Robbins when I saw a sign about kosher ice cream. Afterwards I went online and discovered that Tesco online also sold kosher ice cream.

Tesco online sells several brands, Haagen Dazs, Ben and Jerry's, and Swedish (soy sorbet).

What could be non kosher in ice cream? Surely nobody uses pork in ice cream?

Yes, they do. In the USA. 

USA Ham Ice Cream

For example, Windy Brow Farms in New Jersey, USA makes a ham and French toast ice cream, salt with honey for sweetness, as well as vegan and other ice cream.

Pork in Ice Cream

Less obvious pork products can be ice cream. Stabilizers can contain gelatin from pigs or non-kosher cows.

Kosher & Halal

I looked up the differences between kosher and halal products. On both sides, kosher and halal, the strictly orthodox have different rules from more liberal groups. Among the differences, which were new to me, camel and rabbit appear to be halal but not kosher. The blood is removed from meat by Jews using water and salt, by Moslems by using vinegar.  

Shellfish & Alergies

Some people would be happy enough to buy a product which was not obviously containing shellfish. (Orthodox Jews and those with allergies.  I have allergies). 

Other might be concerned that the premises and production process should be check to ensure no cross-contamination of work surfaces and machinery. Or even handling by non Jews who might be idolators. 

Quite a few ideas which were totally new to me.

In addition to this there are the covid-19 regulations about how many in the shop, eating cones in the doorway.

We bought our ice creams, I chose pistachio, and we trotted home happily.

Useful Websites

KOSHER (& others not Kosher)

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/frozen-food/ice-cream-ice-lollies-and-frozen-desserts/ice-cream-tubs/all?dietary=Kosher

https://www.graeters.com/kosher-ice-cream (USA)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Islamic_and_Jewish_dietary_laws

https://www.kashrut.com/consumer/ice_cream/

Ham, or vegan, or other ice cream from 

windybrowfarms.com

About the author of this travel blog

Angela Lansbury is British born and bred but has also lived in the USA, Spain and Spingapore and visited countries around the worl

She is a semi-retired teacher of English language and literature and a member of Toastmasters International and five clubs, Harrovians in the UK, three in Singapore (BHA and TCA and Senja-Cashew), a club coach for Nee Soon South, and a member of online only club, Singapore Online Dynamic. To find a club go to Toastmasters International Find a club or look on Facebook. BHA meets the first Wednesday evening each month, login 6.45 for 7 pm start Singapore time (SGT), which is noon in London UK, during British summer time, until clocks go back the last Sunday in October when the UK reverts to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The secret of the sun and moon Goddess legend: leads to panda lotus mooncakes

This time of year you can buy mooncakes. What lovely aromas of baked sweet pastries assail you as you hurry to or from the railway station (MRT in Singapore) or the shopping mall. So tempting to stop and buy and break your diet.

But what is the origin of the moon cakes? Legend says that there were ten sons or suns (neat pun in English) who were brothers. But they made the earth so hot that an archer was sent to kill all but one. the surviving sun or son, fell in love with a lovely lady.

He was given the elixir of immortality, but warned that if he ate more than half of it he would be banished from earth. He left it at home with his lady love and told her not to eat it.

A robber called and tried to steal it. So she ate all of it.

She became immortal, but was banished to the moon. He stared longingly up at her and ate cakes the shape of the full moon in her honour.

The moon Goddess is depicted with her companion the rabbit, the symbol of the moon.

This green filling is panda lotus. Delicious. Must try.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.