This year Chinese New Year based on the lunar calendar falls on the same day as Valentine. When I was young, I would watch Chinese operas with my god mother. In those days around Singapore, street operas were rather common. I remembered a scene where a Chinese girl would pass a hand-embroidered gift of handkerchief to her love one. The embroidery designs would include traditional Chinese symbols like the pairing of birds, ducks or butterflies. It's kind of like a specially made valentine gift with subtle meanings of love... more