Ecumenism

The Ulster Unionists and the Irish Republican Army have pretty much stopped their long religious and political war. George W Bush, a staunch Protestant Southern Baptist, has appointed 2 Catholics, Samuel Alito and John Roberts, to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. These appointments effectively give Catholics a 5-4 majority in the US Supreme Court. Is this a sign that ecumenism is around the corner?

The US has always been the bedrock of the Protestant movement. There has only been one Catholic ever voted President of the United States, and that was John Fitzgerald Kennedy, whose presidency was unfortunately short-lived. However, with the recent appointment by George W Bush, does it signify that Protestants and Catholics are ready to set aside their differences?

Christianity today is split up broadly into 3 main categories: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The Eastern Orthodox Church has already been making some headway in reconciling their differences with the Catholic Church. The Protestant movement, however, has had quite a bit of infighting lately, especially with the Anglican Church in Europe threatening to split away from its Episcopal brethren in the US. So is there hope for ecumenism, for a unified Christian Church evolving? Probably. But it's not likely to happen in our generation.

Happy New Year!

Happy lunar new year everyone! I've had two sumptious reunion meals with family already, and one more to go! Boy, is it great to be back home for Chinese New Year or what? No matter how commercialized Chinese New Year gets, these fantastic meals with family remain just as great! And every dish has its significance too.... I'll attempt to recall what I've eaten so far and what these foods symbolize.

Dinner last night we had: cold dish comprising top shell and century egg and crabsticks and fishballs and shredded chicken/egg in gelatin, roast duck, steamed chicken, prawns (laughter), mushroom stew, vegetable stir fry, abalone (guaranteed luck) with spinach and clams, lotus root (yearly abundance) and lotus root soup, mandarin oranges for dessert (gold).

Lunch today: chinese sausage, fake chinese sausage, fatty roast pork, fish cake, fried toufu, luncheon meat, pigs tongue (wealth) with some tuber, century egg and ginger, fried bean sprouts, prawns, mushroom oyster (good news) stew with fa cai (prosperity), fried fish (luck), agar agar and fruit cake for dessert.

Am I getting fat or what? Home cooked food never tasted so great! It's a pity my mum says people are opting to go out for reunion dinners nowadays....