8 ways to say happy birthday, Hong Kong style
April 8 is my sister’s birthday, and I wanted to mark the occasion with eight memories of a month in Hong Kong during my year-long around-the-world journey.
Why not ‘four’ for April? Among Chinese, there is general consensus of an “unlucky” use for “four” (四), sounding very much like the word for “death” (死). That’s the case in Cantonese, and you may find a general absence of four in public places, including elevators.
On the other hand, “eight” (八) rhymes with “success” (發); the latter is used prominently in New Year’s greetings to express “congratulations and prosperity” (恭喜發財).
Here are a few unique examples of moments representing my time in Hong Kong.
Happy birthday, sis! 生日快樂,啊妹!
The eight locations are indicated in the map below.
Except the final photo from my sister, I made the other photos above in Hong Kong between 6 and 21 June 2012. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com.
9 Responses to “8 ways to say happy birthday, Hong Kong style”
Very nice…happy birthday to your sister!
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Thanks, Anita, and my sister thanks you, too! 🙂
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Hey Henry! Sweet shots of HK, mate. One of my favorite cities!
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Hi and thanks, Stephen! Hong Kong is an extremely photogenic city, one of architecture, signage, colours, people, and food. As you also know, all that high-density means Hong Kong is chockfull of photog-opps. 😉 One month wasn’t enough, and I have a few wae regrets of things and places I didn’t get to photograph, but I think that’s the usual “traveler’s/photographer’s regret.” Thanks again for reading and for your comment!
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I definitely like the idea of using the number eight for “success” better than the number four in this case! Love the pics of Hong Kong ( and of course, the photo of you and your sister). Happy Birthday to your sister — what a nice way to mark the day.
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Hi and thanks, Cathy! Before the post appeared on the blog, I sent a draft-copy to my sister, who helpfully supplied a photo of the two of us she had made and “framed” with Hello Kitty. Initially, I balked, but I correctly accepted her request … of course. 🙂
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🙂
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It’s the Hello Kitty thing, isn’t it, M? 😉
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Oh yeah! All over that 🙂 Actually I just thought it was sweet and I have always loved that temple shot 🙂
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