Chinese New Year's Eve

It is the last day of the Year of the Horse today. The Chinese New Year's Eve marks the beginning of the Spring Festival, which traditionally runs from this last day of the last month of the lunar calendar to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. It is a public holiday in many places with ethnic Chinese populations such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia where celebrations are already underway due to the time difference.

Outgoing postcard US-3224033 to Taiwan was a maxi card showing a pair of horses, part the "Year of the Horse" art installation at The Palazzo's Waterfall Atrium and Gardens in 2014, with a commemorative the Year of the Horse Forever stamp and a bullseye postmark.

The Spring Comes in Full Form

It is still officially in winter. However, with a forecast high temperature at 72°F or 22°C in Las Vegas for tomorrow, it certainly feel like spring already. To commemorate the incoming Year of the Ram, The Venetian and The Palazzo have put out a Chinese New Year art installation at the Waterfall and Atrium Gardens, featuring three life-size rams. A ram is an intact male sheep. Eight additional sheep adorned with fleece of fresh carnations are spotted around the waterfall. In the photo below, a horse and a sheep are seen together, symbolizing the transition from the Year of the Horse (2014) to the Year of the Ram (2015).

Postcard TW-1478246 from Taiwan shows three goats in a water color painting. Sheep is of the genus Ovis while Goat is a member of genus Capra. Sheep have wool while goats have hairs. According to Yahoo Answers, "the easiest way to tell a sheep from a goat is by their tails. In goats their tails point up toward the sky. In sheep, they hang down, pointed at the ground."

It's the Journey that Counts

Postcard US-2692599 to Japan shows a 16-foot or 4.9-meter horse, centerpiece of the "Year of the Horse" art installation at The Palazzo's Waterfall Atrium and Gardens, commemorating Chinese New Year that begins on January 31, 2014. Having since concluded on February 16, 2014, there were eight hand-sculpted and hand-painted horses throughout the display. The photo was taken on January 20, 2014.

However, after I sent the card in for the first-day-of-issue postmark, it was returned to me on April 11, 2014 without cancellation. I had addressed the card to Japan with adequate international postage and asked it to be released for mailing.

I added an apology on the card for not being able to secure a first-day-of-issue postmark and re-posted it on the same day on April 11, 2014. A message came on September 1, 2014: "The postcard US-2692599 you sent to marie1112 in Japan was registered by Postcrossing. The account of the receiver was closed and for this reason the postcard was automatically registered."

I am not sure why this card did not get the first-day-of-issue postmark, and I don't know if the card reached the receiver before she closed her account. But, I tried.

1934 Hudson at Palazzo

Outgoing postcard US-2886230 to Russia shows a 1934 Hudson, covered in succulents, lichen, moss, grapevine, and thousands other plants, at the Palazzo Hotel's Waterfall Atrium and Gardens as part of its fall display from September to November 10, 2013. The car symbolizes Venetian and Palazzo's efforts to promote alternative transportation program that rewards commuters for carpooling, biking, or taking public transportation to get to and from work. They offer a valet bicycle parking service with secure bike racks, and provide preferred parking spaces for hybrids, alternative fuel vehicles, and carpools in both garages. Other parts of the display include items representing Renewable Energy; Sustainable Food, Composting & Recycling; and Water Conservation.

Panda!

Postcard US-2598763 to Taiwan shows that a charming Panda looks out over a beautiful valley with cranes flying by, created by Birgit Schulz from London, Ontario, Canada. Although unrelated, I was reminded to this card when I saw the crew from Panda!, a new resident show at Palazzo, performing at the Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas for the Chinese New Year Celebrations today on February 9, 2014.

The new show follows the hero’s journey of a panda Long Long, trying to save his girl peacock princess from evil. Director An Zhao, who had involved in directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, said in a news release: "We've taken two of China's national treasures, pandas and kung fu, and illuminated them in a visually stunning production that tells an unforgettable and timeless story. Our team couldn't be happier to bring this experience to the international audiences Las Vegas is known to attract."

The show's opening was planned for December, 2013 but was delayed by a month due to visa problems. The congressional office of the U.S. Representative Dina Titus was involved to help securing the visa. She was pictured with the Panda! crew at the festival today.

Goodbye! Sophie the Blue Snake

Today marks the end of Year of the Snake that runs from February 10, 2013 to January, 30, 2014. Postcard US-2134679 to China shows the Year of Snake art installation that features Sophie Chow, an animated blue snake twisted around a giant peach tree at the Waterfall and Atrium Gardens of The Palazzo  in February 2013. Sophie is 98-feet long, can blink her eyes, sticks her tongue in and out, and move her head side to side. The peach tree that she perches on, at 38-feet tall and 28-feet wide,  has 8,800 blossom vines on the tree, adorned with 193,600 flowers and 28 custom dancing lanterns. Golden I Ching coins, representing an abundance of wealth, are placed around the tree.